Station 8 – Jesus consoles the women of Jerusalem

Jesus turning to them said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never gave suck!’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘fall on us;’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” -Luke 23:28-31

In the middle of this horrific scene, Jesus is still preaching, warning the women of Jerusalem of what is to come. It is a dark prediction of coming terror. Yet he is telling them to be strong, for there is more to endure.

It is also a judgment, for though he is going to die, he will defeat death. Yet the true mourning should be for those who do not turn to God, who instead turn to self-righteousness or despair, who experience horrific suffering and learn nothing from it. There are those who will choose death, explicitly in moments of despair or implicitly through their godless actions. It is for those people and that world that we should cry.

Station 7 – Jesus falls beneath His cross, the second time

"I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath; he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light. ...He has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes." -Lamentations 3:1-2,16

Jesus’ literal falls represent how man has fallen. We have fallen away from our Creator, fallen from that which we were made. We have debased ourselves—rolling around in the dirt of our sins. To reach us, Jesus becomes man and must lower himself. We don’t want to stand up or be lifted up. We want to stay on the ground and left to ourselves. We want to think we don’t need God. But he knows what we need. So he lowers himself, suffers mockery and abuse and pain, for from that point, he can raise up again, and lift humanity up with him.

Station 6 – Veronica wipes the face of Jesus

"You have said, 'Seek my face.' My heart says to you, 'Your face, Lord, do I seek.' Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Cast me not off, forsake me not, O God of my salvation." -Psalm 27:8-9

Veronica, or Bernice in the Greek tradition, performs an act of kindness on a day when so many have turned against or humiliated Jesus. She reaches out and offers to wipe his face. It won’t heal the whipped skin or lift the burden of the cross, but it offers a slight relief and a glimmer of dignity. She did not let the hate and chaos around her stop her from an act of charity. How often do I truly step out of my way or out of the crowd to perform an act of charity?

Under the sweat and blood, Veronica could see the face of God. Am I truly seeking the face of God, or am I hiding away in the crowd? Is fear and shame preventing me from searching for him, from looking up, from wiping away the sweat and blood of my hurting neighbors?

Station 5 – Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry the cross

"As they went out, they came upon a man of Cyrene, Simon by name; this man they compelled to carry his cross." -Matthew 27:32

For some reason, I thought Simon offered to carry the cross and the guards just let him, but that’s not so. They must have been slowed by the beaten, exhausted Jesus dragging the cross, so they compelled a passerby to carry it awhile. He was not part of any of this, just a man caught up by circumstance. He didn’t act out of devotion but out of obligation. And yet, his heart was changed through that act. Matthew notes that his children were Christians; this chance encounter, literally walking with Christ, stirred Simon’s heart and made him a believer. Under the weight of the cross he found God’s love.

Sometimes we aren’t motivated by love; sometimes our actions are products of circumstance and obligation. Yet they can still be done with love. They can still lead to Christ. Our sufferings can bring about unexpected joy and grace. Times of pain and persecution can compel to walk with Christ and carry our crosses, making us stronger than we expected.

Station 4 – Jesus meets his Blessed Mother

"Simon blessed them and said to Mary his mother: 'Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed.' And his mother kept all these things in her heart. -Luke 2:34-35,51

I can’t imagine the pain Mary felt watching her son suffer so. Simeon prophesied that a sword would pierce her heart, and while we extend the sorrow of Mary to her sorrow of watching over all the Church’s children, in that moment, it was the acute pain of a parent watching their child struggle and suffer and the agony of not being able to stop it. She stayed with him, offering what comfort she could: when he looked up, he could see his mother’s loving face. He was not suffering alone.

Spring Cleaning

It’s the second warm spell. Spring never comes just once here. The daffodils shot up in February, but I knew not to expect spring that time. There will be at least one more cold spell, maybe two, before the Southern heat crawls in. But it’s this spell where the grass starts growing, calling people out to their yards, raking and mowing. It’s planting season. It’s cleaning season.

Open the windows to let fresh air into a house that’s been closed up all winter. Scrub everything down and start afresh.

I’m currently listening to a lecture series on the Black Death. In some areas, a reason Jewish populations weren’t as hard hit while their Christian neighbors were was that during Passover, Jewish households completely cleaned house—not a grain of wheat kept. This deep cleaning to keep kosher also meant that rats (with plague-infested fleas) wouldn’t enter the home looking for crumbs and grain.

Lent is the time of spring cleaning of the soul. It’s time to open up our lives to God. Let the light in. Air out our homes with the wind of the Holy Spirit. It is only by letting God into every corner of our lives, shining light onto every dark thought and ill deed, can we truly expunge the grime of sin. Giving yourself over to Christ means giving all of yourself, not just an hour on Sundays and the disciplines you already have down, but the parts that really need work and mercy.

It is a necessary season. One grain left draws the rats in.

Station 3 – Jesus falls for the first time

"Surely he has born our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed. We all like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." -Isaiah 53:4-6

Jesus sets out to Calvary, although the journey started long before. It is a short walk, geographically, but it is the slow, final steps of his lifetime of service on earth. His body is exhausted from the tumultuous agony in the garden and the torture of the guards. The weight of the cross pushes him to the ground.

It had been a short but grueling life. How emotionally exhausting to see us humans try and fail, or not even try, to see us turn from God who loves us so profoundly. He knows us, he knows our sin, yet he continues in this pain and abasement out of love.

Station 2 – Jesus takes up the Cross

"They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on his head. They put a reed in his right hand and knelt before him and mocked him, saying, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. After mocking him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him." -Matthew 27:28-31

They mocked him. Ironically, they called him King of the Jews, gave him a robe and scepter and crown, and knelt before him. The king who was never honored as king. Then they stripped him and beat him. They mocked him and humiliated him; they had no respect for this man. 

How many people are mocked and bullied? How many are flippantly ignored and disrespected? How often have I been the one mocking another? We are all valuable. Every person deserves basic respect. Every person deserves to have their human dignity acknowledged instead of stripped away.

Station 1 – Jesus is condemned to death

"Pilate said to them, 'Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?' All of them said, 'Let him be crucified!' Then he asked, 'Why, what evil has he done?' But they shouted all the more, 'Let him be crucified!' ...So he released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified." -Matthew 27:22-23,26

We begin with Jesus’ sentencing. His fate is sealed. We know where this is going. Just days before the crowd greeted him with fanfare; now they call for his death. The mob is fickle. They want him to save them, but they have no loyalty to him. How often do I want something from God without giving anything?

Pilate sees an innocent man. He could do the right thing, but he is afraid of the mob. He knows what is right, but is too scared of disrupting his career to do it. How often do I choose the easiest path over the right one?

Jesus is condemned because no one stood up for the truth, no one in the crowd or to the crowd. Don’t wash your hands of evil matters. Don’t let fear trample you to silence. Don’t fade into a condemning crowd.

Via Dolorosa

With Lent beginning so late this year, I realized I had the time at work to develop a Lenten reflection. I wanted to help people focus on the spirituality of the season. So I focused on the Stations of the Cross as a seasonal practice. I had interviews of priests explaining what the stations are and why we pray them. I had footage of groups praying. I had numerous pictures of the stations in several churches. But with the recording and editing, I hadn’t actually taken the time to pause, reflect, and pray myself.

So, through Lent, I’d like to take the time to reflect on each station, inching toward to Calvary with Jesus.

The Stations of the Cross, or the Way of Suffering (Via Dolorosa), began with pilgrimages through the Via Dolorosa in the Holy Land, made by knights and pilgrims in the fourth century. After Jerusalem fell to Saladin in 1187, Franciscans were the first Christians allowed back in the city, establishing the Custody of the Holy Land in 1217. A few centuries later, Franciscans built outdoor replicas of the Way near their churches, in part because of their devotion to Jesus’ Passion and in part as a catechetical tool. The stations could number from 7-30, with different moments of the Passion replicated. 

In 1686 the Franciscans were allowed to have Stations inside their churches. In 1731, churches could have Stations if a Franciscan erected them. At this point, the number had settled on the traditionally seen 14. In 1862, bishops were allowed to erect Stations in their churches without Franciscan intervention. Now, it’s rare to find a Catholic church without the Stations circling the nave.

By praying the Stations, we enter into the story of Jesus’ Passion. We relate to the people he met. We relate to his suffering, his humanity. The Stations show us Christ who loved us through torture and death. They show us ourselves, in our repulsion of his suffering or our willingness to suffer with him. Ultimately, they prepare us for the coming the Resurrection.