St. Apollonius the Apologist

Apollonius lived in second century Rome. He was a well-educated man and became a high ranking politician and philosopher. He rose to the rank of senator. He was outed as a Christian by one of his slaves to the Pretorian Prefect Perennius and brought before the Senate to defend himself.

It was expected that he would recant his faith, or at least give into the demands of Roman law and worship Roman gods. The first investigation was in front of Perennius, and three days later, the second investigation was in front of senators and jurists. Apollonius used the opportunity to, instead of recant or water down his faith, defend and preach it.

He defended his faith on the basis of beauty and truth. He refused to worship any gods but the one true God. He said he did not fear punishment or death, because there is no punishment in attaining eternity with God.

Apollonius was condemned to death. He was martyred in Rome on April 21, 185. His feast day is April 18. He is remembered for his great apologetics.

Station 14 – Jesus is laid in the Holy Sepulchre

"Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock; and he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, and departed. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the sepulchre." -Matthew 27:59-61

Now Jesus is shown dignity. In the hands of his friends, he is wrapped with myrrh and aloes in linen, according to custom, and laid in a new tomb, donated space from a wealthy friend. It is growing late, with the Sabbath approaching, so they must hurry to inter him.

The Body lies there, cold and motionless, marked by the wounds of his torture, swaddled in linen in a virgin tomb. It is still and dark. A pregnant pause.

Now we wait for resurrection.

Holy Week on Fire

Like many, I spent Monday afternoon watching fire ravage Notre Dame Cathedral. It captured the world’s attention. We felt attached to this old building over in France, even those of us who had no personal connection to it. Since when had we cared about Paris’s cathedral? Why did we care? And, yet, we did. We watched the fire spread and the smoke rise and the spire fall, and we mourned with the French at such a loss, even if we couldn’t quite explain why it hurt so much.

This was the beginning of Holy Week: an image of fire consuming a cathedral. What a dark way to start a dark week. Where will Paris celebrate its Chrism Mass, I wondered. Where will the cathedral parish celebrate Easter? Was the Eucharist saved? Was the Crown of Thorns? Was the art? It all seemed so hopeless.

Yet in the morning, the damage was assessed. The building survived, also with the Sacrament and the relics and the art. It will be a long time before Mass is said there again, but it will.

It’s a perfect start to Holy Week, because in the daylight, things aren’t so dark. Not all is lost. Jesus is captured and tortured and dies. It's scary and unjust, and we can't explain why it hurts so much. But in Easter morning we learn not all is lost. There is confusion and heartbreak, but once is disaster is over, there is hope.

Station 13 – Jesus is taken down from the cross

"When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe, and said, 'Truly this was the Son of God!' There were also many women there, looking on from afar, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him." -Matthew 27:54-55

The disciples and crowds are gone. A handful of faithful remain: the women, John, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus. A centurion keeping watch—a Gentile—see Jesus for who he truly is. A believer come too late, he thinks. It seems that it is all over. Why are they still there? They must be so sad, so broken, so confused. Grief is piercing their hearts and their minds are reeling. How could anyone understand this? Maybe some are doubting that he was the Son of God. Maybe they still believe but don’t know what to do next. What is not in doubt is that they love him. They do not leave. They remain until the end. They see that he is given a proper burial. Death does not defeat their devotion.

Station 12 – Jesus dies on the cross

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” That is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “This man is calling Elijah.” And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” And Jesus cried again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.” -Matthew 27:45-50,54

Jesus recites the beginning of Psalm 22. In the moment when it seems God is absent, Jesus declares God’s victory. God is overwhelmingly present. A cosmic event is taking place. He was born under the sign of light, an inexpiable star, and now he dies under the sign of darkness, an inexpiable eclipse. Darkness comes over the land in the middle of the day. The earth shakes. Creation is responding to the death of its God.

It seems all is lost, but it is not lost; it is given. Blood and water flows from the side of Jesus, a sign of baptism and Eucharist, of Jesus giving himself for us, in this moment and for the rest of eternity.

Station 11 – Jesus is nailed to the cross

And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus the King of the Jews.” Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right hand and one on the left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the Cross.” So also the chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the Cross and we will believe in him.” -Matthew 27:37-42

Jesus is nailed to the cross. For centuries hereafter, people will gaze at this image of pain and suffering. They will be repulsed, they will be saddened, they will be convicted, they will be comforted. Benedict XVI writes, “Let us halt before this image of pain, before the suffering Son of God. Let us look upon him at times of presumptuousness and pleasure, in order to learn to respect limits and to see the superficiality of all merely material goods. Let us look upon him at times of trial and tribulation, and realize that it is then that we are closest to God. Let us try to see his face in the people we might look down upon.”

Those witnessing this scene in the moment don’t understand. They want the Messiah to strike down empires, destroy and rebuild the Temple, save himself. They don’t understand the dying man they see before him. He looks weak. Yet looking back, we see his strength. He is not going to save himself. He is going to save all of us.

Station 10 – Jesus is stripped of His garments

"And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull), they offered him wine to drink, mingled with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots; then they sat down and kept watch over him there." -Matthew 27:33-36

In all societies, man is clothed in some form. To strip a man of his clothes is to debase him and remove him from society. He is fully exposed and fully outcast. The soldiers cast lots for his garments; he no longer has any possessions. They offer him wine, but it is mixed with something else, something bitter like myrrh. Often soldiers would put a poison in the wine to numb the prisoner; it would taste bitter but be a quicker death. Jesus did not choose the quicker death; he chose to experience the full suffering, the full humiliation, of crucifixion. Later, on the cross, he did take sour wine, which was wine and vinegar, bad tasting but not poisonous. He took on all the pain, all the debasement, all the sour of the world.

Station 9 – Jesus falls beneath His cross the third time

"The valiant one whose steps are guided by the Lord, who will delight in his way, May stumble, but he will never fall, for the Lord holds his hand." -Psalm 37:23-24

Three is a significant number, and the third fall is the hardest. Jesus has suffered immense humiliation and abuse, and that will not end on the cross. Jesus continues to fall, to suffer debasement at the hands of others, who in our current time, mock him and twist his teachings for evil means, who abuse others under the guise of his name, who profane him to elevate themselves.

He suffers under the weight of those who do not see the need for God’s grace, delighting in their hubris. He suffers under the weight of Church leaders driving believers away through abuse and mercilessness. He suffers under the weight of our pride and our sins and our petty complaints and our refusal to let God work in us.

Yet he also stands, and continues on, because despite our harden hearts, his love for us has no limits. He carries all that weight with him and offers us mercy and reconciliation. He stands ready to give even more.