Second Station - Jesus Carries His Cross

As I have mentioned before (when i recite alone), I like to take a few mintues to contemplate each word of the station before moving forward.

Jesus - Lord, friend, Son, Savior, King

Carries - Holds, endures, heavy, hauls, takes on

HIs - possession, belongs, ownership

Cross - burden, torture, baggage, pain, means to an end

We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.

Because by you holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Pr.: And Pilate said to the Jews , "Behold , your king! " But they cried out , "Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him! " Pilate said to them , "Shall I crucify your king? " The chief priest s answered , "We have no king but Caesar. " Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. And so they took Jesus and led him away, bearing the cross for himself. (John 19, 14 to 17)

(KNEEL AND PAUSE) All: Who would believe what we have heard? / To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed ? / He grew up like a sapling before him , like a shoot from the parched earth; / there was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him, / no appearance that would attract us to him. / He was rejected and avoided by men, / a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity, / one of those from whom men turn away, / and we held him in no esteem. (Is 53, 1 to 3)

There is so much here..... Am I guilty .of external bias? Meaning, do I tend to listen more to those who are pretty? Do the words of those who speak well or "cool" impress on me more than the words from someone who does not have the gift of smooth words? Do I avoid those who are lame, sick, or mentally ill? Do I reject those who are "different?" I can say that I have been guilty of all those during my life. I wonder what life would be like for Jesus if he came into the present day. How would we treat Him in person - on social media!?! What a crooked and wretched race we are - that term still holds strong today. Lord, help me to see Jesus in every brother and sister. Lord, with the help of St. Francis, let me find the bitter sweet love of the leper!

Pr.: Let us pray. Father in heaven, your Son, Jesus Christ, still carries his Cross in his persecuted brothers throughout the world. Make us feel the needs of all men so that we might as readily help them as we would help Jesus himself. Amen

Retrieved from:

Celestine J. Damiano, D.D

Archbishop-Bishop of Camden

October 15, 1965