Second Station

Under our covered parking

The Second Station:  Jesus Carries His Cross.

1. Jesus is made to carry the cross on which he will die.  It represents the weight of all our crosses.  What he must have felt as he first took it upon his shoulders!  With each step he enters more deeply into our human experience.  He walks in the path of human misery and suffering, and experiences its crushing weight.

2. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

3. I contemplate the wood of that cross.  I imagine how heavy it is.  I reflect upon all it means that Jesus is carrying it.
I look into his eyes.  It's all there.

4. This is for me.  So I place myself with him in this journey.  In its anguish.  In his freedom and surrender.  In the love that must fill his heart.
With sorrow and gratitude, I continue the journey.  Moved by the power of his love, I am drawn to him and express my love in the words that come to me.

5.  "Jesus said to all: 'Whoever wishes to be My follower must deny his very self, take up his cross each day, and follow in My steps." —Luke 9:23
"It is your privilege to take Christ's part — not only to believe in Him but also to suffer for Him." —Philippians 1:19
"I wish to know Christ and the power flowing from His resurrection; likewise to know how to share in His sufferings by being formed into the pattern of His death." —Philippians 3:10
"Even now I find my joy in the suffering I endured for you. In my own flesh I fill up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of His body, the Church." —Colossians 1:24
"It is for His kingdom you suffer." —2 Thessalonians 1:5
"Never be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for His sake; but with the strength which comes from God bear your share of the hardship which the gospel entails." —2 Timothy 1:8

Prayer: Jesus, I rejoice in the measure that I share Your sufferings (1 Pt 4:13).

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