Via Crucis 2006: Stations 3 & 4

Stations 3 & 4 are up at Via Crucis 2006.

From station 3 (Jesus falls for the 1st time) at ianua:

"Imagine the holiest, most perfect of beings, the one bigger than the stars, the planets, and all of space, encapsulated in human form, stumbling under the weight of the cross, gasping, and falling to the ground with a thud.

Imagine the silence that follows."

From Station 4 (Jesus meets his blessed mother) at sententiae et clamores:

"We have spent some time thinking about the suffering of Jesus on the way to Calvary. Human life, however, is never about the suffering of one person, and the cruel death of Jesus did not require only his resolve and capacity for faith in suffering. Mary, the handmaiden of the Lord, would too be pierced, forced to suffer the brutal murder of her son. The extraordinary faith of Mary made her not only an essential participant in the Incarnation, but made her a necessary participant in the Crucifixion as well. After Christ himself, the human being who most suffered in this drama of redemption was Mary, a mother given to all of us by Christ as he hung on the cross."

I'll be reflecting on "Station 5: Simon of Cyrene is Made to Bear the Cross" tomorrow, in a different vein from my sermon this Sunday, so check back if you can.