"The Way of the Cross" V11

The Seventh Station of the Cross



JESUS FALLS FOR THE SECOND TIME

For Christ did not please himself;
but, as it is written,
"The insults of those who insult you
fall upon me."
Romans 15:3
****

He was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins;
upon him was the punishment that makes us whole.
The Lord took upon himself
the guilt of us all.
By his cross we are healed.

   

"The Way of the Cross" V1

  The Sixth Station of the Cross
 
VERONICA WIPES THE FACE OF JESUS

"Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger, and welcome you,
or naked, and clothe you? Or when
did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you?"
And answering the king will say to them,
"Amen, I say to you,
as long as you did it for one of these, 
the least of my brethren,
you did it for me."
Matthew 25:37-40
****

Now Jesus is worn out by his suffering.
He is scorned and rejected.
His appearance is that of one tortured beyond human endurance.
 And yet he is fairer than all the sons of men,
and by his wounds we are healed.

"The Way of the Cross" V

The Fifth Station of the Cross

SIMON OF CYRENE HELPS JESUS CARRY HIS CROSS

As they led him away they took hold
of a certain Simon, a Cyrenian,
who was coming in from the country;
and after laying the cross on him,
they made him carry it behind Jesus.
Luke 23:26
****

O God of grace and might,
 accept our prayers and sacrifices,
and be moved to
have mercy on us.
Strengthen us in our weakness
so that our rebellious will may
yield to your divine will in all things.
This we ask of you, through
Christ our Lord.
Amen.

"The Way of the Cross" 1V

The Fourth Station of the Cross

JESUS MEETS HIS MOTHER

Now there were standing by the cross of Jesus
his mother and his mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas,
and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus, therefore. saw his
mother and the disciple standing by, whom he loved,
he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son." 
Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother."
And from that hour the disciple took her into his house.
John 19:25-27
****

To what shall I compare you? Or to what shall
I liken you, virgin daughter of Jerusalem?
For great as the sea is your distress.
O Mother of mercy,
grant that we may always realize in ourselves
the death of Jesus
 and share with him in his saving passion.

   

"The Way of the Cross" 111

The Third Station of the Cross

JESUS FALLS FOR THE FIRST TIME

They began to salute him with, "Hail, King of the Jews!"
and kept striking his head with a reed and
spitting upon him...
Mark 15:18-19
****

Consider the first fall of Jesus. Loss of blood
from the scourging and crowning with thorns
had so weakened him that he could hardly
walk; and yet he had to carry that great load upon
his shoulders. As the soldiers struck him cruelly, he fell
several times under the heavy cross.

   

**Our Lord's Passion is often referred to as "The Way of the Cross"
and is a devotional mediation on the final steps of Jesus Christ. Though several of the stations (such as the three falls of Jesus) are not found in the Gospel, the origin of "The Way" may be traced to the Holy Land and has been used as a means of prayerful devotion to our Lord for centuries. "The Sorrowful Way" was begun as a desire to retrace the steps to Calvary while remembering Christ's purest sacrifice for our sins.

"The Way of the Cross" 11

The Second Station of the Cross

JESUS IS LADEN WITH THE CROSS

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 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 19:14-17

"The Way of the Cross" 1

The First Station of the Cross
   

JESUS IS CONDEMNED TO DEATH

Again the high priest began to ask him, and said to him,
"Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?"
And Jesus said to him, 
"I am.
 And you shall see the Son of Man 
sitting at the right hand of the Power
 and coming with the clouds of heaven."
But the high priest tore his garments and said,
"What further need have we of witnesses?
You have heard the blasphemy.
What do you think?"
And they all condemned him as liable to death.
Mark 14:61-64

P.S. Recently I decided to take pictures of all the Stations of the Cross at church. This proved to be quite an undertaking as I am really just a point and shoot photographer...no real skills at all!

I found out quickly that it was going to be impossible to capture the depth of our Lord's Passion through my camera lens. 

But I continued on my mission...realizing that

 what started as a simple idea had became a wonderful challenge! Over the course of several weeks I took hundreds of pictures from many angles and heights... back and forth to church taking picture after picture! No, I never caught the depth of Christ's sacrifice through my lens, but for this Easter season, 

I would like to share my work with you...

one Station at a time over the next fourteen days.

**Also, each of the Stations pictured were refurbished by 

Mr. Carver Gordon, a devout member of 

Annunciation of Our Lord Catholic Church.