Joint Project Commissariat of the Holy Land in Canada and Antennes de paix à Montréal
8th station
Station 9: Jesus falls for the third time
1st voice
“He emptied himself, taking the form of a slave… obediently accepting even death…” (Ph, 2, 8)
Every drop of strength is drained from Jesus. Totally exhausted, his whole body trembles. His mind is a blur; he cannot resist any more. He collapses.
2nd voice
There are those whose vulnerability is the persistent object of aggression, who become the target of those who seek only to make another suffer. Anyone can resist physical brutality or even emotional stress. Even when life hands out two crises at the same time, the human spirit is capable of resisting. But when the crises are multiple, when the pain inflicted is systematic and persistent, the suffering reaches beyond the point of resistance and people have no choice but to succumb. And yet, even then, the final word has not been said. In the collapse itself, their lives become an eloquent witness to the power of God’s loving embrace and a cry for reconciliation and peace.
3rd voice
Let us pray:
Jesus, you often invited your disciples to “fear not.” In those moments when we feel we cannot take another step, when we are at the point of caving in, you call us to become like you in love and so face those moments even when our whole being trembles. Amen.