The Way of the Cross is a Door to the Divine Mercy of God as we meditate on the sorrowful passion of Christ. Truth of the Spirit with Patti Brunner offers you these moments of meditation on the Stations of the Cross.
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When Saint Helen visited the Holy Land, in the 4th century, she identified the places and events of the Way of the Cross. They lived in the hearts of the people as they walked the walk of remembrance and told their children’s children the stories that were told to them. Signs and wonders confirmed the Holy Places. The tales were then told across the channels and the ocean until many longed to stand where Jesus stood and walk where Jesus walked. The precious Walk of the Cross brought many to repentance and renewal of relationship with the Creator and with Jesus. In the 14th century a liturgy was developed to be shared, taught and practiced. The liturgy began so that those who could not make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land could still recall all the events of the Way of the Cross and, by meditating upon them, grow closer to God. This liturgy continues today to remind us of the steps of Christ, to remind us of the sacrifice, to remind us of the triumph over the very worst handed out by sin of the world as suffering.
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In the Diary of Divine Mercy #1572, Jesus asks us to try our best to make the Stations of the Cross in the third hour. At the hour of Divine Mercy we pray, “For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.” The Way of the Cross points out, underscores, makes evident that the life of Christ had a purpose more than that of a rabbi or a King. Jesus was those things, indeed, but his life had a much grander plan. As you walk the walk in your daily life, Christ walks with you. As you walk the walk of the Cross you are given the opportunity to walk with Him. Each passage, each stumble, each encounter along the way, points to the love Jesus shows to his Father for those whom the Father loves. We can take these moments and apply them to our own lives. We can apply them to the very history of mankind.
Welcome to Truth of the Spirit. I’m Patti Brunner. Join me now as we step into the way of the Cross-the Door to the Divine Mercy of God.
The Way of the Cross exhibits the hardships that are connected to sin. In this day, all of us seek an ease in work and living. The more ‘labor saving’ devices that are invented, the less time people seem to have. Jesus took no ‘short-cuts’ to bringing salvation to the world. His act of love was also an act of Divine Work.
I. The First Station of the Cross is the Condemnation of Jesus. For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
On the day we call Palm Sunday, Jesus seemed to enter Jerusalem in triumph, as the people shouted Hosanna! But the leaders of the Temple rejected Jesus as the Messiah. They denied truth. Jealousy and narrow-mindedness closed their eyes to the truth, including the scriptures that foreshadowed his coming.
But it wasn’t just the “powers that be” that rejected Jesus. One of the men in his “inner circle of friends”, Judas, his close friend, this person that had been with him through all the teaching, all the miracles, also rejected him. How about us? Have we rejected Jesus? Jesus knew that Judas was rejecting him. Jesus knew that the leaders were rejecting him. He knew that the people were rejecting him. But he chose to overcome rejection. Rejection is overcome by the Blood of the Lamb.
After Jesus finished the ritual of the Last Supper, the Passover, with his disciples, he left the upper room and walked through the city and out of the gates of the wall that protected the city. He crossed a small valley and climbed a hill to a grove of olive trees that is named the Garden of Gethsemane. As the soldiers moved into the garden, to arrest Jesus, fear caused the rest of Jesus’ close friends to run and hide and deny him, even those who accepted that Jesus was who He said He was. Ask yourself, “Does fear ever cause me to deny Jesus?” To forget how the goodness of God is in our lives?
After Jesus’ arrest, He was bound over for trial. Jesus was beaten severely. He was “scourged” at the pillar; scourging was another form of torture for criminals. This innocent Jesus was treated like a criminal as he took our sin upon himself. At any time, Jesus could have called down his angels to rescue him. He could have opened the earth to swallow up his captors. Instead, Jesus was obedient, obedient to the Father, obedient even unto death.
The crowds, who had followed Jesus, asking for healing and miracles, were now replaced by a mob who clamored for his death! Even as Jesus was being rejected by the temple leaders and his friends, now he is being rejected by strangers, he is rejected by government authorities. Pilate chose to condemn Christ to keep peace in Jerusalem to retain his personal power. How many governments today deny the power and peace of Jesus? While he was doing this, Jesus was accepting their sin and ours so as to overcome all rejection by the Blood of the Lamb.
The trial of Jesus shows that the judgement of the world—by those in clear authority and by us in our daily walk —can be wrong, wrong, wrong! How often do we misjudge the actions of others? His trial shows us that our leaders, who are meant to guard and guide us, can make judgments, choices, which are opposite to God’s way. The high priest, the king, and the prelate all used their personal opinion rather than wisdom. They had their concern on how events would immediately affect them rather than the true consequences of their actions. Jesus shows us how to keep going in the Way, even when those around us are making mistakes.
II. The Second Station of the Cross: Jesus Receives His Cross. For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
Jesus took upon himself the sin of the world. He also took the punishment of sin: suffering and death. Man’s first sin of disobedience, seems like a little sin—disobedience—but it was so huge that it separated man from God spiritually. That “not so little” sin has brought death and suffering into the human condition.
Jesus is alwaysshowing us the Way to freedom. He is showing us the way to life. Jesus picked up his cross; a cross formed by our sins, and carried it in public, to acknowledge the sin of the world and the suffering caused by sin.
2 Corinthians Chapter 5 verse 21 says, “* For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin,n so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.”
The infinity of your salvation met with time on the cross. The sins of the world – for all time – melted into its formation. This cross appeared to be made of natural material: the wood of the cross—the ‘tree’ of life; but know this, it was truly formed by the sin of man.
III. The Third Station of the Cross: Jesus Falls for the First Time. For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
What kept Jesus going? In spite of the intense pain? His obedience to the will of the Father! Romans chapter five, verse 19 says: “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous.” [Romans 5:19] Jesus substituted his obedience for our disobedience.
On the Way of the Cross Jesus Christ fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy of the suffering servant. Jesus, the suffering servant took the role of Cain, the role of Adam, thus the role of the sinner. Jesus, the suffering servant took the role of Isaac, the role of the Lamb, the role of the Sacrifice. Jesus humbled himself before the power of hell on earth and thus overcame that power by accepting obedience to the Will of God. Obedience unto death restored man’s relationship of trust, restored man’s connection, restored the kingdom on earth.
IV. The Fourth Station of the Cross: Jesus Meets His Mother. For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
Tradition tells us Christ met his mother on the way of the cross. Mary had been prepared for the cross, but how difficult it must have been for her to see her child suffering so. When Jesus as a baby was presented in the Temple, the prophet Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradictedl 35(and you yourself a sword will pierce)* so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” (Luke 2:34-35) Mary, the Mother of God, was surely drawn by love to comfort Jesus, to encourage him as he carried his cross through the crowds.
Just as the mother of Christ did not abandon her son, no matter how bad the circumstances, she will not abandon us. Time after time Our Lady appears to the world to bring compassion and encouragement to us with instructions to “pray in reparation for the ingratitude and outrages of so many men”, to offer “prayer, penance, and courageous sacrifices” to warn the faithful to amend their lives and to ask pardon for their sins.”
“Mother Church” will not abandon us either. History has shown us some ups and downs in the Church, but it is always there, it is always there ready to comfort us, to encourage us, to walk with us as we follow the Way of the Jesus.
V. The Fifth Station of the Cross: Simon Helps Jesus Carry The Cross. For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
Not many who were gathered that day to watch Jesus were there out of love. Some were curious; some probably just got caught up in the commotion. The Bible tells us that Simon of Cyrene happened to be passing by, coming in from the country. The Scripture explains to us that he was from a town in northern Africa. Did he stand out in the crowd because he his skin was a different color? Why was he there? Was Simon arriving for the Passover celebration? Or was he just at the wrong place at the right time? Simon was pressed into service, helping Jesus to carry the cross and Jesus accepted his help. Do we have to be forced into helping others? And, how do we accept help from those who don’t even know us?
One time I had a vision of a long line of intercessors who took brief turns with Simon of Cyrene helping Jesus carry the cross. It was their joy. And each one got back in line to help carry the cross again. As we offer our sufferings, prayer, penance, and courageous sacrifices, we join Simon at the way of the Cross.
VI. The Sixth Station of the Cross: Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus. For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
Jesus meeting Veronica is not in scripture but has long been known, as a station of the cross, in the tradition of the Catholic Church, the Christiantradition. Her boldness in approaching Jesus, to offer him comfort, stands alone as a shining example of the boldness Jesus calls us to, to address the needs of others, no matter how high the cost. The soldiers could have turned their fury and sadistic meanness on her. If she had weighed the consequences, logic probably would have told her to mind her own business. But Veronica’s love and servant’s heart won out. She stepped forward and offered her own veil for Jesus to use to wipe the blood from his eyes. And tradition tells us that, to honor her action, the Lord left an imprint of his face on her veil. How, too, the Lord wants to leave his imprint on us!
VII. The Seventh Station of the Cross: Jesus Falls the Second Time. For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
Following Jesus allows us to trust God enough that we can look past any current suffering. When we fall, we too can get up and keep going. When we suffer, we can keep going. We can trust God and keep going. Jesus kept going, Jesus kept going all the way to Calvary.
VIII. The Eighth Station of the Cross: Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem. For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
As Jesus walked the streets of Jerusalem, carrying the cross, he had several encounters. Most of them were with women. He met the crying women of Jerusalem. Scripture tells that that He spoke to them and told them to cry for themselves and their children—instead of him.
How often do we cry out in our emotion, when, if the truth be fully known, the circumstances would be totally different? How often do we just sit and cry about our situation that seems hopeless, instead of asking God to help us? To help us to see the good that will come from it, and praising him for allowing us to get through it, covered in grace.
We have the crying women, Veronica, Mother Mary, and the African Simon: What does Jesus teach us through each of these encounters? Each of these encounters reveals that even in the midst of suffering, we are not alone, we are encouraged by the Lord and receive help. We are not alone. We receive his compassion. We receive compassion from others. But the journey continues, even as we are joined by others.
IX. The Ninth Station of the Cross: Jesus Falls the Third Time. For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
You know, Jesus fell several times. Scripture doesn’t talk about the falling but in our liturgical Stations of the Cross we relate three times. Saints who have had visions of the moment say he fell at least seven times. But the important thing is that each time, each time he had the opportunity to ‘call it off’ but he didn’t, he kept going. Jesus got up. He got up to endure my sin, your sin, each man’s sin; suffering so that, once and for all, death–eternal death–could be overcome.
X. The Tenth Station of the Cross: Jesus is Stripped of His Clothing. For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
In Genesis chapter 3, after Adam sinned, he hid from God because he was naked. By the obedience of Jesus unto death, Jesus became the substitution for Adam and all sinners. He became our “stand-in”. He allowed himself to be the offering, the atonement, for our sin. And so he allowed the soldiers to strip away the protection of even his clothing. The clothing had stuck to his wounds. How we complain when a little Band-Aid is removed! By his wounds we are healed!
Eternal Father, we offer you the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and the sins of the whole world!
XI. The Eleventh Station of the Cross: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross. For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
Death on a cross was the ‘ordinary’ death, or way to execute criminals, during the time of Christ. It was painful and shameful. It very publicly displayed your crime; it was a punishing tool of fear to discourage crime against the Romans. However, in the Old Testament, God revealed the power that would come from this death on the cross that was so fearful, when He directed the actions of Moses to foreshadow it. Moses lived about 1200 years before the crucifixion.
Moses brought “about six hundred thousand men”, plus their families, on foot out of Egypt. Exodus 12:37 At first they were glad to be free from slavery, but over and over they forgot God’s mighty works and they started complaining. They couldn’t remember that God loved them; they did not trust God anymore. Then they ran into an area infested with deadly snakes. People were dying left and right as they were bitten by these snakes! Moses, who did trust God, repented to God for all their complaining and asked for relief. That’s when God told Moses to make a bronze model of the snake, mount it on a pole, and raise it up high so everyone who had been bitten by a deadly snake could look at it. Probably the last thing these people wanted to look at was a model of the snake of death, but as the people would look at this scary image, they would get well!
Jesus explains to us, in the Gospel of John, that, just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so too must Jesus, himself, be lifted up, on his pole, the cross. Today, as the crucifix is displayed for all to see the Jesus on the cross, the foreshadowing voice of Moses echoes through the ages, telling us: Look upon that thing which we fear most. Look at the cross to see death, see the suffering and no longer be afraid of either. As we join Jesus in accepting the cross, death and suffering is overcome; they no longer have ‘power’ over us. We are set free.
Jesus I trust in You!
XII. The Twelfth Station of the Cross: Jesus Dies. For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
We must understand that Jesus died for us. Jesus took our sins to Calvary. And Jesus saw our faces as he prayed at the garden. The world has glossed over the sin that was his burden. Like superman with kryptonite only the exposure to the sin of the world covered Jesus’ power and life. He freely exposed his heart to our sin and carried it within his heart because He carried each of us in his heart in love.
The redemptive graces that flow from the sacrificial nature of death on that cross has brought salvation to all generations – to all mankind. Jesus endured each man’s sin–suffering so that once and for all death–eternal death–could be overcome.
Scripture tells us that as Christ died, the curtain in the temple was “rent.” It was torn top to bottom. Now, this curtain was the curtain that was hung to separate the most sacred section of the temple, called the Holy of Holies from the outer ministering area of the temple. This area of the temple could only be entered by the High Priest, once a year, on the Feast of Atonement. Originally, this section, this Holy of Holies, housed the Ark of the Covenant that held the Ten Commandments that were first issued to Moses. At the time of Christ, the Ark, itself, was long gone but the veil remained, as a symbolic barrier between the divine God and the common man. As Jesus completed his goal to rejoin us with the Father, the ripping of the thick curtain signified the end of the barrier. One man’s sin separated us from God; one man’s obedience reconnected us.
Why did Jesus have to die? His death conquered sin. His death brought life. The obedience of Jesus, even unto death on the cross, tore apart the barrier caused by sin. Obedience unto death restored the kingdom on earth; his obedience restored man’s connection. Jesus, the Man, reconnected man to God, and his obedience restored man’s relationship of trust.
XIII. The Thirteenth Station of the Cross: Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross. For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
St. Gregory of Nyssa, one of the early Church Fathers, teaches us that Jesus Christ became “in his person, the meeting place for death and life”. [CCC 625] Isn’t that beautiful! That Jesus Christ in his body, in his person, in his humanness, in his Godliness, became the meeting place for death and life.
As his Mother conceived the body of her son in life, she received his sacred body in the death that brought the fullness of life to all mankind.
XIV. The Fourteenth Station of the Cross: Jesus is Laid in the Tomb. For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
After Jesus was taken down from the cross, his body was placed in the tomb. There is no doubt that he was dead. The tomb was sealed and the Roman officials sent guards to stand watch. Placing the corpse into the tomb reminds us that this life is fleeting; it is given up to the Father to be surrendered—totally and completely. Eternal Father, we offer you the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and the sins of the whole world!
You’ve been listening to Truth of the Spirit, I’m Patti Brunner. We invite you subscribe to our podcast and free YouTube channel. And then, come back for more. With the Holy Spirit there’s always more! Amen.
Sacred Scriptures[i]
[i] Genesis 3 10He answered, “I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 * For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin,n so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.
Luke 2: 34 Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradictedl 35(and you yourself a sword will pierce)* so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
