The Seventh Station

Jesus Falls for the Second Time

We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.

Because by Your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

You prayed in the Garden for this cup to pass. Only for a moment did You imagine a different fate. Despite Your ultimate acceptance, the reality of this agony is great. Your mind and heart are strong, but Your body is weak. You fall for the second time. Who could fault You if this ground became Your resting place?

Whenever I lay down and slept,

The Lord preserved me to rise again.

I do not fear, then, thousands of people

Arrayed against me on every side.

(Psalm 3:6-7)

Ragged breath fills Your lungs. On trembling legs, You stand. Met with blows and beatings, pushes and shouts, You begin once more.

I have fallen again. Do I have the strength to stand? I am tired. Like so many of Your children Father, I am tired. There are a thousand reasons to let this be the end. Yet I know the one and only reason that it cannot be. You are calling me. Your loving embrace awaits. You are calling all Your children home. Giving up too soon would mean they would never know the fullness of Your plan and the comfort of Your love. I hear You Father, and I get up.

We pray. Heavenly Father, falling is a part of life. We fall as we begin to walk. We fall in love. We fall on hard times. We fall away from what is right. We fall into the wrong hands. We all know how to fall. The struggle is not in the falling, but in the rising and the moving forward. You call each of us to rise again and again. We are never lost to You. Help us not fear the pain, embarrassment, or humiliation that comes from falling. Remind us that even when we are down, You are beside us, taking our hand, and lifting us up.

Amen.

[excerpt from Stations of the Cross by Denise Hemrich-Skomer and Fr. Joachim Tyrtania. ©2009. Nihil Obstat: Charles McNamee, J.C.L. Censor Librorum. Imprimatur: Thomas G. Doran, D.D., J.C.D, Bishop of Rockford]