He's condemned to give up everything: friends, Mary, His mother, condemned to give up all and forever. (So Pilate and many of the ruling Jewish class believed.)

Today many of us feel that we have been condemned - condemned by world events, condemned by an illness we cannot see.

We feel we have been condemned to a life so different than we are use to, a life bereft of contact and joy.

BUT NO

This is not true. In Christ's condemnation we do not find death and isolation but HOPE and SALVATION. Christ accepted His sentence of death knowing that it was an act of charity, not for Himself but for US.

Let us see in our restrictions a positive and true link with Christ. We share in being forced to accept things beyond our control. But we can control our passion, our charity, our mind and our will.

Christ accepted His tomorrow, may we accept our current state for a stronger faith in Christ today.

Many people think that falling and getting up was the hardest.
I’m not so sure, as I stand here looking at the cross,
my burden, my weight, my death.
Being forced to pick up a burden I know that will
cause me unimaginable pain. 
I do pick it up but not for me.
Like my condemnation I pick it up for you.
For each step I must take, I take for you
so you maybe able to go the extra step for each other.
 
The crosses you must carry, and we all do,
are often forced upon us, rarely do we seek them out.
By accepting MY cross,
I shoulder crosses you never have to bear.
The cross of doubt
The cross of fear
The cross of feeling alone.
 
For every cross you carry
I CARRY IT WITH YOU
 
For every cross forced upon you
I WILL HELP YOU PICK IT UP

Wow that came quicker than expected,
just one station after picking up my means of torture and death.
I did not plan on falling, not at least this soon.
Yes I have been beaten, whipped and had this thorny crown placed on my head.  
But to fall so soon.

How may of us fall sooner than expected?  How many of our Lenten promises have we let fallen just because of the hardships placed on our shoulders?  Have we fallen due to lack of strength, lack of will or have we just given up?

I have fallen, yes, but I get back up again to show you that you can too.  
I get back up again not for me but you.  
During this way of the cross you will see and hopefully understand all I do is for you.
If you have fallen this Lenten season, get back up again and continue.
Just because you fall does not mean you start over, you just start again, like I did.
If your Lenten promises have fallen into disrepair pick them up and carry on.
Yes this time of trial has actually given us an opportunity to understand a little more deeply the sacrifices we are called to this Lenten season.

Sacrifices meant to strengthen not weaken.
Sacrifices meant to give encouragement, not breed despair.  
Sacrifices that lead to a greater life of dignity, our family and our Faith.

As I rise from my fall, I take a step only to encounter
the woman whose sacrifice gave birth to the
Son of God.

She was told soon after my birth that a sword would
pierce her side
and she would be the cause of concern for all nations.

Now we just share in each other’s eyes.
Now we both seek comfort in each other’s face.
Now we both look to bring each other strength. 
Now we look to reassure each other’s Hope.
Now we simply Love.

For Love is the greatest gift
and I find this in my Mother, who loved me
before I picked up this cross,
A mother of love, when she encouraged me to
start my ministry at that wedding in Cana.

A mother who loved me, the moment
the Angel appeared to her.
A mother whose love overcame fear.

You too have people around you in this trying time
to bring out in you gifts that you may not know you
even had or possessed.

Look to those around you when you are weak,
feel alone or are afraid,
and you will find peace and return it all the same.

Yes I am struggling; the balance of my whole world is gone.
With the weight of the Cross
the weight of You on my shoulders
each step becomes more difficult.
 
Simon then steps into help.
He does not do this on his own, the Romans force him to.
No clue as to who I am,
no idea where this road will lead
(For he only thinks that it leads to death.)
 
You are my Simon now, all of you.
You help in carrying my cross in what may seem like 
A very strange way, by distance and separation.
 
But by distance and separation I can help lift the cross of fear.
By distance and separation I can lift the weight of this time.
 
Distance and separation does not mean absence of contact.
Simon does not touch me, only my cross.
I know he is there.
 
During this Lent, yes the Crosses we help lift might not seem like any
cross we are used to too.
But remember the words of Pope John Paul the First.
 
“Any cross that does not have my body nailed to it, is to heavy for anyone to carry”
I thank you for carrying my cross, the cross you find in your family, your friends and like Simon, the stranger.

A woman approaches, unlike Simon,
she comes to me on her own free will.

She is not imposing, nor threating in any way.
She is just determined.
She is courageous.
She is wonderful.

Simon in helping to carry my cross helps me physically.
This woman, Veronica, reaches out to care for my soul.
She wipes my face with a rag of cool water.
The same water that will flow from my side for you.

She, like those who care for the sick today,
she goes beyond her fears
to look after the stranger.

She goes beyond the chaos
in order to bring peace.

She goes beyond weakness
in order to restore courage.

Like Veronica, we can provide aid, comfort, and peace,
hope, strength, and love.

We can during this time, provide aid not just for the body
but let us also provide aid for the soul and meaning to our faith.

I hear Veronica gasp and feel Simon struggle to balance
and before I know it, I have fallen again.
Unlike the first time I fell
I know why this time.

The recent days have caught up with me.
The past three years of reaching out to the Father’s children
have taken their toll.
33 years of life and now I’m halfway to my death.

It takes longer to get up this time.
Even Simon has trouble helping me, but he finds away.
But I rely on the Spirit’s strength, the Spirit’s gifts
of courage, wisdom and understanding.

Courage to look at the ground and cross staring
me in the face and not to blink.
Wisdom to see God’s plan beyond my wants.
Understanding of why I am called to carrying this cross and you

With these gifts and all the gifts of the Spirit
I am able to stand and proceed once more.
With your help, along with Simon,
I am able to go on to the point where I must open my arms for all.

Some people give up after one fall; more after the second but this must not be the case with you. For if you fall one, two, three times, use the gifts the Spirit gave you in Baptism and Confirmation to carry on. They’re there for a reason.

I still feel the last fall; my elbows and knees are on fire.
The crown of thorns digs ever more in my head,
this weight of tree pressing more with each step.

But I hear a cry, no more than one.
A group of women share tears as I enter their sight.
They clutch their children tightly around their skirts.
Their pain, the weight of this moment seems
to mirror mine.

Unlike Veronica they cannot approach, so I approach them.
Even with all the anguish, suffering and pain,
I can still tend to their needs.
I can still provide hope and focus to their faith.

I tried to teach Peter this when he refused to have his feet
washed on Thursday, only to have his eyes open and allow me.

There will always be some among you who cannot bear
this pain, weight, doubt and chaos.
There will be always some among you who you can reach out too.

There will always be someone around you
who simply needs YOU.

A call, or contact through today’s technology
can work miracles.

I went out of my way for you
cannot you do the same?

Like lead I hit the ground without warning.
But something is different,
not with me but Simon.
 
The man forced to help me
The man forced to carry my cross did so out of fear.
But now it is different,
He not only tries to help me stand,
but stands between the Roman whose whip is raised in anger
 
The man of reluctance has turned onto
a man of compassion and courage.
Was this fall for him to recognize the conversion of his soul?
 
This fall is indeed for him and for you.
Simon began to share in my trust, my hope and
my faith in God’s plan. 
 
My hope is that you too have seen yourself
grow with each station, each step.  Acknowledging
the love I have for you and the love you should have for each other.
 
This fall is about trust.
I trust God to give me the strength to get up.
I trust you to rely on me during your fall,
I have been there with you.
 
I ask you to trust as Mary did when she lifted my cross at birth,
and long before I started on this journey.

I hear them laugh, and make fun of me.

They toss dice, playing a game,
just to see who gets what remains of my garments.
Just like in Pilot’s courtyard and the crown of thorns
they mock me, try to strip me of dignity.

They can try all they want,
they don’t understand, for they are of this world,
I am from above.

My dignity does not come from what people
think of me, how people see me
or even in the number of people who like me.
For they do not see, as St. Paul says, see with eyes of faith.

My dignity cannot be stolen or stripped from me,
for my dignity does not come from me.
My dignity comes from God and God alone.
Just as I come from God and not from this world.

I come from God and in fact am still with Him.
You come from God too, for you are
created in His image and His image alone.
And no one can steal from God or take what is His.

Your dignity comes not from others,
if so you would find life impossible for there will
be always someone out there who wants to dislike you,
make fun of you, strip you. This is pride and pride
leads to ego, hate and selfishness.

Dignity frees and creates charity and generosity.

I cannot begin to tell you the pain.

I cannot describe the agony.
But I am sure you can feel it too.

The pain starts even before the nail is struck,
it starts with the anticipation of the hammer being lifted.

Believe it or not the pain is manageable.
Why?
Because I chose it, chose it for my Father and for you.

Like pain that comes with a workout, or with sports
maybe even with work.
I chose this pain because I know it will not just affect me
But you and yours forever and not just forty days.

The pain that invades me now is a promise
that I will be with you when you face the same
pain and agony.

Yes my pain is overwhelming but it does not
overwhelm my Passion.
It gives it more meaning, more purpose, more Hope.

Yes these are painful times for you and the ones you Love.
But you can turn the table on this pain
by linking your discomfort to mine, reach out
and embrace my Passion as yours.

PLEASE KNEEL

I believe in God,
The Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,

Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
He descended in to hell:
On the third day he rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there He will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.
Amen

For many, this is hardest Station to witness.
It is not easy to watch the soldiers manhandle
the cross with my corpus upon it.
My mother cringes.
 
She reaches out for me,
just a silent tear upon her cheek,
no words need be spoken.
 
She reaches out with the arms that cradled me as a child.
She holds me with a tenderness that surpasses that.
She embraces me knowing this is not the last time
she will see me, embrace me, and glory in me.
 
She has not given into the doubt, the pain, and chaos
and anger of this time.
She rather has let this passion of mine
increase the love, the tenderness, and compassion
my Father saw in her throughout time.
 
You too can turn this time into a season of hope.
You too can look around you and see people whose lives are
 up-ended and riddled with pain.
 
Like my mother you can use this time to understand just how many gifts my Father has given you to combat this, overcome this and bring hope to this.
 
You too have the same arms as my mother.
You too can lift those around you with arms of compassion,
arms of love and arms of untold strength.

For thirteen steps you have followed me.
For thirteen steps you struggled with me.
For thirteen steps you have fallen and gotten back up with me.
 
In my weakness have you found strength?
In my falling have you found a way to help others get back up?
In carrying my cross have you found
the courage to help others carry theirs?
 
Now I face rest and the peace of the tomb,
knowing that this is not the end,
you know this is not the end but the beginning.
 
My life’s work, while walking this world may seem
to be done, but it is not.
This rock, that they believe seals me in, is nothing.
 
Yes at times it is hard to discern my Father’s will,
but that does not mean it is impossible.
Just because it is hard to follow my Father’s
will, does not mean you can’t.
 
My mother did, I did though my passion
and death on the cross.
YOU did as you walked with me.
 
I have not abandoned you, far from it,
I have imparted my passion to you, so that
You may become a passion for someone in your life.
 
The death of the life we have grown comfortable with
is no more.   Fine!  I know I can rise above it!