Stations of the Cross

Jesus is Condemned to Death

Matthew 27: 19-26

Pilate has just read my death sentence.  I am to die on the cross.  Should I rebel against Pilate?  How can I do that?  Pilate is not my enemy.  He is an envoy of my Father and the voice of my human destiny…

Pilate told me when and how I would die.  You may not get that blessing.  You won’t have a Pilate to tell you the place, the time or the circumstances of your death.  Yet you stand condemned to death as surely as I was.  You were destined to die the moment you were conceived.  That is part of being human.

Do you think of that very often?  If you thought about your death, you could see more clearly that some of the things you are most obsessed with are the least important.  Even goals that seem worthwhile wouldn’t seem nearly so important if you think of death.  You surely would not be so worried about money, clothes, cars and careers.  These things don’t make you precious.  These things won’t help you when your time to die comes.

I remind you of this not because my Father and I want you to be fearful of your future.  Living in fear of death isn’t what I want for you.  I remind you of your death to help you live fully and freely as my brothers and sisters, as sons and daughters of my Father.  In my death and resurrection you will receive the power to do that.

*Cross Examinations: Stations of the Cross
by James E. Adams
Copyright 1998 by Creative Communications for the Parish, a division of Bayard, Inc.
Used by permission.

Our Father

Our Father, Who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name;
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace.
Our Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Glory Be

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was, in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Jesus Is Made To Carry His Cross

John 19:16-17

My instrument of suffering and death has been thrust on me.  Should I curse this heavy timber and those who laid it on me?  No.  The cross is neither bad nor good.  My response alone determines whether it will be redemptive or destructive, helpful or worthless…

You also must carry the instruments of your own suffering and death.  You were born with defects that you may control but never abolish.  You have fatal flaws that cause pain and suffering for yourself and others.  You want to be kind, patient, and understanding, but at times you find yourself mean, short-tempered and cynical.  Yet you must not curse yourself or your limitations.  That becomes like quicksand pulling you down lower and lower.

My cross did not come only from Pilate or from the Roman soldiers.  Ultimately, my cross came when I took on my Father’s work and became human.  Your crosses are much the same.  They are your credentials for being human.  The question is not whether life brings crosses, but rather your response to them.

I embraced my humanity.  You must embrace your humanity.  Resisting crosses leads to self-hatred, hatred of others, and bitterness.  Some woods are stronger than steel because they bend.  Learn to bend.  Learn the wisdom of triumphing through your crosses rather than in spite of them.

*Cross Examinations: Stations of the Cross
by James E. Adams
Copyright 1998 by Creative Communications for the Parish, a division of Bayard, Inc.
Used by permission.

Our Father

Our Father, Who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name;
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace.
Our Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Glory Be

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was, in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Jesus Falls The First Time

Isaiah 53:1-3

I have just fallen flat on my face.  I tried to avoid it.  I wanted to stay on my feet all the way to Calvary.  I wonder if I fell partly because I was trying too hard to keep from falling…

You can learn something from my fall.  You also will fall if you try too hard to succeed all by yourself.  I was so wrapped up in my efforts that I forgot to let my Father guide me.  I forgot for an instant to let my Father work through me, to let him guide my next step.

You are often tempted to take on more than you can do well.  Or to take on goals that, however worthy in theory, may not be right for you or may be undertaken for inferior reasons.  Isn’t this how it often happens in life?  …you decide what you want and then you say to yourself: I am going to achieve this goal, and when I succeed, even God will have to be impressed!

You do not need successes to get my Father’s attention.  When you succeed, it is because of his grace anyway.  So what you would be holding up as yours is really his already.  My Father wants you, not your successes.

In all you undertake, go first to him in prayer and ask what he wants.  Try to learn my Father’s will for you.  Then, when you go to work, open your heart to him and let him work in and through you.

*Cross Examinations: Stations of the Cross
by James E. Adams
Copyright 1998 by Creative Communications for the Parish, a division of Bayard, Inc.
Used by permission.

Our Father

Our Father, Who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name;
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace.
Our Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Glory Be

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was, in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Jesus Meets His Sorrowful Mother

Lamentations 1:12

I have just seen my mother Mary.  I wished that she and I could have been spared that meeting, which was painful.  Was I trying to hide this final agony from her, thinking she might not be strong enough for it? …

Do you tend to avoid your loved ones, and they you, in times of crisis?  Some spend a lifetime shielding their deepest selves from their mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, sons and daughters.  In the end, this will fail, because your death has a way of exposing your weakness to your loved ones as nothing in life could.

Why wait until death or desperation to “meet” your loved ones?  While you have the opportunities now, share with them the aspirations, joys, fears and troubles that are most significant to you, the things that can help them understand you better.

No matter how often you open yourself to them, especially in crises, it won’t be easy.  I know about that.  You want them to see you at your best, just as I wanted my mother to see me only at my best.  I didn’t want her to see me so helpless.  I was underestimating her and losing sight of my Father’s grace.  Just as he gives you the grace to face loved ones when all hope seems lost, so he gives them the grace to cope not only with your pain but their own as well.

*Cross Examinations: Stations of the Cross
by James E. Adams
Copyright 1998 by Creative Communications for the Parish, a division of Bayard, Inc.
Used by permission.

Our Father

Our Father, Who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name;
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace.
Our Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Glory Be

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was, in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Simon Of Cyrene Helps Jesus Carry His Cross

Luke 23:26

I felt badly for Simon of Cyrene.  He had no way of preparing for what happened.  He was a farmhand coming in from the fields when he was made to carry my cross.  I overheard him complain to himself, “Why me?” …

Be careful not to condemn Simon.  You would have been startled, reluctant and bitter, too, if you had been in his shoes!

You must learn, as Simon learned, that life is not just or fair – and not even predictable.  Often life seems downright arbitrary.  You also will be startled by crosses thrust upon you when you least expect them.  When that happens, my Father and I will not hold against you your reflexive cry of “Why me?”  But you must quickly move beyond that to prayerful acceptance.  You must not spend your life looking for “reasons” for your crosses.  You may never know until after your death.

Learn this from Simon’s plight.  My Father uses anything and anyone to accomplish salvation.  He used Simon, so Simon could be said to have done the will of my Father.  But that alone doesn’t make one holy, because holiness is willing what my Father wills, wanting what he wants, accepting it and embracing it and making it one’s own.

Only you in the depths of your freedom can do that.

*Cross Examinations: Stations of the Cross
by James E. Adams
Copyright 1998 by Creative Communications for the Parish, a division of Bayard, Inc.
Used by permission.

Our Father

Our Father, Who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name;
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace.
Our Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Glory Be

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was, in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Veronica Wipes The Face Of Jesus

Psalm 17:15

I am grateful to Veronica for wiping the blood, sweat and dirt from my eyes.  She had not been as close to me in life as others, but she responded when I needed an act of kindness.  She was the last person in my earthly life to touch me in a gentle act of mercy…

You never know when an act of kindness you do will be the last one a person experiences.  So you should regard every opportunity for kindness as an act that may well last an eternity.  Think of that when you catch yourself saying you’re too busy to help others.

This single act of kindness toward me should not be considered in isolation.  Kindness is catching.  Kindness begets kindness.  Kindness is learned.  Do you think Veronica was the one who just happened to be at the right place at the right time for this one celebrated act of kindness?  No.  She had spent a lifetime learning to be gentle.  My face wasn’t the first – or the last – that she soothed.  You, too, cannot expect to be gentle in a crisis unless you have practiced gentleness so often that it starts to become almost natural.

Would you have wiped my face?  How can you say you would have done so if you had ignored a thousand troubled faces before you ever saw my face?

*Cross Examinations: Stations of the Cross
by James E. Adams
Copyright 1998 by Creative Communications for the Parish, a division of Bayard, Inc.
Used by permission.

Our Father

Our Father, Who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name;
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace.
Our Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Glory Be

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was, in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Jesus Falls The Second Time

Isaiah 53:4-6

I had wanted to pace myself better to make it to Calvary without another fall.  But I tripped.  I’m not sure how.  Maybe it was a loose cobblestone, a rock I stubbed my foot on or a wet spot that was too slick…

This fall shows me up for being human as nothing else on my way to Calvary.  I had enough strength and presence of mind to avoid it.  Why did I fall?  I think I was lulled into a momentary lapse.  Simon had eased my burden.  Veronica had soothed my sweaty face.  A soft breeze had cooled my body.  What flashed in my mind was that these fleeting strokes of good fortune meant I could somehow bypass the rest of the journey.  Before I even recognized that as a temptation, I fell.

I smiled; the only time I remember smiling on my way to crucifixion.  I smiled because I recognized how deeply I was like other people in being tempted not to drink fully the cup my Father wanted me to drink.

There’s a profound lesson here for you in your journey.  Momentary good fortune does not mean the struggle is over.  If things are looking rosy, be careful.  You may be about to fall all the harder.  Both good and bad are fleeting.  Do not count on good times in this life.  Count on nothing except the gifts of faith and hope from my Father.

*Cross Examinations: Stations of the Cross
by James E. Adams
Copyright 1998 by Creative Communications for the Parish, a division of Bayard, Inc.
Used by permission.

Our Father

Our Father, Who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name;
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace.
Our Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Glory Be

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was, in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

The Women Of Jerusalem Weep Over Jesus

Luke 23:27-31

Why wasn’t I more understanding with these weeping women, who, after all, seemed to be showing me sympathy?  Instead of graciously accepting their show of concern, I turned on them with the seemingly harsh words: “Don’t weep for me, weep for yourselves and your children.” …

I was not condemning these women for their public display, but I spoke harshly to them because I wanted them to be more aware of what they were doing.  I was harsh because these women were part of a great multitude of curiosity seekers who had turned out to watch an execution.  Remember that these women were engaged in a kind of formal religious practice of mourning and lamenting for the dead or condemned.  They were weeping for the sake of weeping.  They were weeping out of a rote religious duty without knowing me.

I do not desire religious practice for its own sake.  Indeed, when religious practices are carried out mindlessly, they aren’t helpful.  I detest religious routines when they become a way to avoid your deep personal commitment to me and my Father.

Sometimes, silence and solitude is the best religious practice.  Sometimes, it is better to be silent, to pour out your heart where no one can hear, than to shout prayers in public.  When you know for whom you weep, then come to Calvary’s road.

*Cross Examinations: Stations of the Cross
by James E. Adams
Copyright 1998 by Creative Communications for the Parish, a division of Bayard, Inc.
Used by permission.

Our Father

Our Father, Who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name;
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace.
Our Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Glory Be

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was, in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Jesus Falls The Third Time

Isaiah 53:10-11

I have no regrets about this fall.  My strength was gone.  I did not want to fall and I did not want to stand.  I just fell.  And this time I had to be helped up.  I couldn’t get up with my own strength…

You may someday fall for a third time and have no strength to get up.  You will have to be picked up by others.  Don’t let that lead to despair; it does not mean you are less than human.  Do not let the reaction of those around you work to take away your dignity when you are flat on the ground and helpless.  Despite their best intentions, others probably will be showing a mixture of pity, shock, disgust, and anxiety at the sight of your helplessness.

“What good am I to anyone?” you may wonder as others pick you up.  But if you bear your weakness with love, you are doing wonders for yourself, as well as the whole of creation.  You are making yourself like me on my cross.  You are transforming the very fiber of life.

In this earthly life, you cannot become like me in many things.  You cannot have the power I have.  You cannot have the knowledge I have.  You cannot have the wisdom I have.  But you can become like me in the love and gracious acceptance you show precisely when you are at your weakest and most helpless.

*Cross Examinations: Stations of the Cross
by James E. Adams
Copyright 1998 by Creative Communications for the Parish, a division of Bayard, Inc.
Used by permission.

Our Father

Our Father, Who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name;
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace.
Our Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Glory Be

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was, in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Jesus Is Stripped Of His Garments

Matthew 27:27-31

When I was stripped of all of my robes, it hurt because some of them were plastered to my body with caked blood.  But it didn’t hurt my ego.  By this time, I had nothing to cling to.  I was emptied of all self-concerns…

I want you to know and learn to live the truth symbolized by the ripping off of my clothes.  My human life was an emptying of myself so I could be filled by my Father.  Your life must be a journey to reach the same goal — a new you filled with my grace and my peace.

Clothes are very personal.  You would instinctively resist having them ripped from you.  Yet clothes are a part of your outer self, and a symbol of that outer, superficial self rather than your spirit.

The more you cling to your superficial self, the more you wrap layers of clothing around you that will one day need to be stripped off.  Your death will be the end of your ego, and all other empires you have been building during your lifetime.  If you have died daily to yourself, the stripping of your humanity at death will not hurt so much.  You may, like me, not even clutch as your clothes — as well as your superficial self — are stripped from you.

*Cross Examinations: Stations of the Cross
by James E. Adams
Copyright 1998 by Creative Communications for the Parish, a division of Bayard, Inc.
Used by permission.

Our Father

Our Father, Who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name;
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace.
Our Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Glory Be

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was, in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Jesus Is Nailed To The Cross

Luke 23:33-34

The pain of those nails almost made me black out.  They were blunt Roman spikes that seemed to crush rather than pierce the flesh and bone.  Yet it was not so much that pain I felt.  It was the agony that welled up at the thought of what was happening.  “Why, Father?  Why these nails in my hands?”…

Let me tell you the difference between pain and suffering.  Pain is the blind impersonal clashing of forces that is universal.  Suffering is uniquely human.  A plant or an animal may be in pain, but there is not suffering as we experience it.  Suffering springs from a mind capable of turning raw pain into agony by asking why.  Why is this happening to me?  Must it happen.  Is it fair?

That is why you must never underestimate the degree of suffering of any of your brothers or sisters.  If you look only at their pain, you may wonder what they have to complain about.  “I’ve had much worse,” you may say.  But you cannot see their suffering.  You don’t know how sensitive they are, how quickly their pain can become insufferable agony.  Instead of judging, do what you can to relieve both their pain and their suffering.  That is why, too, that you must never underestimate the power of my suffering.  No one sustained more pain than I.  But pain was not the issue.  Suffering was.  My suffering was infinite because my capacity to ask why was infinite and my love for you was infinite.

*Cross Examinations: Stations of the Cross
by James E. Adams
Copyright 1998 by Creative Communications for the Parish, a division of Bayard, Inc.
Used by permission.

Our Father

Our Father, Who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name;
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace.
Our Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Glory Be

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was, in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Jesus Is Raised Upon The Cross And Dies

Luke 23:44-49

I was dying — and it hurt.  I was alone, so utterly alone.  I had never felt that way before.  I was sinking to hell and wondered if I would come back.  I said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” …

Some of you may think I cried “My God, why have you forsaken me?” only because I was reciting a psalm or fulfilling a Scripture passage.  But I said that because I felt it profoundly.  I was lost.  I was despairing, even if I didn’t stay in despair for very long.  This cry was not pretending.  How could it be?  Could I have lived and died as a man without experiencing despair and doubt?

If someone tells you that faith and hope will keep you from experiencing doubt and despair, do not listen to them.  Faith and hope are opposite sides of doubt and despair.  But they are not as radically different as most people think.  You pass through doubt and despair, not around them.

When you are falling into hell, do what I did.  Shout your anguish directly to my Father.  Complain to him to your very last breath, as I did.  Your complaint will become prayer, even as mine did… and my Father will hear and answer you.

*Cross Examinations: Stations of the Cross
by James E. Adams
Copyright 1998 by Creative Communications for the Parish, a division of Bayard, Inc.
Used by permission.

Our Father

Our Father, Who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name;
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace.
Our Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Glory Be

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was, in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Jesus Is Taken Down From The Cross
And Placed In The Arms Of His Mother

Luke 23:50-53

The noise has stopped.  Mary and a few of my faithful disciples take me down from the cross.  They say nothing.  They do nothing, except, with hearts aching, hold my limp body.  All is silent…

You may have been taught that being my disciple is primarily an active role.  The more you do to improve yourself, the Church and the world, the better.  There are times when you must work, of course, but there are even more crucial times when you must say nothing and do nothing except be with me, your heart aching, as Mary and the faithful disciples were with me after the crucifixion.

I had asked some of the apostles to be with me during my agony in the garden.  “Will you watch one hour with me?” I had asked.  But they were so depleted from talking, walking, planning and worrying about the future that they quickly fell asleep.  Not one of them had the energy left to be with me.  How often that has happened through the centuries!

After my crucifixion, my disciples waited and watched in silence.  Some were closer to me then than they were ever before.  Do I have to die to get you to listen and love in silence?

Be with me in silent heartfelt prayer at least once a day every day — and you will be on the road to becoming a faithful disciple.

*Cross Examinations: Stations of the Cross
by James E. Adams
Copyright 1998 by Creative Communications for the Parish, a division of Bayard, Inc.
Used by permission.

Our Father

Our Father, Who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name;
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace.
Our Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Glory Be

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was, in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Jesus Is Laid In The Sepulcher

John 19:38-42

I had no grave of my own.  My body was laid in somebody else’s tomb.  Was it fitting that I be put in a borrowed tomb?  Yes.  Even in death I had no place to call my own here on earth.  I didn’t own my own burial plot…

I was always borrowing things, from the very beginning of my incarnation.  I borrowed Mary’s womb for my conception.  I borrowed a crib in Bethlehem to be born.  I borrowed Peter’s boat to preach from.  I borrowed a donkey to ride on when I came into Jerusalem.  I borrowed bread and wine to make my body move and my blood flow in history.  I borrowed thorns, wood and nails to redeem the universe.  Why should my burial be any different?

I will go on borrowing things until the end of time, until I have borrowed them all and made them all holy.

I will also borrow you.  You will be my tongue and my throat, parched.  You will be my hands and feet, nailed.  You will be my head, thorned, You will be my side, lanced.  You will be my body, stripped.  You will be my corpse, buried.

And when the borrowing is over, you will be my brothers and sisters, risen.

*Cross Examinations: Stations of the Cross
by James E. Adams
Copyright 1998 by Creative Communications for the Parish, a division of Bayard, Inc.
Used by permission.

Concluding Prayer

Lord, it is with sadness and contrition for my sins that I walk with you on this road to Calvary. On this path that led to your death, I recognize the loving mercy that compelled you to suffer for me and for all humankind. Help me to respond to your love through an increase in my own faith, hope, and love. Amen.