Praying the Stations of the Cross with St. Joseph
The Thirteenth Station - Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross
Forty days after His birth, his father and mother travelled to this city, to Jerusalem, to fulfill the prescriptions of the Law and present Jesus in the Temple. There they encountered an old man named Simeon, to whom God had revealed that he would not know death until his eyes beheld the Messiah. And somehow, there, in the cry of this child, he recognized the voice God’s anointed one. Joseph and Mary looked at each other with a mixture of wonder, joy and pride as the old prophet spoke of the child held in Mary’s arms. But then, his voice trembled, as if choking back tears, “This child will be a sign that will be contradicted.” And turning to Mary, he said, “And your heart a sword will pierce.” Today, that sword has pierced her through. Jesus’ limp, lifeless body is taken down from the cross and laid in the arms of His grieving, distraught mother.
PIETA. Oh, the pity!
She cradles Him in her arms as she cradled Him in the moments after His birth. What was she thinking as an ocean of her tears fell and mixed with the blood upon His face that now expressed the peace of death? Did she think of the day of His birth? Did she recall so many memories of the boy Jesus - smiling, laughing, singing, running, playing, hugging? Did a memory surface of her confusion when, unknown to her and Joseph, he stayed behind in Jerusalem after the caravan back to Nazareth had departed, and they found Him three days later among the scribes in the Temple. Or did she recall her pride when, as an adult, after the reports of His teaching and miracles reached them, all of Nazareth squeeze into their small synagogue to hear him preach? Did she remember her confidence in him at Cana in Galilee as she turned to Him and said, “Son, they have no more wine?” Or was the present moment too great, too grief-filled, to recall anything but the horrors just ravaged upon Him.
“Come, all who pass by the way, pay attention and see: Is there any pain like my pain, which has been ruthlessly inflicted upon me?” (Lamentations 1:12)
PIETA. Oh, the pity!
Let us pray . . . Holy St Joseph, you were a man of great hope and faith. You faced many difficult times in your life. Fleeing into Egypt, fearing for the safety of Mary and Jesus, you lived – like us today – in uncertain times. Your strength came from knowing that the power and faithfulness of God would always be constant.
Fill us with the confidence that you had in the Lord, our God. Help us to know that God is close to us - that He will deliver us from the trials and troubles we are now encountering.
May the light of the Lord give us hope. May it guide us every day of our lives. And, uniting our prayers with yours, may we be assured that He will strengthen us in all our difficulties. Amen.
St. Joseph, Solace of the wretched, pray for us.
