Praying the Stations of the Cross with St. Joseph
The Ninth Station - Jesus Falls the Third Time
Jesus falls . . . again. His legs struggle to balance His body. And He falls . . . again. How can he go on?
The pain . . . The state of shock . . . The sheer exhaustion . . . He has lost so much blood . . . His muscles contort . . . The wounds from the scourging ooze with infection . . . His one eye is closed from a beating . . . His swollen, broken nose makes breathing difficult . . . How can He go on?
The scaffolding, on which the crossbeam he carries will be hoisted, waits several yards away . . . Nails and hammer lie on the ground anticipating His arrival . . . A crowd has already assembled to make sure that nothing obstructs their view of his slow crucifixion . . . A few soldiers mill around, impatiently waiting . . . How can He go on?
A soldier’s lash offers incentive to muster whatever strength remains in a body bereft of strength, depleted of dignity. But he needs no such incentive. For of all that had been taken from Him, something has remained, and in fact, intensified – dependence upon His Father, and the desire to fulfill the very purpose of His human life.
He bears all – pain, injustice, weakness, humiliation, rejection, loneliness - with a strength that is only all possible when it is God-given. His strength is a strength derived from surrender to a power beyond His own . . . a power so strong that it can transform what may seem to be defeat into victory. With this strength comes a knowledge, an assurance, that He does not take these final steps to the cross alone. As His earthly father took his hands in his, and steadied and guided His first steps as a child, so now, the fingers of His heavenly Father intertwine with His to secure the steps which will become His last.
How can He go on? It’s a question we often ask about ourselves. How can I go on when diseased has ravaged my body? How can I go on without my deceased loved one? How can I go on without a job and any means to support myself and my family? How can I go on when my addictions control me? How can I go on when no one seems to love me, not even myself? How can I go on when I can’t even get out of bed in the morning, and I dread the day because I am so depressed? How can I go on when I have no hope, and can’t envision the future? How can I go on when I’m stuck in my unforgivable past?
How can I go on? “I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me.”
Let us pray . . . St. Joseph, sometimes I don’t know what is worse – to keep falling under the weight of worries, doubts, fears, disappointments, illness, financial hardship, broken relationships, addiction, depression, and anxiety, or to just remain on the ground because they are overwhelming . . . they are persistent . . . they never seem to go away . . . and I never get the opportunity to rise up, to regain my footing and to move on. And so, it is not just my back that is broken under their weight, but my hope. But Scripture says, “Those who wait for the Lord will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run and never grow weary. They will walk and not grow faint” (Isaiah 40:31). St. Joseph, pray for me that no matter what pushes me to the ground, I may not let it defeat me.
St. Joseph, Most Strong, pray for us.
