Sitting with the Sacred

This post is a continuation of my Lenten reflections on the Scriptural Stations of the Cross. The station titles and scripture and verse citations, except where otherwise noted, are published on USCCB.org.

Ninth Station: Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem

(Luke 23: 27-31)

Jesus, in this scene, You show me how to care for others, even in my most difficult moments. Thank You, Lord. You remind me also of the power of empathy — another kind of sharing, another kind of cross. You remind me that support can be offered using more than muscle. Help me to follow Your example.

Thank you, Lord, for everyone who has supported and will support me, especially my mother and all the women in my life.

Help me to recognize and do acknowledge Your love and sacredness in Your creation, including in my body and the bodies of others, with all their gifts and limitations. Strengthen my hope, please, Lord. Amen.

Tenth Station: Jesus is Crucified

(Luke 23: 33-34 [with additions from Hebrews 4:15-16 — my insertions])

Jesus, thank You for allowing yourself to be tied and nailed to a cross for me. Thank you for surrendering Your freedom in such an agonizing way so that You could open my door to freedom. Thank You for extending Your arms in love as far as they would go. Thank You for offering Your body to and for me.

Jesus, when I read that You said to the people who crucified and mocked You “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do,” I’m reminded that I “do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with [my] weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin (Luke 23:34; Heb. 4:15). Unlike You, I fail again and again when I’m tested. Help me “confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace for timely help” (Heb. 4:16). Grant me the grace also to forgive others as You were and are so ready to forgive them and me. Help me to seek and to accept forgiveness from You and from others and to remember that acknowledging what I need—to myself, to You, and to others—is the first step in receiving it. This is as true of forgiveness as of anything else I need. Amen.

The Bible. The New American Bible Revised Edition, Kindle edition, Fairbrother, 2011.

Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc. “Sunday July, 2 2023: Readings at Mass.” The New American Bible, 2001. Universalis for Windows, Version 2.179, Universalis Publishing Ltd., 26 Feb. 2023, https://universalis.com/n-app-windows.htm