The Seventh Station: Jesus Falls A Second Time

Station VII JESUS FALLS THE SECOND TIME COLLOQUY.----O Son of Man, Thou art like us in our sorrows; like us, Holy One, in the sadness that comes of sinfulness; like us, O Mighty God, in our fears. O dear Lord Jesus, how touching is Thy faltering and falling on the uphill road. How reassuring is it for us to creep up to Thee after our own falls, to see Thee lying prostrate, spent, powerless! And, dear Lord, here is our example, whilst still trembling with the shock and pain of Thy fall, with all the weariness of failure upon Thee, with the knowledge that at no great distance Thy strength will give way anew----rising and struggling on----in no wise shaken in Thy resolve to pursue Thy way, and to prove by Thy very falls Thy incomparable love for us. Ah, Lord Jesus, I humbly implore grace to reduce these salutary lessons to practice. Jesus, my dear Master, give me light. to understand the Mystery of the Cross----to love the Cross that will bring me so closely and securely to Thee----strengthen me to accomplish Thy holy Will perfectly under every variety of circumstances in which Thou art pleased to place me; but give me the surpassing treasure of Thy love----with that I shall want for nothing. I shall be able to attain the degree of sanctity Thou dost design for me. O my Jesus, grant me, then, Thy Divine love; strengthen me to suffer for and with Thee, and may my life be one continuous act of love.

The Seventh Station: Jesus Falls A Second Time My Jesus, one of the beautiful qualities the people admired in You was Your strength in time of ridicule - Your ability to rise above the occasion. But now, You fall a second time - apparently conquered by the pain of the Cross. People who judged You by appearances made a terrible mistake. What looked like weakness was unparalleled strength! I often judge by appearances and how wrong I am most of the time. The world judges entirely by this fraudulent method of discerning. It looks down upon those who apparently have given their best and are now in need. It judges the poor as failures, the sick as useless and the aged as a burden. How wrong that kind of judgment is in the light of your second fall! Your greatest moment wasYour weakest one. Your greatest triumph was in failure. Your greatest act of love was in desolation. Your greatest show of power was in that utter lack of strength that threw You to the ground. Weak and powerful Jesus, give me the grace to see beyond what is visible and be more aware of Your Wisdom in the midst of weakness. Give the aged, sick, handicapped, retarded, deaf and blind the fruit of joy so they may ever be aware of the Father's gift and the vast difference between what the world sees and what the Father sees that they may glory in their weakness so the power of God may be manifest. Amen

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