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| Stations of the Cross
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| The
Fourth Station |
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Jesus
Meets His Blessed Mother |
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V.
We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee:
(genuflect)
R.
Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
THE
READING: (St. John 19:25-27)
Now
there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister,
Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesustherefore
saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith
unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the
disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took
her unto his own home.
V.
What more could I have done unto thee that I have
not done? I indeed did plant thee, O my vinyard, with exceeding fair
fruit: and thou art become very bitter unto me.
R.
Holy and Immortal, have mercy upon us.
Let us
pray:
O
God, the King of Saints, we praise and magnify thy holy Name for all thy
servants who have finished their course in thy faith and fear; for the
Blessed Virgin Mary; for the holy patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and
martyrs; and for all thy other righteous servants, known to us and
unknown; and we beseech thee that , encouraged by their examples, aided
by their prayers, and strengthened by their fellowship, we also may be
partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; through the merits
of thy Son Jesus Christ our
Lord (who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost,
ever one God, world without end). Amen.
V.
O Savior of the world, who by thy Cross and Precious Blood hast redeemed
us:
R.
Save us and help us, we humbly beseech thee, O Lord.
| Reflection:
Jesus
rises; though wounded by His fall, He journeys on, with His Cross
still on His shoulders. He is bent down; but at one place, looking
up, He sees His Mother. For an instant they just see each other, and
He goes forward.
Mary
would rather have had all His sufferings herself, could that have
been, than not have known what they were by ceasing to be near Him.
He, too, gained a refreshment, as from some soothing and grateful
breath of air, to see her sad smile amid the sights and the noises
which were about Him. She had known Him beautiful and glorious, with
the freshness of Divine Innocence and peace upon His countenance;
now she saw Him so changed and deformed that she could scarce have
recognized Him, save for the piercing, thrilling, peace-inspiring
look He gave her. Still, He was now carrying the load of the world's
sins, and, all-holy though He was, He carried the image of them on
His very face. He looked like some outcast or outlaw who had
frightful guilt upon Him. He had been made sin for us, who knew no
sin; not a feature, not a limb, but spoke of guilt, of a curse, of
punishment, of agony.
Oh,
what a meeting of Son and Mother! Yet there was a mutual comfort,
for there was a mutual sympathy. Jesus and Mary--do they forget that
Passion-tide through all eternity? |
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