Everyone's Way of the Cross (Part 2)
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99 9. Jesus Falls a Third Time
Christ Speaks:
Completely drained of strength
I lie, collapsed, upon the cobblestones.
My body cannot move.
No blows, no kicks,
can rouse it up.
And yet my will is mine.
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And so is yours.
Know this my other self,
Your body may be broken,
but no force on earth
And none in hell
can take away your will.
Your will is yours.
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I reply
My Lord,
I see you take a moment’s rest
then rise and stagger on.
So I can do
because my will is mine.
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When all my strength is gone
and guilt and self-reproach
press me to earth and seem to hold me fast,
protect me form the sin of Judas -
save me from despair!
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Lord, never let me feel that any sin of mine
is greater than your love.
No matter what my past has been
I can begin anew.
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10. Jesus is Stripped of His Clothes
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Christ Speaks:
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Behold, my other self,
the poorest king who ever lived.
Before my creatures I stand stripped.
The cross - my deathbed -
even this is not my own.
Yet who has ever been so rich?
Possessing nothing, I own it all -
My Father’s love.
If you, too, would own everything,
be not solicitous about your food,
your clothes your life.
re
I reply
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My Lord,
I offer you my all -
whatever I possess, and more, myself.
Detach me from the craving for prestige,
position, wealth.
Root out of me
all trace of envy of my neighbor who has
more than I.
Release from me the vice of pride,
my longing to exalt myself,
and lead me to the lowest place.
May I be poor in spirit, Lord,
so that I can be rich in you.
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11. Jesus is Crucified
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Christ Speaks:
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Can you imagine what a crucifixion is?
My executioners stretch my arms;
they hold my hand and wrist
against the wood
and press the nail until it stabs my flesh.
Then, with one heavy hammer smash,
they drive it through –
and pain bursts like a bomb of fire in my
brain.
They seize the other arm; and agony again
explodes.
Then raising up my knees
so that my feet are flat against the wood,
they hammer them fast, too.
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I reply
My God,
I look at you and think;
Is my soul worth this much?
What can I give you in return?
I here and now accept
for all my life
whatever sickness, torment, agony may
come.
To every cross I touch my lips.
O blessed cross that lets me be –
with you – a co-redeemer of humanity.
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12. Jesus Dies
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Christ Speaks:
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The cross becomes a pulpit –
“Forgive them, Father…
You will be with me in Paradise…
There is your mother…There…your son…
I thirst…
It is complete.”
To speak I have to raise myself
by pressing on my wrists and feet,
and every move engulfs me in new waves of
agony.
And then, when I have borne enough,
have emptied my humanity,
I let my mortal life depart.
I reply
My Jesus, God,
what can I say or do?
I offer you my death with all its pains,
accepting now the time and kind of death
in store for me.
Not by a single instant would I lengthen my
life’s span.
I offer you my death
for my own sins
and for those of all humanity.
My God! My God! Forsake us not.
We know not what we do.
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13. Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross
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Christ Speaks:
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The sacrifice is done.
Yes, my Mass is complete;
but not my mother’s
and not yours, my other self.
My mother still must cradle in her arms
the lifeless body of the son she bore.
You, too, must part from those you love,
and grief will come to you.
In your bereavements think of this:
A multitude of souls were saved by Mary’s
sharing in my Calvary.
Your grief can also be the price of souls.
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I reply
I beg you, Lord,
Help me accept the partings that must
come – from friends who go away,
my children leaving home,
and most of all, my dear ones
when you shall call them to yourself.
Then give me grace to say;
“As it pleased you, Lord,
to take them home,
I bow to your most holy will.
And if by just one word
I might restore their lives against your will,
I would not speak”
Grant them eternal joy.
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14. Jesus is Buried
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Christ Speaks:
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So ends my mortal life.
But now another life begins
for Mary,
and for Magdalen,
for Peter and for John,
and you.
My life’s work is done.
My work within and through my church
must now commence.
I look to you, my other self.
Day in, day out, from this time forth,
be my apostle –
victim –
saint.
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I reply
My Jesus, Lord,
you know my spirit is as willing
as my flesh is weak.
The teaching you could not impart,
the sufferings you could not bear,
the works of love you could not do
in your short time on earth,
let me impart, and bear, and do
through you.
But I am nothing, Lord. Help me!
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Conclusion
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Christ Speaks:
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I told you at the start, my other self,
my life was not complete
until I crowned it by My death.
Your “way” is not complete
unless you crown it by your life.
Accept each moment as it comes to you,
with faith and trust that all that happens
has my mark on it.
A simple fiat, this is all it takes;
a breathing in your heart,
“I will it, Lord.”
So seek me not in far-off places.
I am close at hand.
Your workbench, office, kitchen,
these are altars
where you offer love.
And I am with you there.
Go now! Take up your cross
and with your life
complete your way.
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