By His Cross Stations of the Cross for Young Catholics and Their Families JERRY WELTE 1
By His Cross Stations of the Cross for Young Catholics and Their Families Introduction The way of the cross is a story, a story about saving the world. Every story like this has a hero and few heroes are more popular these days than superheroes. It is tempting to think of Jesus as a superhero. If Jesus had been like Superman, things would have been much different. The nails would have broken off when the soldiers tried to drive them into his hands. The spear would have bent 2
in half when they tried to pierce his side. Jesus could have jumped down from the cross when they mocked him, pulled it out of the ground, and hurled it into the sea. How dramatic, how exciting, and how satisfying that might have been! The friends of Jesus liked to picture Jesus this way and disliked the idea that he would suffer and die: God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you (Matthew 16:22). Jesus taught his followers that he did not come to be a normal superhero. Jesus is what the prophet Isaiah calls a God-hero. God heroes can be hurt. God heroes bleed. God heroes even die. Somehow, God prefers heroes like this: God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong (1 Corinthians 1:27). That is the mystery we think about as we travel the way of the cross with Jesus. Jesus had many amazing powers of healing and other miracles, but somehow it was his willingness to suffer and die that God used to save the world Jerry Welte 3
Jesus is Condemned to Death THE FIRST STATION Many baseball and football players have developed the habit of pointing to the sky after a moment of glory like hitting a home run or scoring a touchdown. This action shows a humble belief that God is the source of all human power and suc- 4
cess. Jesus reminds Pilate of this truth when he is condemned to death: You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above (John 19:11). Learning to give credit to God for our moments of glory is a fine example of faith, but it is not always the best example. The truest sign of faith is to rely on God in our moments of shame and failure. Jesus is about to begin a journey, but the path he travels does not end at home plate or in the end zone, but at the cross. At the lowest point of his life condemned like a criminal, deserted by his friends, and mocked by the crowds Jesus turns to God in faith and trust: Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit (Luke 23:46). It is in this shame that Jesus finds glory and in this failure that he finds success. PRAYER Almighty God, may I always believe in you as the source of all power and grace. May I learn to turn to you in my moments of success and in my times of failure. 5
Jesus Carries His Cross THE SECOND STATION Many students wear backpacks to school these days. Some of these backpacks look so big and heavy that we may wonder how some students carry them. In a way, each one of us wears a backpack in life, even when we are not at school. We 6
may not be able to see these backpacks, but they are very real. Each day we put them on and carry our problems on our backs: our worries, our hurts, and our fears. Just like cross of Jesus, these backpacks can become very heavy and they can weigh us down. If you ve ever had a chance to talk to a friend about your problems, you know how much lighter you feel after you unpack your troubles or empty your backpack. Jesus loves us so much that he too wants to share the weight of our problems and our sins. He took up the cross in order to lighten the load that we carry: Surely he has carried our weakness and our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4). Jesus carried the cross so that we can live more happily, but also so that we can care for others: If God so loved us, we also must love one another (1 John 4:11). PRAYER Lord of love, thank you for sharing the weight of my problems and sins. Help me to carry my crosses with hope and to be ready to share your love with others. 7
Jesus Falls the First Time THE THIRD STATION Once we have learned how to walk, we sometimes forget how hard it can be. Walking is not as easy as it looks. Children fall dozens of times while they are learning to walk, but they usually bounce right back up and try again. Grandparents also 8
may fall because of their age, but with the help of their walkers and canes, they get up and keep going. Jesus is a young man when he walks the way of the cross, but he still falls three times because he is tired and hurt. It takes faith and courage to keep walking when it would be easier to quit, or to get up when it would be simpler to stay down. Like Jesus, each of us will fall several times as we follow God s path in life. but whenever we fall, we pray to the Spirit of Jesus to help us get up and keep going. This deep faith in God is found in the words of the prophet Isaiah: They that hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar as with eagles wings; they will run and not grow tired, they will walk and not grow weak (Isaiah 40:31). PRAYER Spirit of God, make me strong as I walk the road of my life. Help me follow in the footsteps of Jesus and get up with courage after every fall. 9
Jesus Meets His Mother THE FOURTH STATION Parents love to watch their children. They go to many plays, concerts, and sports games just to see them play or sing or dance. Parents have a strong desire to share in their children s lives. The sacrifices parents make to do this are rewarded with 10
feelings of pride and joy. In this station, Jesus meets his loving mother at a time that is not so proud or happy. Mary had seen her son on much better days, while he was teaching the crowds or healing the sick or feeding the hungry, but on this day she had to watch him suffer and die. Mary could easily have stayed home and avoided the hurt, but real love does not just share the happy times. True love shares the hard times and the sad times too. When they met, we can be sure that Mary gave her dying son the same love and support she had always given him. Somehow, faith told her that she was watching her son s most important work, his greatest miracle of love. Somehow she knew she had to watch him more than ever on this very hard day that would change the world forever. PRAYER Jesus, I am grateful for your love and for the love of my family in both the good and the bad times. May I always be there for my friends and family, especially when they are in trouble. 11
Simon Helps Carry the Cross THE FIFTH STATION It has become common for grocery store clerks to ask a question of each shopper who is leaving the checkout line. The question is a simple one: Do you need help out with that? Most of us don t need help carrying our groceries, but there 12
are many who carry some kind of cross that that is too heavy to carry alone. Jesus needed help carrying the cross, so the soldiers made Simon help him. Simon might have been happier to be left alone. Maybe he complained or tried to talk his way out of it. Simon might be a bit like you and me when someone asks us to help our sisters or brothers. Sometimes we don t feel like helping. Sometimes we think that people should carry their own crosses in life. Jesus came to show us how to care for each other. Faith in Jesus asks us to become more like those grocery clerks when we meet people on the road of life. The love of Jesus moves us to reach out and ask: Do you need help with that? St. Paul said it very well in one of his letters: Carry one another s burdens, and so you will obey the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2). PRAYER Jesus, help me to do what I can to help others who carry heavy crosses in life. When I am asked to help another, may I do so without complaining or arguing. 13
Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus THE SIXTH STATION The action of Veronica wiping the face of Jesus is so simple that we might wonder why it is part of this story at all. We are so used to thinking big, that we sometimes miss the small things in life. Everything in our society seems to be get- 14
ting bigger. Our food, our houses, our televisions and our cars are all supersized and we seem to like it that way. Veronica reminds us of the value of the small things in life. The truth is that most of the good we do in this world will be through simple acts of love. Very few of us will do anything to make us famous, but every one of us can change a life by giving a kind word, a simple gift, or a thoughtful act. We should follow the example of Veronica because there is great power in these simple gifts. Her act of kindness may seem unimportant, but it made such an impression on Jesus that it left the imprint of his face on her cloth. That is the value of small acts of love in the world. Somehow they leave the mark of Jesus on our lives; they leave the face of God on our world. PRAYER Jesus, help me to do the simple things that make a difference in this world. Help me to leave your mark on the lives of others though small acts of kindness and love. 15
Jesus Falls for the Second Time THE SEVENTH STATION When we are little children, we love to hold our parents hands. We reach up for them whenever we leave the house for a feeling of safety. At some point, however, we stop reaching for their hands because we want to grow up. Our parents might 16
want to hold our hands forever to keep us safe, but soon they let us go outside to play because they love us. At some point we take a fall and go running to our parents for comfort. Faith works the same way. As children of God, we love the idea that the Lord holds our hand every step of the way: Those whose steps are guided by the Lord may stumble, but they will never fall, for the Lord holds their hand (Psalm 37:23-24). Like our parents, God loves us, but God also wants us to grow and be free. God is with Jesus on the way of the cross, but God allows Jesus to fall as a sign of love. Maybe this is why we say that people fall in love, because love lets go of control. God was willing to let Jesus fall in love for us, letting go of control and safety in order to save us. PRAYER God, thank you for giving us the freedom to live and to love. Help us to trust you and to use our freedom to grow and to live for others. 17
Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem THE EIGHTH STATION We sometimes call the scene of an accident a gapers block, a traffic jam that is caused by the desire of drivers to slow down to get a closer look at a crash. Some people seem fascinated by the details of violence and trouble. But the women of 18
Jerusalem who meet Jesus on the way of the cross are not like that. In fact, the sight of the suffering Lord makes them cry. Jesus says some amazing words to these women who are moved and shaken by the sight of him: Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children (Luke 23:28). Jesus is not just being unselfish here. He is teaching us to look deeper to see the beauty and love behind the wounds on his body. Maybe he is also asking us to spend less time watching violence and more time doing something about it. If we would spend more time doing acts of kindness and love for others, we could change the world. Then maybe we would create a new kind of gapers block, beautiful scenes of peace and justice for people to slow down and watch with tears of joy. PRAYER Lord, open my eyes to see the beauty of life and the goodness in people. Help me to spend more of my time working for a better world, even when it is not easy. 19
Jesus Falls a Third Time THE NINTH STATION The law of gravity has been stated in these very simple words: What goes up must come down. Gravity holds the universe together. Without it, we would all go spinning off into space. But on the way of the cross Jesus challenges the law of 20
gravity. By falling three times and then getting up, by being buried and then rising, Jesus shows us a central law of the spiritual universe: What goes down will rise up. Jesus stated this law in many forms in his teachings. He told us that if we make ourselves last, we will be first; that if we are lowly, we will be lifted up; and that if we die, we shall be raised. As Jesus falls for the third time, he shows us that our bodies may be limited by the laws of the physical universe, but our spirits are ruled by a higher law. The Lord s body may fall, but his spirit lifts him back up every time. The Spirit of Jesus lifts us up as well. Without this reverse spiritual gravity, we would all go spinning off into the depths: See, my servant shall do very well; shall be praised and lifted up, and shall be very high (Isaiah 52:13). PRAYER Jesus, I trust in your words and I believe in your ways. Give me the strength of your Spirit so that I may succeed in all the good things I do. 21
Jesus is Stripped of His Garments THE TENTH STATION Have you ever had one of those moments when you were totally embarrassed in front of your friends? Maybe you tripped in the lunchroom at school and dropped your food. Maybe someone made a joke about your clothes or your hair. At 22
times like these, you feel like everyone is watching you or laughing at you. You feel totally alone and you want to run away and hide. Jesus had one of those moments when the soldiers stripped him of his clothes to get him ready for the cross. The soldiers made a cruel game of it and they made fun of Jesus. When they were finished, Jesus felt alone and embarrassed. Jesus was stripped of more than his clothes; his self-respect and his pride were taken away too. In our moments of shame, faith reminds us that we are created in the image of God and therefore we have a dignity and a value that can never be taken away. At these times, we are never alone, for God is with us when we are most in need: Even when I walk through a dark valley, I fear no harm for you are at my side; your rod and staff comfort me (Psalm 23:4). PRAYER God, help me to remember my value and my goodness when others make fun of me or are mean to me. Be with me in those times so that I will never feel alone. 23
Jesus is Nailed to the Cross THE ELEVENTH STATION Surrender is not a very popular idea. In sports, in school, and in the army, we often view surrender as a kind of weakness and the worst sort of failure. Our hearts and minds are well trained to keep fighting at all costs: Don t give up! There 24
is truth in this never say die attitude, but it is not the only truth. As the Son of God, Jesus had great power, but when his followers try to fight for him, he scolds them: Put your sword back in its place; for all who live by the sword will die by the sword (Matthew 26:52). Jesus accepted death, allowing his arms to be nailed to the cross and leaving him helpless to move or to act. The soldiers mock him for this seeming weakness: He saved others, but he cannot save himself (Mark 15:31). In a strange and puzzling way, the Lord seems to give up, trading power for weakness. By doing so, the Lord invites us all to find the positive side of our own limits. St. Paul says it this way: Power is made perfect in weakness for when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). PRAYER Almighty God, help me to learn to find the good side of weakness. Help me to know when to put up a fight and when to surrender to make the world a better place. 25
Jesus Dies on the Cross THE TWELFTH STATION Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala (John 19:25). It is a great thing to take away someone s pain or to save a person from harm. Rescue workers must feel this when they 26
pull a child from a burning house or a driver from a twisted crash. The friends of Jesus by the cross must have wished they could save him that way, but all they could do was stand there faithfully and watch their savior die. Many of us will face situations when we want to stop something bad from happening, but are unable to do so. At times like this, we will be asked to offer the gift of our presence. The movies are filled with exciting scenes where the hero arrives just in time to save the day, but in real life there is not always a last second rescue. In real life, sometimes heroes just stand by the dying with love in their eyes and hope in their hearts. When you think about it, real life is more heroic than movies. Sometimes when you feel the most helpless is when you give the most heroic help of all. PRAYER God of love, help me to do what I can to take away the pain of others. When this is not possible, give me the strength to stand by their side with love. 27
Jesus is Taken Down From the Cross THE THIRTEENTH STATION After every Super Bowl, a television commercial is filmed. In those ads, a voice calls out to the winning quarterback: You ve just won the Super Bowl, what are you going to do next? Every year the same answer is called back, I m going to 28
Disneyworld! The other team s players never appear in these commercials because they are walking off the field like losers. Sometimes that s how it is in this world winners go to the Magic Kingdom and losers go home forgotten. In God s kingdom, however, things are different. In the eyes of God, losers can be champions and the last place is the first to be invited to God s kingdom. This is not a knock on winning, but a reminder that true victory is deeper than what happens on the field. Jesus was involved in a contest with evil, a battle against sin. At the moment Jesus was taken down from the cross, he looked like the loser. With God, however, winning can be found in losing and victory can be won from defeat: Christ humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Therefore God honored him and gave him the name that is above every name (Philippians 2:8-9). PRAYER Lord, may I always play my best in sports and in life. When I win, may I be humble; when I lose, may I find the gain in my defeats. 29
Jesus is Laid in the Tomb THE FOURTEENTH STATION If you pay attention to nature, you learn a lot about life. Every winter the plants die, but every spring they come back to life. Every evening the sun goes down, yet each new day brings a beautiful dawn. Every night we go to sleep, but the next 30
morning we wake up refreshed. Nature teaches us that death is not the end, but a path to a new beginning. The women at the tomb seem to know this. They see Jesus buried in the tomb, but they return the next morning as if they sense that the story is not over. People of faith make a habit of hanging around people and hopes that other people declare to be dead and buried. They know that such things have a way of coming back to life, especially for those who believe. Most of us have lost something important from our lives a friend, a pet, a possession that seems to be gone forever, dead and buried. Then, somehow, we find a new beginning in that loss. We find a memory, we start a new project, or we become a new person. Jesus is laid in the tomb, but people of faith keep watch through the night to see him rise again. PRAYER God of life, teach me to live the circle of life. Give me the eyes of faith to find new life in death and new beginnings in endings. 31
The Way of the Cross Continues... We have walked the way of the cross with Jesus, but the journey is not over. Jesus continues to suffer in the less fortunate people around the world. Here is a simple way to pray for those who suffer the wounds of Christ today. On a piece of wood scatter some nails around and invite your family to write on small slips of paper the names of loved ones who have died or are suffering. One at a time, each paper is then pierced with a nail and the nail is nailed into the board. On Easter morning, white or yellow flower petals can be sprinkled over the nails or the nails can be removed and small flowers can be placed in the holes. PRAYER Jesus, by the wounds of your cross, you have saved the world. During this holy season, we remember how you continue to walk the way of the cross in our friends, our loved ones, and our suffering brothers and sisters around the world. By His Cross by Jerry Welte, 2010 All Saints Press, PO Box 190825, St. Louis MO 63119. Illustrations by Bill Vann. Printed in the USA. AllSaintsPress.com 32 01-312