11th Station of the Cross

Eleventh Station: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross

  Jesus is nailed to the cross. With each hit of the hammer it drives the nails deeper and deeper through Jesus and the wood. Each time the hammer hits the nails our Lord cries out in pain. He is taking this pain and suffering for us. Our sins are the nails that hold Him on the cross and our sins aid in nailing Him to the cross.

   The suffering of Jesus is coming to an end. He has carried all of our sins with Him on this journey. Now He is lifted up on the cross for all around to see the Savior. He is looking down at all those who He has helped, healed, feed, gave council and taken their sins. Jesus does not curse them for what they do but says “ Father forgive them, for they know not what they do”. He asks for the forgiveness for them from His Father. How many of us could do that? How many of us could forgive those who have wronged us? 

    In the midst of suffering on the cross, Jesus still ministers to the other men on the cross. He does not turn from God, His Father, but continues on His mission of salvation of the people. How many times do we stop working in ministry because we are to tired to go on? Turn away because of the few that make it difficult for us? Leave so we can have it easier? I know I was guilty of this. It is not easy to do the work of Jesus sometimes. It is draining and challenging at times. Yet, we must go on. We have to reach those who do not know Him. Reach those who have left. Reach those who are struggling. Reach those who doubt. It will not be easy but it is rewarding and pleasing to God. 

    Sometimes we are not carrying our own cross but are being nailed to them because of what we believe. Being a Catholic is not always excepted. Our faith is nailed to the cross over things that a small portion of the clergy and laity do. Each time our faith is attacked and nailed, we are as well. I believe times will come where we have to stand taller for the faith and we are lucky in the United States where we can practice the faith openly. Think of those who are crucified and die for the faith. Each time blood is shed for the faith we must lift our heads on the cross and cry out to Jesus to help us and strengthen us and the church. 

     Whether we are carrying our crosses or being nailed to them, know that Jesus did it first. That we can turn to Him and ask Him to give us the strength to carry on and make a difference in the world. Jesus is not asking us to do anything He has not already done for us. Turn to Him. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and remember the journey you have already taken till this point and carry on. 

Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Lectionary: 246

Reading 1

IS 49:8-15

Thus says the LORD:

In a time of favor I answer you,

on the day of salvation I help you;

and I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people,

To restore the land

and allot the desolate heritages,

Saying to the prisoners: Come out!

To those in darkness: Show yourselves!

Along the ways they shall find pasture,

on every bare height shall their pastures be.

They shall not hunger or thirst,

nor shall the scorching wind or the sun strike them;

For he who pities them leads them

and guides them beside springs of water.

I will cut a road through all my mountains,

and make my highways level.

See, some shall come from afar,

others from the north and the west,

and some from the land of Syene.

Sing out, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth,

break forth into song, you mountains.

For the LORD comforts his people

and shows mercy to his afflicted.

But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me;

my Lord has forgotten me.”

Can a mother forget her infant,

be without tenderness for the child of her womb?

Even should she forget,

I will never forget you.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 145:8-9, 13CD-14, 17-18

R. (8a) The Lord is gracious and merciful.

The LORD is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger and of great kindness.

The LORD is good to all

and compassionate toward all his works.

R. The Lord is gracious and merciful.

The LORD is faithful in all his words

and holy in all his works.

The LORD lifts up all who are falling

and raises up all who are bowed down.

R. The Lord is gracious and merciful.

The LORD is just in all his ways

and holy in all his works.

The LORD is near to all who call upon him,

to all who call upon him in truth.

R. The Lord is gracious and merciful.

Gospel

JN 5:17-30

Jesus answered the Jews: 

“My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.”

For this reason they tried all the more to kill him,

because he not only broke the sabbath

but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.

Jesus answered and said to them,

“Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything on his own,

but only what he sees the Father doing;

for what he does, the Son will do also.

For the Father loves the Son

and shows him everything that he himself does,

and he will show him greater works than these,

so that you may be amazed.

For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life,

so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes.

Nor does the Father judge anyone,

but he has given all judgment to the Son,

so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.

Whoever does not honor the Son

does not honor the Father who sent him.

Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word

and believes in the one who sent me

has eternal life and will not come to condemnation,

but has passed from death to life.

Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here

when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God,

and those who hear will live.

For just as the Father has life in himself,

so also he gave to the Son the possession of life in himself.

And he gave him power to exercise judgment,

because he is the Son of Man.

Do not be amazed at this,

because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs

will hear his voice and will come out,

those who have done good deeds

to the resurrection of life,

but those who have done wicked deeds

to the resurrection of condemnation.

“I cannot do anything on my own;

I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just,

because I do not seek my own will

but the will of the one who sent me.”