MEDITATION FOR TUESDAY
JESUS CARRIES HIS CROSS
“They took Jesus and led Him forth. And he bore His cross” (John 19, 16–17).
First Prelude: Behold Jesus, laden with the heavy cross, advancing wearily and sinking several times under the burden.
Second Prelude: Grant me grace, O my beloved Saviour, to walk perseveringly in the way of sufferings and humiliations.
First Point
JESUS TAKES THE CROSS UPON HIS SHOULDERS
Having clothed Jesus again in His purple robe, which they had cruelly torn from His bruised Body, the soldiers fetched the cross whereon He willed to die, and cast it at His feet. With infinite love and profound humility, He embraced the heavy load, and laid it on His sacred shoulders which were so torn and lacerated by the inhuman scourging that they seemed one great wound. The sacred Blood streamed from every pore and marked the way that He walked. Much heavier than the weight of the cross was the enormity of the sins of the whole world, which Jesus had taken upon Himself and which rendered the journey to Calvary exceedingly painful. St. Bonaventure said that our Saviour carried a two-fold cross, an interior and an exterior one. The exterior cross was that of sufferings and penance; the interior, that of mercy and compassion with sinners.
Let us consider that our sins were the real burden which so oppressed our Divine Saviour. We will, therefore, excite deep compunction and contrition for them and thank our Lord with all our heart for having taken upon Himself the heavy cross for love of us, to save us from eternal perdition. We will excite a lively desire to participate in His sufferings. This is what our Saviour expects of us. We should take the cross upon our shoulders and follow Him. Henceforth, like true children of God, we will carry it after the Saviour in resignation, in implicit trust and love, following in His footsteps, ever keeping our eternal destination in view. Love makes all things sweet and easy. With what sentiments do I carry my daily cross?
Second Point
JESUS FALLS BENEATH THE HEAVY WEIGHT OF THE CROSS
Jesus, unable to carry the heavy burden placed upon His shoulders, repeatedly sank to the ground beneath its weight. Exhausted unto death, He lay on the ground for our sake, stretched in the dust of the earth like a worm. Jesus willed by the merits of this fall to liberate us from human instability and to insure us the grace of perseverance. We succumb so easily to the reverses of daily life, become discouraged and hesitate when there is question of carrying a cross. We complain of the least misfortune and believe ourselves burdened with more than we are able to carry. Oh, how does the example of our cross-laden Saviour put us to shame, Who though crushed to earth, always rises again and proceeds courageously! What a consolation in the thought that the Lord Himself has borne our weakness! His weakness is our strength, because in His merciful Heart we find grace to bear the burdens we shoulder for His sake. By His repeated painful prostrations, Jesus merited for us the grace to avoid sin.
Let us kneel beside our suffering, bleeding Saviour, repent of our frequent relapses, and promise betterment. Let us animate and quicken our confidence in His Divine Omnipotence which will vigorously support our least endeavors for virtue. Let us heed His counsel: “Watch and pray, lest you fall into temptation” (Mark 14, 38). What precautions should I take to guard against a fall?
Affections: O most affable Jesus, to what excess has Thy immeasurable love impelled Thee! I behold Thee, laden with the heavy cross, exhausted unto death, pale, ascending Mount Calvary. O holy cross, on which my Saviour, with so much love and inexpressible exhaustion, carried the heavy burden of my sins, I salute Thee and with tenderest gratitude reverently embrace Thee. For Thee, O Saviour of the world, Son of the Most High, the cross was an abasement; I, however, a miserable sinner, have deserved it. It will be honorable for me to carry the cross of affliction and renunciation and thus to follow perseveringly in Thy footsteps. Grant me the grace, O Jesus, to embrace my cross generously, mindful of the words: “And he that taketh not up his cross and followeth Me is not worthy of Me” (Matt. 10, 38).
Resolution: If I find it difficult to make a sacrifice demanded of me, I will take courage in the thought that Jesus has gone before and merited grace for me to follow in His footsteps.
Spiritual Bouquet: “If any man will come after Me, let him take up his cross and follow Me.”
Prayer: Soul of Christ . . .
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