SHORT COMMUNICATION 160
In His Remembrance
By
Roger Behra
For Christians the Lenten period has just ended. It was the time of reflection on one’s life. It was the time of prayer, fasting, reconciliation, and penance for behaving badly. The last week of lent was the most noteworthy, because it focused on the passion, crucifixion, and death of Jesus, our Savior, which insured man’s eternal salvation.
The sacred passion and death our Savior endured for us is the sign of His great love for us. It is the greatest act of love ever performed, and the remembrance is recognized through the Stations of the Cross and especially during Lent in the Catholic Church.
The Stations of the Cross consist of the following:
1. Jesus is Condemned to Death after He was turned over by Judas, although he was innocent. The scouraging and crowning of thorns was extremely brutal, but He trusted in His Heavenly Father to rescue Him from the wicked.
2. Jesus Carries His Cross that has all the sins of mankind down through the ages stamped on it. The heavy cross caused a great shoulder wound on the way to Calvary.
3. Jesus Falls the First Time under the heavy cross, and no one helped Him up as He struggled to continue.
4. Jesus Meets His Mother as she grieved to see her Son suffering and struggling so much under the heavy cross.
5. Simon the Cyrenean Hepls Jesus, but he did so unwillingly and missed a great opportunity to receive great love from Jesus in return.
6. Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus when she left the crowd to comfort Jesus as He suffered and struggled along the way to Calvary. Jesus left the imprint of His sacred features on her veil to say thank you.
7. Jesus Falls a Second Time as the cross became heavier as Jesus weakened.
8. Jesus Consoles the Women of Jerusalem and tells them not to weep for Him but to weep for sinners and that many sins will be forgiven.
9. Jesus Falls a Third Time as His frail body gave way and failing strength took over.
10. Jesus is Stripped of His Garments and is humiliated before everyone watching.
11. Jesus is Nailed to the Cross in such a way that He was unable to move during the extreme pain and anguish of the nailing. Jesus felt His heavenly Father had forsaken Him.
12. Jesus Dies on the Cross, and at the moment of His death everyone present knew Jesus was whom He said He was as the sky opened, the lightning flashed, the thunder was very loud, and the rain pelted down with fury and great force.
13. Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross and given to His very grieving and deeply sorrowful Mother who followed her Son to Calvary and witnessed everything.
14. Jesus is Laid in the Tomb and put to rest and the world was given The Shroud of Turin to prove His Crucifixion.
If you meditate frequently on the 14 stations, you will receive abundant graces and blessings for your family, and at the hour of your death.
The resurrection of Jesus on the third day was a glorious event. His appearance to the Apostles later proved there is eternal life, and someday we will be with God, our deceased loved ones, and friends. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
R. B.