Reflections on the Fourteen (14) Stations of the New Way of the Cross (Part 1 of 3)

My dear fellow Senior Citizens,

I am encouraged to write my short reflections on the New Way of the Cross because I say the prayer every morning during this Lenten Season 2023. As I pray, I am so inspired to think about God while looking at the trees, some blooming with bright orange flowers, and the simple garden, feeling the breeze on my cheeks, hearing the birds chirp and happily distracted by some butterflies.

First Station – The Last Supper

The institution of the Last Supper aids us immensely to be reminded of our Lord offering His Body and Blood for us to partake, for our salvation. This centerpiece of our faith in the Mass tells us of that love for us expressed in the miraculous changing of bread into the body of Christ and wine into His blood. As we eat and drink food every day to nourish our body, we surely need regular nourishment for our soul. It is very logical that we desire daily Masses for this spiritual nourishment.

Presently, if there is one thing we could attribute positively to the CoViD19 pandemic, it is the hastening of the technology of participating in online Masses for those who cannot attend Masses face-to-face.

I thank you, Lord, for the institution of the Holy Eucharist to feed us spiritually. May we appreciate your thoughtfulness for us always. Before You died, we were always in your thoughts because you lived and died for us.

Second Station – The Agony in Gethsemane

Jesus showed us that before we make decisions in life, every decision should start with a prayer. For His very important decision, to die for us, He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, a garden of olive trees. It was at night. We could imagine how silent but also how lonely it had been. If His disciples were with Him praying, there could had been some support He felt. However, as what we know, the disciples were sleeping. Imagine Jesus praying for strength from God, the Father, for His decision praying alone, with those closest to Him, sleeping!

My memory brings me back to Mati in Davao Oriental, when my husband had a cardiac arrest and I was with him in the emergency room alone with the nurse coming in for resuscitation every now and then. I said to myself, “Here I am holding my dying husband in the middle of the night while the whole world is sleeping!” It was a sorrowful, eerie feeling. At that most critical moment, I was reciting to Him the perfect act of contrition and assuring Him that I could take care of our two children.

The prayer ended with His giving in to the will of the Father. It is the start of a long agony which only the perfect human person could accept. “Not my will, but Your will be done.”

When events coming our way are so difficult and painful to us and to our loved ones, the best prayer is the prayer of resignation.

Third Station – Jesus is Condemned to Death

During the time of Jesus, to die on the cross is the worst way of dying. It is reserved for persons who committed heinous crimes. Christ was condemned to die and was to be crucified on the cross. Even when only the Pharisees and the Scribes were shouting for this, Pontius Pilate cowardly pronounced the death sentence. To be crucified and to die on the cross is anguish enough; what more when Jesus knew that this served the vested interests of the Pharisees and the Scribes.

At the time of His prayer, the sentence of death was still in the mind. Now, it is already pronounced. It is already announced. It is ready for execution. The preparation is set to motion. This must be how prisoners condemned to death feel. Those diagnosed with malignant diseases also experience this. When doctors inform their patients or relatives regarding the hopelessness of the condition of patients, there is a shadow of condemnation in the statement.

The condemnation of Jesus to die is wrought with human flaws. We humans should be reminded that only God knows and He never condemns because He gives us all the chances to repent for our sins. We condemn ourselves.

Fourth Station – Jesus is Scourged and Crowned with Thorns

Evil loves to see people suffer from pain and mockery. Our Lord was already suffering much, listening to the sentence of death on the cross. As if this sentence to die is not enough, the soldiers lashed Him and crowned Him with thorns. The mockery of crowning a sentenced man is so inhuman. To crown one with thorns must be so painful to the head. Whatever clothes He had on, stuck to His skin which would bring Him more agony when He is stripped of them later.

Our Lord Jesus suffered these all for us whom He loves. Could we also suffer some bruises to our ego to offer to God for the ones we love?

Fifth Station – Jesus Carries His Cross

We, Catholics are told to patiently carry our cross. In reality, whenever we have problems, we right away pray and ask the Lord to help us have the patience of carrying our crosses. Jesus carried the heavy cross for us. It is our sins, He was carrying. If we believe it, so we should then think first about helping Him carry our sins rather than the Lord helping us to carry our cross. We began letting the Lord suffer when He anticipated His death for us. I wonder if this was even before He was born?

Life here on earth is imperfect. That is why we are always reminded that our partial and imperfect life is only passing in this world. The everlasting one is life hereafter in Heaven. Hell must be avoided by all means since its anguish to never see the Lord is for eternity and most terrifying!

We are sorry, Lord, for carrying the cross of our sins. By avoiding sin, we are making the cross a bit light. And we further ask You, Lord, to help us carry our cross to make it light, too, and out of our love for You, to enjoy the beatific vision in Heaven eternally.