The Second Station
Jesus Carries His
Cross
Reflection:
"Master, where
are you going?"
St. Peter's question
from (John 13:36) is
Is answered by
Pontius Pilate:
And Pilate said to
the Jews, "Behold, your king!"
But they cried out,
"Away with Him! Away with Him! Crucify Him!"
Pilate said to them,
"Shall I crucify your king?"
The chief priests
answered, "We have no king but Caesar."
Then he handed Him
over to them to be crucified.
And so they took Jesus
and led him away, bearing the cross for Himself. (John 19:14-17)
Meditation:
Thomas prepares us for the Second
Station of The Cross by showing us Christ’s invitation to take up
our own Cross. Thomas encourages us to be bold and willing. We must weigh
our fear of suffering against the path of Christ's Cross. Thomas reminds us that our struggle with
self-denial is a principal obstacle to our salvation. Our Lord never tells us
that the journey will be easy: He tells Peter (and us) that many will deny Him along
The Way (John 13:38).
CHAPTER XII, Book 2: Of the Royal
Way of the Holy Cross
To many, this seems a hard saying: “If any man
will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his Cross and follow Me (Matt 16:24).” But it will be much harder to hear that last
word from Him: “Depart from me, you cursed, into eternal fire (Matt 25:41).”
For those who willingly hear the word of the
Cross and follow it, they shall be afraid the hearing of eternal damnation.
This sign of the Cross shall be in Heaven when the Lord comes to judge. Then
all servants of the Cross, who in life have conformed themselves to the
Crucified, shall draw near to Christ their Judge with great boldness (Gal 2:20).
