Jesus Falls for the Second Time
This is a child page of Follow the Stations of the Cross
We adore thee O Christ, and we bless you.
Because of your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Jesus said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death..." And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, this hour might pass from him (Mk 14: 34-35)
To know that the Son of God’s strength should fail him in indeed terrifying, yet it reminds us of what John (3:16) says of him: "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son..." To take upon himself the weight of man’s sins and, as man, succumb under it. Humanly speaking, what would the Father have felt upon seeing his Son’s sufferings, who in fulfilment of his Father’s will gave himself up to death?
We always want to know why God allows so much suffering in the world. There is no easy answer to this. God can only give a gesture of fatherly love: he loves the world so much that he gave his only Son to fall and be crushed under its weight.
We should not dwell so much on our own suffering which is nothing compared to what the Son of God suffered for us. Whenever we are able to share in a small way in Christ’s suffering, it is indeed a grace.
Our Father ...
Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled
She beheld her tender Child
All with bloody scourges rent.