Jesus takes up His Cross

It turns out today is the Solemnity of the Feast of the Annunciation because it fell on a Sunday. Sorry about that!

The Second Station

Jesus takes up His Cross

 

And he said to all, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? (St. Luke 9.23-25)

When I woke up this morning I wondered what I would say in tonight's blog. I knew I didn't want to "pre-think" anything and rather wanted the experiences of the day to dictate what I wrote. So, I tried not to think about it at all.... Don't think of a white elephant...

I knew what the station was, however and I felt that that was fair. That way I could see how my experiences of the day related to the station. But, turns out today was a pretty good day. There was no carrying my cross or bearing my burden! I went to early morning Mass with a friend and then went off and spent the day rehearsing with my actors for a film I am directing over the next two days. And that was a lot of fun! Not to give you the lowdown of the whole day but the evening was also really special and ended with me riding a bike down Kloof Nek to go pick up a camera rig for my shoot tomorrow! 

I guess what I can take from this is that my life is truly blessed. I have my health, I have friends, I have a roof over my head, I am doing what I love and I am Catholic! The challenge, I suppose, when I am in a time of "plenty", is to help others bear their crosses. And it's always good to acknowledge what I do have and how I can use that for others.

One thing that did strike me today was in Mass (the second time round (because I went again as part of RCIA tonight)) there was a visiting priest. I knew the priest as I used to attend the Parish he presided over a few years ago and seeing him reminded me of where I have come from in the last few years and how "taking up my cross" and following Christ has led me to a place I never could have imagined back then. (He is an awesome priest by the way)

I'm afraid I don't have anything more than that but that's the way it goes, I suppose. Once again, I'll end with St.Clare's prayer for this station.

Let us pray:

Lord Jesus, in this mirror, in this picture, I see the unfathomable, the unspeakable depth of your love for me. There were none to defend you from the hatred of the world when you stood silently, uttering no abuse and covered in shame. Our shame. Surrendering to the Father, you embraced us in the cruel wood of the Cross –while we surrendered to fear and abandoned you. You watched us flee, even as our sins rushed in upon you. That emblem of ignominy, rough-hewn, sin-saturated and fraught with such torment, you did not push away although a Legion of Angels stood at your call. How the world trembled around you! Angels and men!

You had lost so much blood! How could you have borne it? The way to the height of that sad summit of suffering was a gauntlet of pain and abuse, mockery, derision, and violence to your flesh – and still, still you choose the Cross? Alike, we who fled, and those who stayed – we, who took no violence to our flesh, and they who brought such violence to yours ... alike we bore down upon you as insufferable weight in the Cross. You could have fled, called down your Angels, passed through their midst – but you stayed because of us, as we fled because of you.

And still you stay!  – in the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar!

And still we flee you! Fearing violence to our desires through submission to grace; fearing that same guilt by association that would call us, in you, to hold fast to our vows, fleeing the hatred of the world that would rush in upon us as our own sins rushed in upon you.

From afar we watch you stagger as our Cross is thrown upon you. Blinded by spittle and blood, buffeted on every side, you begin to wend your way into our lives. "Greater love hath no man ..." You know that we will come, one day, to understand this and through your example hold fast against the withering hate of this world.

Give me, O, Christ, to become like unto Thee, to take my first steps through that gauntlet of grace that leads me beyond that suffering height ... that I may die for Thee ... as Thou hast died for me! 

PS: Apologies for posting so late!