Station 3: Jesus falls for the First Time

And yet ours were the sufferings he bore, ours the sorrows he carried.  But we, we thought of him as someone punished, struck by God, and brought low.  Yet he was pierced through for our faults, crushed for our sins.  On him lies a punishment that brings us peace, and through his wounds we are healed.
                                                                                    Isaiah 53: 4 - 5
 
Reflection:    Jesus has only stepped out into the street when he staggers under the weight of the cross, then stumbles and falls.
 
There is a gasp among the bystanders who are sympathetic to Jesus, and curses from the soldiers who force Jesus to pick up the cross.  Initially the cross was thrust upon him; now Jesus embraces the cross and pulls it up to his shoulder.
 
No doubt Mary, the mother of Jesus was there.  She saw him stumble and fall.  Was she remembering his first baby steps, as he made a tentative step from her arms to Joseph’s?  Is she remembering picking him up and kissing his knees when he came back to her with a small boy’s bruises?  Now she cannot reach him; she cannot even catch his eye to give him a sign of encouragement.
We, as women, walk with Mary.  We too have our children, our loved ones.  Our warnings fall on deaf ears.  We see them stumble and fall, and we are powerless to do anything.  We remember; we hurt; we love.  We reach out to them through our prayer and trust in a God who loves our loved ones even more than we do.
Prayer:  Mary, you have been there before me.  Your heart opened wide to embrace Jesus when you met your son on his way to death.  You felt the depth of his suffering.  You entered his wounded path of pain.  I, too, need courage and spiritual stamina to be with the pain of those I love.  Teach me how to be with their suffering.  I want to meet them as lovingly as you met your wounded and pain-filled son.
 
Our Father, who art in heaven; hallowed by Thy name.  Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.  Amen.
 
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.  Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus.  Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death, AMEN.
 
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end, AMEN.
 
Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us.