XIII. Jesus is taken down.

Play this music at the start of this station.

 

Behold your heart and the world that it holds.

Station 13

Jesus is taken down from the cross
and is brought to the arms of his mother.
We know this scene of the Pieta well.
We can say nothing
as we behold Mary’s heart-shattering loss.

We are no strangers to loss.
We have–all of us–experienced brokenness:
the brokenness of things, of people,
even of ourselves.
Some of us know what it’s like
to hold someone broken in our arms.
There are just no words.

This pandemic has been,
in many different ways, an experience of loss.
Lives have been lost.
Bodies and hearts–even spirits–have been broken.
There will be more.

What about you?
What broke for you?
Or, who did?
What–or whom–did you lose?

There are no words.

We can only turn to Mary,
and ask her to help us
hold all this brokenness in our hands,
and nurse our every loss in our hearts.

Like her, we can only pray to God
that we may choose
to remain strong and courageous– 

despite our own fears or discouragement,
to keep our faith
–even without understanding,
to love and serve those in need–
even if our first instinct is our own self-preservation.

When we feel like our selves are in pieces,
or our lives are in ruins,
we must turn to Jesus–
him who, for our sake, has been broken

and whose life turned into wreckage.
We must ask him to take the lead.

We don’t know what our future will bring,
so we turn over our lives to him
and ask for his guidance and help
to keep us strong and courageous,
faithful, and loving
the way he remained till his very last breath.



“Behold the Wood” (St. Louis Jesuits). Image for Station (Fratel Venzo).
“Jesus, Take the Wheel” (Caleb and Kelsey)

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11 replies on “XIII. Jesus is taken down.”

Dear Lord,

You alone hold my future. My future may be uncertain, but I know that with You holding it, my future is in good hands. Grant me the grace to be courageous, faithful and loving despite all the uncertainties. Amen.

Jesus, give me another chance. Save me from distress. Lord, take the wheel of my life. I always got it all wrong, always. Please take the wheel. Rule my life.

Lord, I can only trust You when I am heartbroken. You know the pain. and then You showed Your promises.

I will cling on to them Lord. Help me make these possible. Open the doors for these to flow in. Open my heart and mind to receive them.

In the midst of all the fears, anxieties, uncertainties and the feelings of discouragement, Mother Mary, may we be like you, strong and steadfast in faith, courageous to take on the situation we are in. But more than that, lead us to your son, Jesus, and may He take the wheel from us as He helps us navigate through all the the twists and turns of this pandemic. And as the path clears, may we see our brokenness and woundedness in a different light so that our healing comes through and our journey becomes more meaningful.

Lord, please comfort those who have lost loved ones during this pandemic. It is more painful that they are not even allowed to say goodbye to them. Comfort them & give them strength knowing that You will be granting their loved ones eternal rest.

Please take us under Your protection. Bless & guide those who are taking care of those who are ill. They are doing Your work.

Also bless & guide those who are looking for solutions to this pandemic. Also, we pray that we all open their hearts to You so we may be guided by Your teachings & receive Your blessings.

Amen

Lord, from birth to death Your mother is there for you. Let me take Mary as my spiritual mother who is also there for me.
I remember my mother who make a lot of sacrifices silently for the welfare of the family.
I remember her two hands holding my arm telling me don’t leave. probably that was the time she feels that her death is near. But I struggle to leave because of the mission.
Lord, for the things I was not able to do to my mama when she needed me most please grant her eternal peace. I have chosen you O Lord over my mother. Now I turn to Mama Mary as my spiritual mother.

During this time Of crisis we feel so lost and helpless. We don’t know how long this will last, we just have to trust in our Lord that all things shall pass. Lord help us strong & courage. We ask for your guidance & strength. Through tge intercession of our dear Mother Mary we know that we will be able to get through this crisis. Thank you Lord?

When I imagine Mary tenderly looking at her Son’s destroyed body, I see no tears in her eyes. It is as if there was nothing left to weep for as everything had been taken away from her. I imagine her heart to be empty, devoid of joy, hardened. She didn’t even have the energy anymore to ask God why would He do that to His own Son. She knew it had to be done and yet, her heart broke as if it was irreparable.
And all those hours of waiting for Him to come back to her were just filled with darkness. This is how I feel right now. This is how I have been feeling for a long time. A shroud of despair and sadness has covered me and I have learned how to live with it. I feel my heart is irreparable.
But I also look to Mary that if she bore this horrible, tragic incident in her life with the hope of God’s promise than maybe, one day, I can also shrug off my mantle of sadness.

Maybe one day.

For all that is happening around us and in this world, may we not lose you Lord. Keep us strong. Mama Mary, thank you for being our Mother. We love you.

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