The 2nd Station
Jesus carries His cross.
The 2nd Station: Jesus carries His cross.
Jesus said to His disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). The conditions of discipleship are demanding, challenging, and rewarding.
The 2nd Station ought to be contemplated through the lens of discipleship.
At this moment in the stations of the cross, Jesus is beginning the arduous journey toward Mount Calvary where He will be crucified. St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that the Passion of Christ is efficacious in two ways: His Passion is a remedy for our sins and His Passion is an example of how we ought to live.
Jesus carried His cross and we are to carry our crosses with Him. His example, as found in the 2nd Station, is what we are called to do. Jesus specifically told his disciples that part of following Him is taking up one’s cross.
A good prayer is to ask God for the grace to carry the cross. The old Christian adage holds: “No cross, no crown.” The 2nd Station helps us to focus on picking up the crosses in our lives with the hope that Jesus will crown us later.
“We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you; because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.”
Fr. Luke Daghir
Amazing article!