Encouragement

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Calvary is considered to be the holiest place for Christians around the world. The Via Dolorosa is a very significant path in the life of every Christian. This was the fateful road that our Lord walked on His traumatic journey carrying the weight of the Cross and the sins of the world on His redemptive shoulders.

If we could only identify with His feelings and anguish during this journey. Suppose we were to go back in time and presume that we were present during the Way of the Cross. Let us reflect and ponder within ourselves as to which role would we have chosen from some of the prominent people who were actively involved on this holy day.

1) The jeering crowd - Would we have stood along with the people of Israel, condemning the Lord or would we have shouted in His favor?
We are always quick to condemn others even innocent ones without first examining our own selves and recognizing our faults.

2) Simon of Cyrene - Would we have willingly offered to help the Lord carry His cross or would we have grumbled and complained the way Simon did?
Even today, we are given various crosses to bear. Do we carry them cheerfully in full understanding that in doing so, we are actually partaking in the Way of the Cross on that fateful Good Friday?

3) Veronica - Would our hearts have been stirred with compassion and pity on seeing the bruised and bleeding face of Our Lord ? Would we have rushed to wipe His adorable face and receive the reward of His Sacred image?
There are many people suffering in the present world who perhaps just need a small gesture of kindness and love from us. We all carry the image of the Lord in our hearts. If only we would allow this image to shine over in our deeds while alleviating the pain of others.

4) The Women of Jerusalem - Would we have cried in anguish at the sight of our Lord under the heavy burden of the cross, seeing Him fall so many times and get up again in spite of His weakness and torment, unable to bear the agony of His suffering?
The world today has gone so far away from our Lord. It has forgotten the heavy price that He paid to save us all. Christ is still in torment and anguish, in a way still walking the Via Dolorosa until peace and harmony is established in the world. Jesus was right in telling the women to cry for themselves and their children rather than for Him.
Do we still cry with Him and understand His pain and work towards making the world the heaven God really wanted it to be instead of destroying it with our superficial power?

5) The Centurion – Would our hearts be converted and filled with the Spirit of God at the sight of the Crucified Lord as the Centurion was at the foot of the Cross?
The Lord still awaits our presence at the foot of the Cross. It is here that we can find the true peace that our heart longs for.

6) The two thieves - Would we have repented and looked forward to the eternal paradise with our Lord as did the good thief or would we have taunted the Lord as the bad thief did?
Sometimes, we play a dual role in life. When it suits us, we are all with the Lord earnestly requesting that He remembers us in his heavenly kingdom and longing to be with Him in paradise. But at other times, we taunt and criticize our fellow brothers who are also made in the image of our Lord.

7) Nicodemus - Though a Pharisee, he always favored the Lord. He knew in His heart that Jesus was the Messiah. Would we have stood at Calvary as Nicodemus did and utter the prophecy of Isaiah come true at last? “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed”.- Isaiah 53:5.
We all have the Holy Spirit within us, we just need to activate it to open our eyes to the various truths of the Gospel, to recognize that healing comes from God alone and through His stripes and the blood that He shed on the Cross.

8) The women at the Cross – They stood by the cross, weeping and praying, trying to share in the agony of our Lord.
Do we sincerely stand at the Cross today and recall with fervor the agony of our Lord on this fateful afternoon? Are our minds in union with the sufferings of the Lord? Do we relive the passion of our Lord and weep at His grievous suffering and death on the cross?

9) John the apostle - Would we have stood faithfully by the Lord as John did , comforting His Mother Mary and promising to be a faithful child to her and honoring her as our own Mother?
Mary continues to intercede for us as she did at the Cross. Having witnessed the brutal agony and death of her beloved son, she pleads for her children here on earth. Do we recognize her as the Mother of mankind and welcome her into our homes as John the apostle did?

10) Joseph of Arimathea - A secret disciple of Jesus who provided a tomb and resting place for the lifeless body of Jesus. Do we welcome the Lord within our hearts when we receive Him in the Eucharist as Joseph tenderly did His body when it was brought down from the Cross? Are our hearts a resting place for the Lord?

Today, Jesus continues to walk on this road laden with our sins and the burden of the world. Perhaps, we are walking our own Via Dolorosa of suffering and pain in some way or the other. Let us unite ourselves with the Lord on this journey. Let Golgotha be re-lived in our minds, the pain and the horror of the crucifixion that our Lord underwent for our sake.

The Via Dolorosa should always be a lasting remembrance of the passion of Jesus. May our hearts always be ready to walk this road in faithful union with our Lord.

Maria Franco

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