What Makes a Terrible Friday, Good?

***For the next two weeks, I will be steering my Lenten Blog Challenge into the direction of The Way of the Cross, also known as The Stations of the Cross, Via Crucis, and Via Dolorosa. These names are used to signify either a series of pictures or tableaux representing certain scenes in the Passion of Christ, each corresponding to a particular incident, or the special form of devotion connected with such representations. I will be posting a Station each day, then reflecting on that Station. To read more about the Way of the Cross, click HERE.

STATION XI: JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS

The time has come. Shouts of pain echo as hammers strike nails. Roman soldiers were experts in torture and efficient in execution. Nails tear through sacred flesh and the blood that won our salvation flows out. As the Cross is lifted high for all to see, His body buckles under the weight and the stress. As He speaks words of love, compassion and forgiveness, we see that He is not just a criminal, teacher or prophet. He is God, and He is dying on a Cross for you.


STATION XII: JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS:

The skies have grown dark Rain falls. The earth quakes. Creation reacts to the loss of its Creator. Evil laughs as the transfigured One now hangs lifeless and disfigured. The angels remain silent. The Lord let Himself be destroyed. No more words. No more miracles. Christ does nothing to save Himself yet offers everything to save us. It is finished.

REFLECTION:

Christ could have saved himself, but he chose to save us. He didn't choose the easy path. When Jesus allowed himself to endure the pain of the cross, he was telling us something.He was showing us that there is no pain we can feel, that he hasn't already felt. He is showing us how far he is willing to go to save us. He would rather die, than risk not spending eternity without  us. As the hammer hits the nails, we hear the sound of true love. 

As Jesus breathed his last breath, everyone against him thought it was over. They were wrong. Sin, not God, was being destroyed. His sacrifice makes you worthy of heaven. God wants us to be with him eternally-- He gives us this invitation but it is up to us to respond. Christ laid down his life for us- even though we cannot do that, there is much we can do. Live your life in a way that you lay down your life for others, so that others may see Christ in you. 

~If you would like to love God,

look at the Crucifix!

~If you hope for eternal happiness,

look at the Crucifix!

~If you wonder how much

 God loves you,

look at the Crucifix!

~If you wonder how much

 God wants you in heaven,

look at the Crucifix!

~If you wonder how God

 tries to prevent you

 from the yawning jaws of hell,

 look at the Crucifix!

~If you wonder how much

 God will help you to save your immortal soul,

look at the Crucifix!

 ~If you wonder how much

 you should forgive others,

look at the Crucifix!

~If you wonder how much

 your faith demands of you,

in humility, poverty, charity, meekness

 and every virtue,

look at the Crucifix!

~If you want to know

 what unselfishness and generosity are,

look at the Crucifix!

~If you wonder how far

 your own unselfishness

should go to bring others to Christ,

look at the Crucifix!

~If you want to understand

 the need 

for self-denial and mortification,

look at the Crucifix!

~If you wish to live well,

look at the Crucifix!

~If you wish to die well,

look at the Crucifix!

The Crucifix - the Book of Life!

~Saint Thomas Aquinas