the Cross of Jesus that brings salvation...

And stripping Him, they put a scarlet cloak on Him ... And the soldiers platting a crown of thorns, put it upon His head: and they put on Him a purple garment ... and a reed in His right hand. And bowing the knee before Him, they mocked Him, saying: Hail, King of the Jews. And spitting upon Him, they took the reed and struck His head ... Pilate therefore went forth again and saith to them: Behold, I bring him forth unto you, that you may know that I find no cause in Him. (Jesus therefore came forth, bearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment.) And he saith to them: Behold the Man ... And after they had mocked Him, they took off the cloak from Him and put on Him His own garments and led him away to crucify him. (Composite of Matthew 27:28-31 & John 19:2-5).

In what seems to be the most hideous act of cruelty and unreasonableness, the soldiers press Our Lord, having been beaten, deprived of sleep, deprived of food, scourged almost to the point of death, and now wearing a painful helmet of thorns, to carry His own cross to the place of execution.

He has already suffered too many punishments (He was not guilty, after all) - and He is already sentenced to die the most excruciatingly painful death. Why force Him, now, to carry His own cross?

Indeed. Why? And why do we, knowing of these things and being moved with pity, still go out and sin against Him? Has He not suffered enough in His Passion, that we must now add insult to His injuries, as St. Paul says, "crucifying again ... the Son of God and making him a mockery?" .....

That is what these meditations are intended to fortify us against. We may be moved with sympathy and compassion for Our Lord, but what good is it to shed tears if we then turn around and do the very things which caused Him to suffer this Passion in the first place?

From another point, we may also see that Our Lord does not intend for us, in carrying our own cross, to make the earthly pilgrimage in isolation, keeping Him alone as our sole companion. Rather, He instructs us to follow His example, and share the burden with the willing souls who would help us.

If even Our Lord relied on the shoulder of Simon for assistance, do we imagine that we are made of stronger stuff, so that we may boast of our own strength?

By His own life, Our Lord shows us that we may share in His work, and be participants in the ministry of salvation - not only our own salvation, but also that of our brothers and sisters.

Reflect for a moment how our many "sins, offenses, and negligences" cause the cross to weigh heavy on the shoulder of Our Lord. We all participated in adding to the weight of the cross; in the same way, we must all bear the responsibility of relieving that weight by our sufferings and penances.

Along the way to Calvary, Our Lord met his Blessed Mother, where she followed Him to the foot of the cross - in this meeting, as we commemorate in the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady, she feels the pain of the sword that pierced her own soul.

We may reflect upon this mystery, and take our place beside our Mother - follow alongside her as she follows after her Son, and weep with her as she suffers the full force of the sword in her soul.

Do not seek to avoid the pain, you who are privileged to have Mary as your mother, but rather, rejoice that you have been called to assist her in mourning. If we first weep with her here on Good Friday, we will surely also rejoice with her at the sight of the empty tomb on Easter morning.