Journeying Back With Mary (4)

Day 4: 11th. Station
Jesus is nailed to the cross

Mary recalls his words: "'Foxes have their caves and birds their nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head'. Here, he found a place to lay his head. Not to rest. For, how could he rest until all was accomplished"? How I wish to cradle his head in my lap and pour soothing balm into his wounds and his burning eyes. How I longed to pick out those terrible thorns one by one and wipe that face covered with blood, dust and spittle, clean.
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Reflection
Mary, how many times we too have fancied that if only we were there on Calvary, we would have done heroic things to relieve Jesus of His pain. Mother, we try to constantly escape from the world of hard reality into the realm of fantasy. Help us to see the face of your wounded son in the dirty beggar on the street, the hideous leper locked away somewhere, and the destitute rolling on the pavement. May I find joy in being broken in service of the wreck of humanity. May I be ready, like your Son, to be taken apart for love's sake.