Via Crucis, Felix Anton Scheffler - 1757
Church of Saint Martin - Ischl, Seeon (Diocese of München) - Germany

SEVENTH STATION
Jesus falls for the second time
 

V/. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R/. Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum.

From the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah 12,1

You are righteous, O Lord,
when I complain to you.
Yet I would plead my case before you.
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why do all who are treacherous thrive?

From the Book of Psalms. 37:1-2, 10-11

Fret not because of the wicked,
be not envious of wrongdoers!
For they will soon fade like the grass,
and wither like the green herb.
Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more,
though you look well at his place, he will not be there,
but the meek shall possess the land,
and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

MEDITATION

They weigh upon him ... and he falls a second time,
to show us the unbearable burden
of our sins.
But what is it that today, in particular,
strikes at Christ’s holy body?

Surely God is deeply pained
by the attack on the family.
Today we seem to be witnessing
a kind of anti-Genesis,
a counter-plan, a diabolical pride
aimed at eliminating the family.

There is a move to reinvent mankind,
to modify the very grammar of life
as planned and willed by God. [1]

But, to take God’s place, without being God,
is insane arrogance,
a risky and dangerous venture.

May Christ’s fall open our eyes
to see once more the beautiful face,
the true face, the holy face of the family.
The face of the family
which all of us need.