Seventh Station: Jesus falls a Second time
A reading from the book of Lamentations
I am one who has seen affliction
under the rod of God’s wrath;
he has driven and brought me
into darkness without any light;
against me alone he turns his hand,
again and again, all day long.
He has made my flesh and my skin waste away,
and broken my bones;
he has besieged and enveloped me
with bitterness and tribulation;
he has made me sit in darkness
like the dead of long ago.
(Lamentations 3:1-6)
Silent Reflection
The Daily Life – A Pilgrimage to Heaven, from Martin Luther
This life is not a state of being righteous, but rather, of growth in righteousness;
Not a state of being healthy, but a period of healing;
Not a state of being, but becoming;
Not a state of rest, but of exercise and activity.
We are not yet what we shall be, but we grow towards it;
The process is not yet finished, but is still going on;
The life is not the end, it is the way to a better.
All does not yet shine with glory; nevertheless, all is being purified.
Holy God, Holy and mighty, Holy immortal one, have mercy upon us.