The Fourth Station ( scriptural): Jesus is Denied by Peter

Fourth Station: Jesus is Denied by Peter
(Matthew 26: 69-75)

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. One of the maids came over to him and said, "You too were with Jesus the Galilean." But he denied it in front of everyone, saying, "I do not know what you are talking about!" As he went out to the gate, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, "This man was with Jesus the Nazorean." Again he denied it with an oath, "I do not know the man!" A little later the bystanders came over and said to Peter, "Surely you too are one of them; even your speech gives you away." At that he began to curse and to swear, "I do not know the man." And immediately a cock crowed. Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken: "Before the cock crows you will deny me three times." He went out and began to weep bitterly.

Prayer:  Lord, grant us the gift of honesty that we may not fear to speak the truth even when difficult.

Meditation from Thomas a'Kempis:  Book 3, Chapter 30,

"3. But it is part of human nature to be deluded by the images of imagination, and the sign of a soul that is still weak that you so easily follow the suggestions of your enemy, the devil, who does not care whether his deceits are true or fake, or whether he trips you up with the love of things present or fear of things to come.


Therefore, do not be troubled or fearful (Jn 14:27). Have confidence in Me and trust in My mercy. When you think I am far away, I am often closest to you. When you think that almost all is lost, often a greater reward follows.


All is not lost just because things go contrary to your wishes. Do not judge according to your present feelings, and do not take any trouble so much to heart that you lose all hope of being delivered from it."

Thomas reminds us the Jesus comes back (from the dead!) and forgives Peter, then asks Peter to take care of His sheep... That's us!  Our meditation then is to look for that deliverance.

Thanks for praying along with me. Until next time, be imitators of Christ!

tim

The Third Station: Jesus Falls the First Time

III.  Jesus falls the first time

 

Meditation from Book III, Chapter 20, The Imitation of Christ

The Confession of Our Own Infirmity and the Miseries of This Life

As Jesus bears the cross to Golgotha, he stumbles under its tremendous weight and because of the severe nature of his wounds.  As Jesus' wrestles with the heaviness of the cross, He meets the oppressiveness of our sin.

Thomas teaches us today, to meditate on those sins that cast us into the mire, but to hope in God's Mercy and gentle Hand.

DISCIPLE:  I will confess against myself my injustice (Ps.22: 5).  I will confess to You, 0 Lord, my infirmity.

It is oftentimes a small thing which casts me down and troubles me. I make a resolution to behave myself valiantly; but when a small temptation comes I am brought into great straits.

It is sometimes a very trifling thing from which proceeds a grievious temptation.

And when I think myself somewhat safe, I find myself sometimes, when I least apprehend it, almost overcome with a small blast of wind.

2. Behold, then, O Lord, my abjection and frailty (Ps 25:18), every way known to Thee.  Have pity on me and draw me out of the mire (Ps. 69:15), that I do not get stuck there, that I may not be utterly cast down forever.

Next time, I will return to the Scriptural Stations.

Until then, thanks for reading and praying along with me. Be imitators of Christ!
tim

The Second Station: Jesus Accepts the Cross

Jesus Accepts the Cross


I am the Way, by Ariel Agemian


 When the chief priests and the guards saw Jesus they cried out, "Crucify him, crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and crucify him. I find no guilt in him." ... They cried out, "Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your king?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar." Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, and carrying the cross himself he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha.

(John 19: 6, 15-17)

Prayer: Lord, grant us strength of purpose that we may faithfully bear our crosses each day.

Meditation from The Imitation of Christ: Book 2, Chapter 12; The Way of the Cross



by Ariel Agemian

 5. If you willingly bear the Cross, it will bear you, and will bring you to the end which you seek, even where there shall be the end of suffering; though it shall not be here.

If you bear it unwillingly, you make a burden for yourself and greatly increase your load, and yet you must bear it. If you cast away one cross, without doubt you shall find another and perhaps even a heavier cross.

Until next time, be imitators of Christ!
tim

Thanks for reading and praying along with me.

A Clarification on the Stations of the Cross

Hello fellow travellers. 

There are several versions of the Stations of the Cross "out there".

Some are straight out of Holy Scripture, while others are based on Scripture and Tradition.

Just to be mean, I'll probably go back and forth between the two!

First Station: Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane



Jesus in the Garden
of Gethsemane

 What does Thomas a'Kempis have to say about the Stations of the Cross?  His great book has many entries that walk with Jesus from the Garden to the Tomb and Beyond.  Today, and in the coming days, we will take that journey with Jesus, and Thomas, and our fellow travellers.

First Station: Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He took along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to feel sorrow and distress. Then he said to them, "My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch with me." He advanced a little and fell prostrate in prayer, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will." When he returned to his disciples he found them asleep. He said to Peter, "So you could not keep watch with me for one hour? Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."
(Matthew 26:36-41)

Meditation: From Book 3, Chapter 48: The Day of Eternity and of the Miseries of This Life.



Jesus in the Garden
by El Greco.

 5. Oh how I suffer inwardly, while with the mind I consider on Heavenly things, and presently a crowd of worldly things rushes upon me while I pray. My God, be not far from me(Ps 71:12), nor
depart in wrath from Your servant (Ps 27:9).

Cast forth Your lightning and scatter them; send out Your arrows,(Ps 144:6) and let all phantoms of the enemy be put to flight.

Recall my senses unto You, cause me to forget all worldly things; grant me quickly to cast away and despise the imaginations of sin.

Succour me, O Eternal Truth,that no vanity may move me.

Come unto me, O Heavenly Sweetness, and let all impurity flee from before Thy face.

Pardon me also, and in Your will deal mercifully and gently with me, so that whenever I pray, my thoughts are only of You; for I confess truly that I am continually distracted.



Distraction of the mind

 For oftentimes, even though I am sitting or standing there in body; but rather am I wandering where ever my thoughts carry me. Where my thought is, there am I; and there commonly is that which I love. Of course, those things which readily occur to me, are those which, by my own habit, naturally delight, or please me.


St. Escriva


6. For this reason You Who are the Truth has plainly said: “Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” (Matt 6:21).

'Til next time, thank you for praying along with me.
tim

Man Proposes, but God Disposes - Even the Devout Struggle

Chapter 19 - The Exercise of a Good Religious, deserves to be broken open because it is longer than many of the chapters, and because there is much to say here.

First, this chapter is a logical follow-on to the last several chapters, which are oriented toward those "religious" entering the monastery or cloister or convent.  For those of us who are lay persons, these chapters are a call to bring our devotion and obedience to the world...the world of our families, our workplaces, our daily paths.

The term "Religious" here speaks of the ordained ministers of the Church or those who have taken vows.  And for us lay-people, we should simply read the word "devout".  Thomas wrote mainly for the audience of the religious community, as he trained most of the men entering his monastery.

Secondly, in this chapter, Good Thomas calls us to reflect upon our actions, and to ask ourselves whether our inward and public lives match.  He then provides a simple prayer for us to open our day.

Last of all, Thomas sets the order of things for a devout life, giving us God's perspective in this famous line from Chapter 19:
 For man proposes, but God disposes; nor is the way of man in his own hands-Proverbs 16:9. 

In this, Thomas calls us to trust in the Lord, and in His Saving Grace.

Chapter 19

The Exercise of a Good Religious - The Devout of God

The life of a good religious-of one who is devoted to God- ought to be dominant in all virtues, such that you may be the same on the inside as you appear in outward behavior. And with good reason you ought to be much more virtuous in your interior life than you appear to others; because He who beholds us is God, of whom we ought especially to stand in awe, wherever we are, and like angels walk pure in His sight.

We ought every day to renew our resolution and excite ourselves to fervor as if this were the first day of our conversion, and to say: “Help me, O Lord God, in my good resolution and in Your holy service, and give me grace now this day perfectly to begin, for what I have done up to now is nothing."

We will progress and advance in accord with how we resolve to set our will; and whoever is diligent will advance significantly. Now, if someone who regularly and strongly makes such resolutions occasionally fails, what will happen to those who seldom make any resolutions or make only weak resolutions? The falling off from our resolution happens in different ways; and a small omission in our exercises seldom passes without some loss. The resolutions of the just depend on the grace of God, rather than on their own wisdom; and in God they always put their trust, whatever they take in hand:

For man proposes, but God disposes; nor is the way of man in his own hands-Proverbs 16:9.

So for now, I propose to resolve to work on my virtues inwardly, that these may show outwardly, and let The Lord dispose of the excesses of my self, making me more like Him.

Thanks for reading and praying along with me.

'Til next time, be imitators of Christ.
tim

What Example Are We Following? The Way...Of The Cross.

This week, Thomas points us to the early church fathers as an example of how far we are to go in our quest for holiness.  He tells us of the trials and tribulations of these men and women, and how they persevered under dire persecutions and severe accommodations....but counted it all joy (Js 1:2).  As mentioned last time, these last few chapters, as well as the next few (15-20, really) should be read together to get the sense that Thomas is driving at:  living a Holy Life.  Of course, this Book, and indeed the four books, were written as a "manual" for new members of the monastery in which Thomas himself lived.  This first book, then, is the most "practical" in that it contains direct advice to those entering the monastic life.  Each subsequent book takes the acolyte deeper into God's mystery, culminating in the source and summit of our faith in book 4.  This all reminded me of a song from my Promise Keepers days, called "Face to Face".  Give it a listen while you're reading and praying.

Chapter 18

The Examples of the Holy Fathers

Look upon the vivid examples of the holy fathers and the saints in whom true perfection and religion were most evident and you will see how little, and almost nothing, that is which we do by comparison.  Alas! what is our life, if compared to theirs? The Saints and friends of Christ served the Lord in hunger and thirst; in cold and nakedness; in labor and weariness; in watching and fastings; in prayers and holy meditations; in persecutions and many insults – Hebrews 11:37

2. Ah! Consider how many and how grievous tribulations were endured by the apostles, martyrs, confessors, virgins, and indeed all the saints, who willingly followed in Christ's footsteps! For they disparaged their lives in this world, that they might possess them for eternity – Jn 12:25.

Oh, how strict and mortified a life did the holy fathers lead in the desert! What long and grievous temptations did they endure! How often were they persecuted by the enemy! What frequent and fervent prayers did they offer to God! What rigorous abstinence did they go through! What great zeal and fervor for they had for their spiritual progress! How strong a war did they wage for overcoming vice! How pure and upright was their intention to God! They labored all day and in the night they gave themselves to prayer: though even while they were at work they did not cease from mental prayer.

3. They spent all their time profitably: every hour seemed short which they spent with God. Often through the great sweetness of divine contemplation they forgot even the the bodily needs of food and rest. They renounced all riches, dignities, honors, friends, and families; they desired to have nothing of this world; they scarcely allowed themselves the necessities of life; serving the body, even in necessity, was wearisome to them.  They were poor, therefore, as to earthly things, but very rich in grace and virtue. Outwardly they were in want, but inwardly they were refreshed with divine graces and consolations.

4. They were strangers to the world, but to God they were near and familiar friends. To the world, they were despised, and even to themselves, seemed as nothing; but in the eyes of God they were very precious and beloved. They stood in true humility, they lived in simple obedience, they walked in charity and patience; and therefore they daily advanced in spirit, and obtained great favor with God. They were given as an example for all the devout ones, and ought more to excite us to make good progress than the number of the lukewarm to grow slack.

5. Oh, how great was the fervor of all the devout in the beginning of their holy societies! Oh, how great was their devotion in prayer! How great their zeal for virtue! What great devotion was in force among them! What great reverence and obedience in all, flourished under the rule of a superior! The footsteps remaining still bear witness that they were truly perfect and holy saints, who, waging war so stoutly, trod the world under their feet. Today, those who are not transgressors are thought great, as well as those who can with endure with patience what has been undertaken.

6. Ah, the lukewarmness and negligence of our state, that we so quickly fall away from our former fervor, and are now even wary of living through sloth and tepidity. Would to God that advancement in virtues was not wholly asleep in you who have so often seen many examples of the devout!

And so Thomas reminds us that this quest is not a one-time event.  Or a "retreat" event.  This following in Christ's footsteps, and in the steps for the Church's Saints, is a day-by-day, month-by-month, year-by-year event.  And yes....even minute-by-minute, step by step!

Until next time, thanks for praying along with me.
tim