Every Step with Jesus by John Collins

Author:John Collins
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Our Sunday Visitor
Published: 2016-03-18T04:00:00+00:00

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I do not understand why You fall to the ground for me, why Your suffering is so necessary for my joy. But I thank You for all that Your cross has won for me. Teach me to accept that the path ahead might be filled with difficulties and pain. Never let me forget that the Father orders all things, that He loves me, and that He will give me the strength to rise no matter how many times I fall. Amen.

– The Eighth Station –

Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem

St. John Chrysostom

John Chrysostom means “John the golden-mouthed,” for this saint was a man of unusual eloquence, someone who was able to express the truths of the Church in the most beautiful and penetrating ways. Born in Antioch about 349, he felt the pull of Christ at an early age and retired to the wilderness to lead a life of prayer, penance, and contemplation. Frail health, however, eventually forced him back to the city, where he was ordained to the diaconate and then the priesthood. John Chrysostom quickly became a powerful and beloved preacher, who attracted large crowds. In 397, he was named bishop of Constantinople. There he antagonized the aristocracy by his insistence on simplicity and asceticism, yet the common people loved him. A victim of political intrigue, Chrysostom was forced into exile despite the pope’s clear support for him. St. John Chrysostom died far from home on September 14, 407. It is said that his final words were, “Glory be to God for all things.” The feast day of this great Father and Doctor of the Church is September 13.

V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.

R. Because by Your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

“And there followed him a great multitude of the people, and of women who bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning to them said, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children’” (Lk 23:27-28).

Who are these women who follow Jesus to Golgotha, who seem to want to help or are at least unwilling to let Him approach death alone? We know them only as the women of Jerusalem, but He must have known their names. Perhaps among them were the mothers and sisters of His apostles, the wives and daughters of friends. Maybe some were simply women who had watched Him from afar and had seen something unusual in a young iterant rabbi. Whoever they were, like Veronica, and Our Lady at the foot of the cross, these were women of compassion and courage. As they support Jesus they publically side with a criminal whom both the state and religious leaders have condemned. These women court danger — a danger they disregard. Peter disowns Jesus; almost all the apostles flee in terror. But the women walk with Him. They are exactly what we are called to be. They are what so few of us ever become. St. John Chrysostom is filled with admiration for the women of Jerusalem.

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