Twelfth Station - Jesus Dies on the Cross
"We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. Because by Your holy Cross You have redeemed the world."
Daniel and I got to carry our "crosses" with Jesus. When I was thinking about how heavy Emmanuel gets while walking and walking, I thought of him as my cross to carry. Usually we think of something "bad" as a cross, and I didn't want to say that Emmanuel is bad. But as parents, our children are our crosses to carry for Jesus. Parenting as we are called to isn't easy. It brings out the worst in me sometimes as I realize how easily I am angered or my temper flares when the kids are not behaving as I would like them to behave. In confession, I am always confessing my failures as a mother. But I'm not going to get out of it...each day I will wake up as a mother and will have the duty before me to care for my children with love and respect, compassion and joy. They are my crosses to carry, but we are called to lift high the cross and carry it joyfully with Christ because He has allowed us to share in His suffering. My kids allow me to grow in holiness; they help me to Heaven.
Thirteenth Station - The Body of Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross
Fourteenth Station - Jesus is Laid in the Tomb