The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1907-03-09
VIA CRUCIS.

Lesson Taught by the Fourth and Fifth Stations OF
the Cross-Gveat Sorrow of the Son and Mother.
THE FOURTH STATION.-Jesus is met by His
Blessed Mother
Still burdened with His Cross and wounded yet
more by His fall, Jesus proceeds on His way He
is met by His Mother
Pause, hottest of Christians, greatest of sin
ners contemplate the expressions on those two Di-
vine faces. The Holy Mother of God has by some
accident been brought out of the surging, BIAS
pheming, savage crowd and come face to face with
her Divine Son. How her mothers heart longs to
lay that weary, bleeding head uDon her loving
bosom, to put her consoling about her suf
fering sons body and soothe Him to rest, even if
it be the blessed rest of DEATH but it cannot be-
You read it in her sweet face, that still bears upon
it, notwithstanding the sharpness of the sword
passing through her agonized soul, that look of
divine humility which renews her acceptance of
the Divine decree. ''be it done unto me according
to Thy will" and He, the Savior of the world, how
lovingly and full OF compassion do his eyes rest
on her. to whom He was always "subject"-His
Mother. He cannot speak. The burden of that
Holy Cross has almost overcome Him. Yet as he
looks on her, she reads in his eyes, Mother behold
the faces around you for whom | drinking the
chalice of affliction. You know and none better
that [ would not change places with the most pow
erful rulers of the earth Do blame those about
you, for they are but assisting in my Fathers Di-
vine work" and then with look of fial love, such
as no earthly mother ever received before will
again, He proceeds on His awful journey. Par
don us, oh Mother Immaculate. if we have looked
too closely into the secret agony of thy greftorn
heart. but thou Sweet Lady knowest our weakness
and that 1t is the contemplation of thy sacred
heart which leads many weary-worn hearts back
to thy Divine Son: and thou, dear Jesus, hast
shown us, by the loving look thou gavest to her
who bore thee the great depth of thy affection for
all who plead to Thee, through the ntercesson of
Thv Blessed Mother our Divine Lady of Sorrows
Give us the strength, Sweet Mother,
To bear our Cross anew,
To have more faith in Jesus Christ,
And come to Him through you.
THE FIFTH STATION-Jesus is helped by the
Cyrenian to carry His Cross.
As the strength of Jesus fails and He is I'M
able to proceed the executioners compel Simon,
of Cyrene, to carry His Cross. The virtue of that
cross changed his heart and from a compulsory
task it became privilege and JOY How we
envy you, oh Simon of Cyrene! Would that we
were there to help to lessen the load on those dear
shoulders. Yet as are, we may, every hour of
our life lift the Cross from off the Christ by help
ing the poor, tending the sick, guiding the manned
and blind and leading the lost back to the paths of
rectitude bearing the little crosses of illness grief
and temporal losses. with smiling faces, nay with
downright JOY, because they become so light when
we see the awful weight of Thine Thou Crucified
One giving up the attractions of the world Let us
glory in Thy Cross alone. rending our hearts and
not our garments and showing to the world that it
is privilege we glory in. carry ever before us
the Crucifix of our Holy Church, the blessed in
strument of mans redemption on which the Sacred
Heart of Jesus was lifted up before mankind.
Dear Crucifix so full of doleful memories, / love
thee now
More than mere words can tell,
On thee the Christ crucified,
Beneath thy weight He fell.