Station 8 Devotional

VIII

No thought for others; I complain

Demanding shares of all the grain

And still you spoke with selflessness and grace

I trust your power to sustain

At the eighth Station of the Cross Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem. Luke records this encounter. Jesus directs their sorrow away from himself and toward their own plight.

“A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for

him. Jesus turned and said to them, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep

for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed

are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never

nursed!’Then ‘they will say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ For if

people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?” (Luke

23: 27-31).

Reflection Question: Can you recall a time when you openly expressed your sorrow over injustice even in defiance of popular opinion?

Prayer: God, who taught that the mourners are blessed because they will be comforted, help our focus to be on others, rather than ourselves. In the name of Jesus who wept for his friend Lazarus.