V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy Cross, Thou hast redeemed the world.
We have such a fear of falling—a fear of failure. We do anything we can to avoid admitting our own brokenness, our own inadequacy.
Do you think Christ thought of that as He fell beneath the weight of the cross?
Imagine Him, fallen on one knee, barely keeping from pitching head-first upon the ground, and then imagine Him turning to look at you, as if to say: "See, I have fallen. I will get up and go on for love of you. Will you get up and go on for love of Me?"
When we fall, we do not want to get up. We want to remain where we lie. After all, if we do not rise we cannot fall again. If we are failures, we need not fear failing.
Yet we must strip aside those lies. We must stand up again from each fall no matter if we know that we shall fall again.
He knew that He would fall again. He knew how painful those falls would be. At least we are spared that knowledge. We do not know when or how we will fail. We do know, however, that we weak mortal creatures will fall as surely as did our Lord beneath the weight of our sins.
If He could get up and go on, so can we because He told us to follow Him. He would not have said it were it not possible. Therefore, even from the depths of our failures and inadequacies causing us to muck about in the mire, we can stand again, muddy and bloodstained perhaps, but with eyes flaming with the fire of love.
Only love will carry us up and onward. Only love will bring us face to face with Him.
My beloved Jesus, it is not the weight of the Cross, but my sins, which have made Thee suffer so much pain. Ah, by the merits of this first fall, deliver me from the misfortune of falling into mortal sin. I love Thee, O my Jesus, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended Thee. Never permit me to separate myself from Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt. (From the Stations of the Cross according to Saint Alphonsus Liguori.)
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