X. Jesus is Stripped of His Garments

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy Cross, Thou hast redeemed the world.

Finally Christ reached the place of execution and there He was stripped of His last possessions: the clothing His Mother had made for Him.  There He stood, naked, with nothing to call His own but His blood streaming over His body.

We are ashamed when we have nothing.  We cannot bear our own poverty.

Yet He stood without humiliation because He placed His trust not in things of this world, but in doing the will of the Father, which He did so perfectly.  He knew that, although stripped of all worldly possessions, He possessed the treasures of the Kingdom of Heaven as promised by His Father.

If only we trusted in nothing bound to pass away with this world.  If only we could have for ourselves nothing but the blood of Christ shed for us.

If we ask Him, certainly He will strip us of our attachment to things of this earth.  He loves to draw us near to Him, wanting us to live with Him eternally.  Although He knows that we must suffer, just as He did, to prepare us for such glory, He is ever gentle with us.

My innocent Jesus, by the merits of the torment Thou hast felt, help me to strip myself of all affection to things of earth, in order that I may place all my love in Thee, who art so worthy of my love. I love Thee, O Jesus, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend 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.)

VII. Jesus Falls the Second Time

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy cross, Thou hast redeemed the world.

It is harder the second time that you fall.  The first time it is easier to get up and go on, thinking that you will not fall again.  The second time you may not be able to bear the thought of the pain that you know will ensue when you fall again and the more you fall the more likely you will begin to think with trepidation about the likelihood of falling again.

Christ's second fall must have caused Him so much pain, shaking His entire body with excruciating agony, crushing Him to the ground.  He must have known that He would fall again in His weakened state.  Yet for love of us He got up again and went on.

We must do the same.  When we confess our sins, we might like to think that we will not fall again, but we know also that we are weak.  Our crosses weigh us down so much that we cannot always stand strong beneath them.  No matter how we struggle onward, we fall again.  In those falls we can find humiliation, but then also we can find humility.  We can separate our image of ourselves from our falls and remember that we are children of God, that we belong to Him and that our sins can never mar His image in us so long as we keep turning back to Him.

My most gentle, Jesus, how many times Thou hast pardoned me, and how many times have I fallen again, and begun again to offend Thee!  Oh, by the merits of this new fall, give me the necessary help to persevere in Thy grace until death.  Grant that in all temptations which assail me I may always commend myself to Thee.  I love Thee, Jesus, my love; I repent of having offended Thee.  Never permit me to offend 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.)