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– The Second Station –

Jesus Carries His Cross

St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio)

Francesco Forgione, born in 1887 to a peasant family in southern Italy, displayed a devout faith from childhood. As a boy he yearned to join the Capuchin Franciscans, but did not have sufficient education to apply. So his father sailed to America where he earned the money to send his son to school. By the age of fifteen, Francesco was able to realize his dream: He took the Capuchin habit and the name of Pio. In 1918, Padre Pio underwent various mystical experiences, which were to continue for the rest of his life. These included the stigmata (the wounds of Christ), which he bore for five decades. An extraordinary priest, he heard confessions for up to twelve hours a day and was able to see into people’s hearts more clearly than they could themselves. The miraculous seemed to surround him, resulting in Padre Pio having countless followers, but his detractors were numerous as well. He came under baseless attacks but endured them patiently. In 1968, his stigmata mysteriously healed itself — one month before his death. Padre Pio was canonized in 2002, and his feast day is September 23.

V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.

R. Because by Your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

“So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha” (Jn 19:17).

Imagine the horror of not only being sentenced to a painful and lingering death but also of being presented with the instrument of your destruction as if it were a gift. What must it be like to have that “gift” placed upon your shoulders, a crushing burden that you must carry to the very place of your execution? Such treatment is so extreme that we are tempted to call it “inhuman” — except that we know it’s all too human. Perhaps we can see nothing but darkness as Christ shoulders His cross and takes His first halting steps toward Golgotha. The light seems very far off, indeed. But St. Pio of Pietrelcina tells us otherwise: the journey to Golgotha is for him a procession to joy; it is the way to peace:

We must keep the eye of faith fixed on Jesus Christ who climbs the hill of Calvary loaded with His Cross, and as He toils painfully up the steep slope of Golgotha we should see Him followed by an immense throng of souls carrying their own crosses and treading the same path. Oh, what a beautiful sight this is. Let us fix our mental gaze firmly on it. We see close behind Jesus our most holy Mother, who follows Him perfectly, loaded with her own cross. Then comes the Apostles, Martyrs, Doctors, Virgins, and Confessors.… Jesus himself, despite all our unworthiness, has associated us with this beautiful company. We must make every effort to merge ourselves increasingly in these ranks and hasten with them along the road to Calvary. We should look to the end of the journey and not separate ourselves from this fine company; we must refuse to follow any other way than the one they tread. (Letters Volume III: Correspondence with His Spiritual Daughters [1915-23])

Prayer

My Jesus, I tremble at the thought of what You endured for me, and I tremble at the thought of the cross You may ask me to carry. Give me the grace to put aside my fears and doubts, to shoulder my cross and walk in Your footsteps and the footsteps of all the saints. Let me be part of that sacred company, as You lead us all from darkness into the Father’s light. Amen.