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– The First Station –

Jesus Is Condemned to Death

St. John Paul II

The future Pope John Paul II was born Karol Jόsef Wojtyla in Poland during the spring of 1920. In 1978, Cardinal Wojtyla was elected the first non-Italian pope in four centuries, embarking on a papacy that lasted nearly twenty-seven years. Perhaps the greatest of modern popes, St. John Paul II died in 2005 and was canonized in 2014. His feast day is October 22.

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

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

“And Pilate … said to them, ‘Then what shall I do with the man whom you call the King of the Jews?’And they cried out again, ‘Crucify him.’And Pilate said to them, ‘Why, what evil has he done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Crucify him.’ So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas; and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified” (Mk 15:12-14).

The Son of God will be put to death by those He has come to save. What greater decision for death — for nothingness — can there be than Pilate’s? St. John Paul II knows this verdict to be a judgment on us all. Yet he also knows it to be the unavoidable first step on a path that leads not just to death but through it to life and the salvation for which we all yearn:

This is the definitive meaning of Good Friday: Man, you who judge God, who order Him to justify himself before your tribunal, think about yourself, [think whether] you are not responsible for the death of this condemned man, [whether] the judgment of God is not actually a judgment upon yourself. Consider if this judgment and its result — the Cross and then the Resurrection — are not your only way to salvation. (Crossing the Threshold of Hope)

Prayer

My Jesus, You are the innocent lamb, the One in whom no wrong can be found. Grant me the grace to trust in Your ways. Lord Jesus, never permit me to condemn You as Pilate did … as so many still do. Amen.