(My sharing on the eighth Station of the Way of the Cross)
Luke 23:27-29 says, “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 barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’”
WHO were these women? I read that they were women attracted to Jesus. They were moved by His life, His teachings and His miracles. Thus, being convinced of His innocence, they were in deep sorrow as they followed Him while He carried the cross.
Putting myself in the scene, I would be wailing and weeping too, especially after hearing Jesus’ seemingly prophetic words. Indeed, I would weep for my children.
I would ask myself, “If they can do this to God, what more can they do to me and to my poor family? What can I do now, except to weep and wail for them?”
Clearly, we see in this eighth station the compassion and concern that Jesus has for His people, especially the women of Jerusalem who were to suffer most in the days and years to come, when the Messiah will no longer be in their midst.
But, was it enough to just weep for ourselves and our children? I believe that Jesus was asking more from us.
My dearest SunStar readers,
What more is Jesus asking of you and me now? During his meditation on this station, Father Vic Santos, our retreat master, challenged us, the retreatants, to answer the command of God, to “Go out and make disciples of all men.” In simpler words, to “Bring souls to God.” According to Father Vic, this is our apostolic mandate.
God wants to use us as His instruments. He chooses each one of us to be part of His universal family, the Church. As such, we have the apostolic duty of spreading the Gospel, making Jesus and His love for man known, and thus bring souls to God.
Father says, we do not have to be theologians to spread the gospel. We simply have to live our lives as credible witnesses to the love and goodness of God. We cannot go to heaven alone. We ought to invite as many as we can on our way there.
I like the analogy that Father shared about the attraction that “Bargain Sales” have, especially to women. If i got to buy something of great value, maybe something worth P1000, for only P100 or even less, won’t I be sharing this most amazing news to my family and friends?
According to Saint Pope John Paul II, “The world is looking for witnesses.” What attracted the women of Jerusalem to Jesus was His exemplary way of life. This is the kind of life we ought to live, to become credible witnesses. This way, we will let our lives speak, and hopefully attract others to Jesus.
To end this article, may I invite the women readers of this “My Dearest” column of Mike, my husband (I fill in for him, whenever he is too busy to submit an article) that every first Saturday of the month, there is a ladies’ recollection (confessions and Holy mass, too) that takes place at either the Tepeyac Residences, located at Leonard Wood Road, or Venus Hotel located at Kisad Road, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon.
Every recollection I attend is like a “big bargain sale!” I hope you will take advantage of this good news, and pass on the message to others. See you there!