Towards the end

Jesus falls for the third time

Fallen again.
Broken down again.
The load is too heavy.
The legs stop carrying.
No strength left.

How often do we fall, are we let down?
How often are we feel devastated with no strength left?

God,
let me see it's You who always sustains.
Give me the confidence that You are my foundation.
So that when I’m falling, I know I’m being held.

Jesus is stripped off His clothes

everything taken away
Jesus exposed
Defenceless

Without an outer cover, humans appear as they are.
We often put on protective armour, put on a mask
with others, but sometimes with ourselves.
With You, God, I can show myself as I am,
exposed, unadorned.
Because You look at me with loving eyes,
You see all facets that make me who I am
You see my most inner being.
And You still love me.
In Your presence, nothing needs to frighten me.

Jesus is crucified

crucified
nailed down
no escape

How often do we feel restrained
by poor health,
by situations from where we can't escape,
by bad habits, unpleasant character traits?
We keep restraining others,
we pigeonhole them.

God,
help me when my personal circumstances and my patterns of thinking restrict me.
Free me from everything that prevents me from living.
Let me be open,
open for life and change,
open for different ways and new horizons,
open for myself and others.

Sr. Matthea Baumann