The Ninth Station: Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem

Presider: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
All: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

A large crowd of people followed Jesus, Including many women who mourned and lamented him. Jesus turned to them and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep in­stead for yourselves and for your children, for indeed, the days are coming when people will say, 'Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.' At that time people will say to the mountains, 'Fall upon us!' and to the hills, 'Cover us' for if these things are done when the wood is green what will happen when it is dry?" (Luke 23:27-31) 

Read More

ANONYMOUS WOMAN
I would rather not give my name. Just look upon me as an or­dinary Jewish housewife. Together with several other God-fearing women, I did what I could for condemned prisoners. To alleviate their pain on the cross, we were allowed by the soldiers to ad­minister a mixture of drugs and wine. Little good It did the poor devils. Weeping for these prisoners was part of the ritual expected of us. Very few, if any, tears were shed besides our own. We rarely knew the prisoners as persons until we met Jesus. He was not like any prisoner we'd ever seen carry a cross. Our leaders had ac­cused him of breaking the law and blaspheming. Others claimed that Jesus traveled about doing good wherever he went. Who am I to judge-an ordinary Jewish woman? It was only when he stum­bled In front of us and turned his face towards us that I realized how savagely he had been treated. My tears became genuine. Suddenly Jesus spoke to us, spoke as If he knew us personally: "Don't weep for me; weep for yourselves and your children. I felt a chill run through my body. His words resounded like a prophecy. I didn't understand what he had done wrong but I believed he was someone special. Could he have been-please don't mention who said this-could he have been the Messiah? What about you? What do you believe about Jesus? 
​
PRESIDER: Let us pray.
ALL: Jesus, you asked the women to weep for themselves and their children. Give us the tears of true sorrow for our personal sins and have mercy on the sins of our generation. Amen. 
Were you there when the women wept for him? 
Were you there when the women wept for him? 
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble!
Were you there when the women wept for him? 

Next: The tenth Station

Stations of the Cross: Main Menu