they tell me that He will be coming soon

I remember the first time I saw Him
we were outside the city, on that hill
and He spoke to us
He spoke to us about our lives, calling us blessed
'Blessed are the poor in spirit' He said
and we wondered how we, the poor whom He spoke of
how we could be blessed
because to us, our blessings had not yet come
but, we soon learned that He spoke
not of the blessings of Earth, but of Heaven

and so, we followed
we followed when and where we could
we watched Him speak to thousands
we watched Him heal the sick and raise the dead
we watched Him bless the children
and we watched Him forgive the sinner

we marveled at Him
we believed that He was who He said
the Son of God

but now,
now He is to be crucified
put to death like a common criminal
by the very people that He came to save
we watched as they spat on Him, and mocked Him
and we wept

we wept even as we weep now
we weep for Him
He who had come to save us
but, who now, cannot even save Himself

see now, He comes!
my heart breaks for Him
and my tears will never stop falling
as I look upon Him now

stripped and beaten
carrying His own cross, how is He able?

He falls

He is too weak, do they not see?
He cannot see the way
the blood from the thorns they have placed
on His head covers His eyes
and yet,
they continue to beat and mock Him

I will go and wipe the blood from His eyes

I could not bear to see Him suffer so
I had to wipe the tears from my own eyes to see
and then, He looked at me
He looked at me, and He said
'Daughter of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourself, and for your children'
and I found
that I was weeping for us all

for who will save us now?

wait

wait

look
look at my cloth
it is
it is His face

the face of our Saviour

NOTE: Although none of the Gospel accounts of the Crucifixion mention this incident or the name of Veronica, the legend of this story and her name still live today.

It is the Sixth of the "Stations of the Cross" that tell the story of Christ's journey to the Cross.

For more about the Stations of the Cross: The Stations of the Cross

For more about St. Veronica: Veronica of Jerusalem
St. Veronica

Image: St. Veronica by El Greco

--------------------------------------------------------------------------