Station of the Cross Eight 2023

Allie Senyard and Larisa Shaterian, Seminarians
Holy Apostles Episcopal Church, Good Friday 2023

The Stations of the Cross

The Eighth Station: Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem.

Station One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine | Ten | Eleven | Twelve | Thirteen | Fourteen

The Eighth Station: Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem

Jesus breathed in.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

The women of Jerusalem, and their children, come out to comfort and thank him. They had seen his compassion and welcomed his words of healing and freedom. He had broken all kinds of social and religious conventions to connect with them. Now they are here to support him. He feels their grief. He suffers, knowing he can't remain to help them more in this life. He knows the mystery of facing the separation of death.

-Um when I am huh

-Do you notice that you’re breathing in church?

-Yeah. And when I sing because when I, sometimes when I hum, it will like make me breathe too and uh, hm. I am just like a lot.

-Yeah.

-And then I forget how much.

-Do you notice like when you can hear your parents breathing in the room?

-Yeah.

-Or your sister?

-Yeah. When I am asleep I am breathing. Sometimes it changes when I’m like—definitely. When a person [like my little sister] is on me I feel my breathing changing. Like it’s changing to like a mode that’s like making me not breathe: yeah, my sister gets on me all the time! Sighs With your lungs your body can control breathing, and also without any organ, you can’t live. You gotta have the heart, the muscles, uh, and the, I definitely know about the respiratory system! Yeah. And you have to have your blood.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Jesus breathed out.

Station One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine | Ten | Eleven | Twelve | Thirteen | Fourteen