Jesus is made to carry the cross on which he will die.  It represents the weight of all our crosses.  What he must have felt as he first took it upon his shoulders!  With each step he enters more deeply into our human experience.  He walks in the path of human misery and suffering, and experiences its crushing weight.

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

I contemplate the wood of that cross.  I imagine how heavy it is.  I reflect upon all it means that Jesus is carrying it.

I look into his eyes.  It's all there.

This is for me.  So I place myself with him in this journey.  In its anguish.  In his freedom and surrender.  In the love that must fill his heart.

With sorrow and gratitude, I continue the journey.  Moved by the power of his love, I am drawn to him and express my love in the words that come to me.