The Thirteenth Station: 

Jesus’ Body Is Taken Down from the Cross

“Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.’”

-Luke 22:19

As we contemplate Jesus’ broken body, we are reminded of his full humanity. He had a body, just as we do, that needed sustenance and exercise, that could be bruised and battered, and through which he experienced the world around him.

This is a common experience of humanity, that of the body, and it reminds us of our shared dignity as unique creations of God. It reminds us of our call to solidarity because, drawing on our own bodily experience of creation, we can understand and appreciate that of another, no matter where-or when-he or she may live.

This week’s Story of Hope comes from our own country, a community of faith in the Diocese of Santa Fe. We meet men and women who are giving of themselves to help meet both the physical and spiritual needs of their neighbors through the meals they share and the stories they tell. We are challenged this week to examine the real bodily needs of those around us, those “neighbors” whom we pass on city streets and in crowded shopping centers.

We are reminded of the Eucharist, that true Communion through which we, as Church, truly share in Jesus’ Body and Blood, sharing in yet another common experience with our brothers and sisters no matter when or where they live. We are called to encounter a God who emptied himself in becoming man, and who calls us to do the same.

In experiencing the Eucharist, we are given an opportunity to put our own needs aside and replace them with another’s, with our neighbor’s needs. As God did, so do we empty ourselves of what it means to be “me” so as to better understand what it means to be another.