FIRST STATION
Jesus is condemned to death

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.

R. Because by your holy cross,
you have
redeemed the world.

The sky falls.

Robert goes to his doctor with some frightening symptoms. He has a persistent chest cough that will not go away, and he has swollen glands all over his body. He has never taken the HIV antibody test to determine whether he might be positive for the AIDS virus, but now, with all the rumors he has heard, and these symptoms, he decides to have the test done.

In a few weeks the results are back, and his suspicions are confirmed; he has the virus inside of him. Robert leaves the doctor's office in a daze. He is in a kind of shock, and sees no one in the crowds of people on the streets. By the time he finds his way to the subway, all the color has drained out of his face. His thoughts are penetrating into the impossible; he is speechless.

Prayer

Jesus,
I am condemned to sickness.
I am condemned by my lack of love,
by my insatiable desires, by the
drugs I use to numb the emptiness and
pain, and I am condemned at times by
my own self-righteousness. Help me
Lord, to follow this way of the cross.

Amen.

The Second Station