The Eleventh Station, Jesus is Nailed to the Cross

A Piercing Sacrifice

The hammer slams down, the nails drive deep,
flesh torn by iron, love bound to wood.
The weight of mercy held in place,
pierced hands stretched wide in silent gift.

The earth recoils, the heavens weep,
yet Love does not resist the nails.
He could unmake the hands that strike,
but chooses pain to ransom ours.

Oh, mystery,
this willing loss,
a throne of splinters, crowned in thorn,
where power bows to weakness full,
where death is swallowed up in love.

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Let us pray:

Lord Jesus, as You lay upon the wood,
held fast by nails and love,
teach me what it means to surrender.
Let me not turn away from the cost of grace,
but stay, kneeling, in the shadow of Your mercy.

You bore the wounds of my sin,
not with resentment, but with love.
Let me bear my crosses as You bore Yours,
not with complaint, but with trust.

May I learn, here at Your pierced feet,
that true power is found in sacrifice,
that love does not flee from suffering,
but transforms it into redemption.

Jesus crucified, have mercy on me. Amen.