Jesus meets his mother

By A.Vonn Hartung

Here we SEE for the first time the concern of the Centurion who oversees the death squad. He is FIXATED on the man from Cyrene who holds the Cross for Jesus as he embraces His Mother. What is this Centurion allowing to happen? What is allowing him to become less of a soldier and more human, just another man, just another son? He is beginning to SEE what we believers know—that the essence of our God is Love! This Truth seen by him in real-time, disarming him. He sees compassion and affection without fear, but also in the action and concern of this man from out of town, this foreigner risking his life for this tender and quiet moment within this storm of violence…It is the beginning of a life changing event in the life of the Centurion and the life of the world! It is the essence of all Conversion stories— the moment when the unbeliever through bewilderment begins to doubt his own assumption, begins to BELIEVE!!! NOTE—These original Stations of the Cross were painted for a Catholic church in Puerto Rico. The artist conceived them with the community in mind and they include many of the spiritual and cultural qualities of Puerto Rico. (Photo by Greger Norrevik)