Lourdes Station 9: Jesus Falls the Third Time

The open meadow of the Lourdes Lower Prairie Stations

The Prairie, Lourdes

Lourdes Lower Stations

The Sacred Way of the Cross

Path 2 · Prairie, Lourdes, France · Station 9 of 14

Iesus Tertio Cadit

Not Weak, But Determined

Lourdes Lower Station 9 of the Way of the Cross marks Jesus’s third fall. I don’t believe Jesus is weak. He may be exhausted, but not weak. He is determined to finish the Divine Plan that was started by the kiss in the garden.

This is a powerful reminder of the cost of human sin, and of the suffering Jesus endured for our salvation. By reflecting on the virtues Jesus embodies in this station, we can learn a valuable lesson about how to respond to our own sufferings.

“He is determined to finish the Divine Plan that was started by the kiss in the garden.”

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Station 9, Jesus Falls the Third Time, at the Lourdes Lower Prairie Stations

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee.

R. Because by Thy holy cross, Thou hast redeemed the world.

Though exhausted and scarred by cuts and mocking jeers, Jesus still stops to acknowledge those gathered around Him — a love that remains selfless even at its weakest point.

“My outraged Jesus, by the merits of Thy weakness suffered in going to Calvary, give me strength to conquer all human respect, and my wicked passions, which have led me to sin.”

— Saint Alphonsus Liguori, The Way of the Cross

V. Have mercy upon us, O Lord. R. Have mercy on us. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Pray Together

Sit With It

Four Witnesses to the Third Fall

Mary

Third Fall, Same Love

By this third fall, I have already watched Him rise twice. I know what rising costs Him now, and still I watch Him summon it a third time.

There is nothing left for me to do but keep loving Him exactly where He is. His humility asks nothing less of me.

Can you keep loving someone through a suffering you cannot fix?

Simon of Cyrene

Still Under the Weight

I have carried this weight beside Him since the fifth station. It has not gotten lighter. If anything, it grows heavier the closer we come to Calvary.

But I am still here, still carrying. Perseverance was never about the weight getting easier — only about staying under it.

What are you still carrying, even though it hasn’t gotten any lighter?

Veronica

Courage Doesn’t Expire

I only stepped forward once, back at the sixth station. But watching Him fall a third time and still rise tells me something about fortitude I hadn’t understood before.

If He can rise a third time, then the courage it took me to step forward once hasn’t expired either. It is still doing something, even now.

Has an act of courage from your past kept giving you strength long after it happened?

The Women of Jerusalem

Watching Obedience Cost Everything

He told us to weep for ourselves, not for Him. Now, watching Him fall a third time, I understand a little more of what He meant.

He does not complain. He does not lash out. His obedience to God costs Him everything, and He accepts it with dignity anyway.

Where is obedience to God asking more of you than you expected?

My first thoughts of this fall push me to my limits. Is my faith strong enough to endure what is put in front of me? Jesus, I need you. I of my own self can do nothing without you, my Lord. I am keeping my eyes on you every day. How many times will I fall throughout my lifetime?

This third fall is the most painful of the three — the moment when we are at our lowest, feeling utterly defeated. The loss of someone who was the breadwinner of the family. The loss of a job, and not knowing what comes next. In these moments, all I can do is ask God for the fortitude to keep going, and trust that He is determined to rise once more, even when I cannot yet see how.

Continue Your Prayer Journey with the Rosary

Your journey does not end here. Every step of prayer deepens your relationship with Christ crucified. Explore additional resources to cultivate grace and carry the peace of this sacred moment into daily life.

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The peaceful meadow path of the Lourdes Lower Prairie Stations