- Rosary and The Way
- The Way
- Olmv Stations of the Cross
- Our Lady of Mount Virgin 09
Our Lady of Mount Virgin Station 9
Path 2 · The Way · Our Lady of Mount Virgin
Middlesex, New Jersey · Station 9 of 14
Jesus Falls the Third Time
Exhausted, not weak — and still determined to finish what He came to do.
I don’t believe Jesus is weak here. He may be exhausted, but He is not weak. He is determined to finish the divine plan that began with a kiss in a garden, and this third fall is the cost of carrying that determination all the way to the end.
This station is a powerful reminder of the cost of human sin, and of the suffering Jesus endured for our salvation. Reflecting on the virtues He embodies here teaches us something valuable about how to respond to our own suffering, when it finally catches up to us too.
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V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy Cross, Thou hast redeemed the world.
Jesus knows that when we feel weak, we come closer to Him. We pray better and harder, we mortify ourselves, and we love more.
“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
The Third Fall
When the Floor Falls Out
Sometimes the third fall isn’t dramatic to watch from the outside. It’s the loss of someone who held the family together, or held you together, and suddenly you’re the one who has to figure out what happens next.
What has been your steepest “third fall” — the one that tested whether you had anything left?
Starting Over, Again
Losing work you counted on doesn’t just cost income. It costs a sense of who you are, and what tomorrow was supposed to look like.
When you’ve had to start over, what got you through the uncertainty of not knowing what came next?
Asking for Fortitude
Jesus doesn’t rise a third time because it’s easy. He rises because He asks for what He needs. There is no shame in asking God directly for the strength you don’t have on your own.
What would it look like to ask God plainly, today, for the fortitude to keep going?
Ponder As Mary Pondered
My first thoughts at 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. Of my own self I can do nothing without You, my Lord. I keep my eyes on You every day. How many times will I fall throughout my lifetime?
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Jesus Embodies the Virtues
Even here, exhausted and scarred with cuts and mocking jeers, Jesus stops to acknowledge the people around Him — His mother, Veronica, Simon, the women of Jerusalem. It is a quiet, selfless love that His own suffering never manages to crowd out. Carrying a heavy wooden Cross this far takes a patience that can only be called perseverance, a reminder of what endurance and hope actually look like in practice.
He does not complain or lash out. His humility is a lesson in how to respond to adversity, accepting what has come to Him with dignity instead of resistance. He does not give up either — a plain example of fortitude and courage for everyone watching Him suffer. And underneath all of it is His obedience to God — a quiet testament to love that keeps fulfilling its mission, all the way to the end.
Continue the Journey
A third fall asks for more than willpower. Carry what you found here into another part of your prayer, or another part of your life.
