- Rosary and The Way
- The Way
- OLMV Stations
- Our Lady of Mount Virgin 10
Our Lady of Mount Virgin Station 10
Path 2 · The Way · Our Lady of Mount Virgin
Middlesex, New Jersey · Station 10 of 14
Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments
One more small cruelty before the Cross — and a lesson in what can never truly be taken from us.
The soldiers who strip Jesus of His garments are not finished with Him yet — even His clothing becomes something to divide among themselves. I think of anyone who has been stripped of their own things and handed a uniform instead: someone imprisoned, someone elderly and dependent on others, someone very sick and near the end of their life. Stripped of dignity, in the most vulnerable state a person can be in.
This station gives me a chance to grow in my understanding of Christ's suffering and sacrificial love, and a better understanding of how to serve others with humility, dignity, and compassion when they are at their most exposed. Standing here with others also contemplating this station, I stand united with them in embracing my own vulnerabilities — together, we let this scene do its quiet work of grace.
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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.
“My innocent Jesus, by the merits of the painful torment Thou hast experienced, help me to strip myself of all affection to things of earth, in order that I may place all my love in Thee.”
— 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
Stripped Bare
What I Haven’t Let Go Of
For about eight years now, I’ve been practicing letting go of things I don’t really need — just for the sake of having them. It’s freeing in a way I didn’t expect. Jesus loses even His clothing here, down to nothing that is still His own.
What are you still holding onto more tightly than you’re holding onto God?
Dignity in the Vulnerable
Someone imprisoned. Someone elderly and no longer able to care for themselves. Someone very sick, near the end. This station asks us to see them the way we’d want to be seen — never reduced to their condition.
Who in your life has been stripped of their dignity, and what would it look like to restore even a little of it?
The Seamless Tunic
Tradition holds that Mary wove this tunic herself, seamless from top to bottom, growing with Jesus as He did. The soldiers could not divide it, so they cast lots for it instead — a small, accidental picture of something whole that division could not break.
What in your own life has stayed whole, even when everything around it was being pulled apart?
Ponder As Mary Pondered
Sit or stand in silence and be present with the scene of the Tenth Station. Allow yourself to be open to the presence of God, and to receive whatever insight or emotion arises. Depending on where you are walking or climbing to reach each station, this can be a real physical and mental challenge — and this is exactly where I ask for help to keep going.
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Stripped, and Still Whole
The stripping of Jesus teaches us something about redemptive suffering. His willingness to endure humiliation and shame for the sake of humanity turns suffering into a means of grace — something that can draw us closer to God rather than only wound us. This station calls us to stand in solidarity with everyone who has been stripped of their dignity and their rights.
It also challenges something in me directly: to let go of my own pride, and to be open to the transformative power of God’s mercy. Acknowledging my own vulnerabilities, rather than protecting myself from them, turns out to be the beginning of real humility — and a deeper compassion for everyone else standing in this same vulnerable place.
Continue the Journey
Being stripped of everything but faith asks something different of each of us. Carry what you found here into another part of your prayer, or another part of your life.
