Completely drained of strength
I lie, collapsed,
upon the cobblestones.
My body cannot move.
No blows, no kicks,
can rouse it up.

And yet my will is mine.

And so is yours.

Know this, my other self,
your body may be broken,
but no force on earth
and none in hell
can take away your will.

Your will is yours.

O Lord, when all the strength is gone and guilt and self-reproach press me--nay us to earth and seem to hold us fast, protect us from the sin of Judas -- save us from despair!

Guide us, help us, to cast off the iron grip of shame and guilt to love ourselves as you love us and to truly believe that any sin of ours is greater than your love. To believe that no matter what our past has been, we can begin anew.

O God, by the passion of your blessed Son you made an instrument of shameful death to be for us the means of life: Grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ, that we may gladly suffer shame and loss for the sake of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The other two prisoners and the crowd have arrived. Jesus labours on, breathless, speechless, pushed now and then by the soldiers prodding him on. The necessary tools for the crucifixion had been prepared. The screams of the other two could be heard.

The soldiers were fanned out keeping people at bay and guarding the north side of Calvary against someone falling into the garden below. Jewish guards and the members of the Sanhedrin were present to ensure that this "imposter" got his.

He stumbles once more. They laugh at him. Mock him as the soldiers push him. He rises, steadies himself and walks the last few metres to his destination Golgotha - The Place of the Skull. He prays softly.