Where Have You Laid Him? The Fourteenth Station: Jesus is Laid in the Tomb.

Scripture: After this, Joseph of Arimathea, secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. And Pilate permitted it. So he came and took (Jesus’) Body. Nicodemus, the one who had first come to Him at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds. They took the Body of Jesus and bound It with burial cloths along with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom. Now in the place where He had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried. So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by (Jn 19:38-42). Joseph took the body of Jesus, and wrapping it in a clean linen cloth he laid it in his new tomb, which he had hewn out of rock. Then he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and departed. But Mary Magdalene and the other Mary remained sitting there, facing the tomb (Mt. 27: 59-61).

Meditation: From Book 2, Chapter 12.
Know for certain that you ought to lead the life of a dying disciple. And the more you die to yourself, the more you begin to live for God. None of us is fit for the understanding of heavenly things, unless we have submitted ourselves to bearing adversities for Christ. Nothing is more acceptable to God, nothing is more beneficial for yourself in this world, than to suffer willingly for Christ. And if it were yours to choose, you ought to wish to suffer adversities for Christ, rather than to be refreshed with many consolations, for you would be more like Christ and more conformed to all saints. For our worthiness and growth in grace lies not in delights and comforts but rather in bearing many troubles and adversities.

Prayer: Almighty and eternal God, as we see Your Divine Son placed in the Tomb, help us to reflect, as did Mary Magdalene and the other Mary. Help us, we beg You, so to empty ourselves of self concern  and our desire for consolation so that we might see Your hand in every failure and Your victory in every defeat. These things we ask in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, Who lives and reigns forever with You in the unity of
the Holy Spirit. Amen.