QIC: Crimson, Wonderbread, Flacco
42 HIM gathered in the gloom to commemorate the the final days of the greatest HIM of all time.
Stations of the Cross is a Catholic tradition that marks each of 14 notable events the Christ endured on his final day on this Earth. From his condemnation by Pilate and the Sanhedrin to his final (well…not-so-final) resting place in the tomb.
Below is the full text that was read and the accompanying exercises for the workout.
1st Station: Jesus is condemned to death - GRATITUDE
Jesus just had one of the worst nights ever. His agony and isolation in the garden. The betrayal by one of his friends. The denial by another. His arrest, torture and condemnation to death by the people he had lived among for 33 years and had taught, cured, helped and served.
Jesus did nothing wrong, He was the only perfect man to have ever lived, and was willingly condemned to death. Do we ever thank Him for that in our thoughts, words or deeds?
Oftentimes we do not feel like coming to workout. We get lazy, we have bad days, we don’t want to wake up. Jesus chose the hard way for our sake. We too often choose the easy way. The way of distraction, sloth, and idleness. …Let’s thank Him right now by giving Him our best workout with all our effort.
EXERCISE: (25 Merkins)
2nd Station: Jesus carries His cross - DETERMINATION
Not only is Jesus given the death penalty, He also has to be publicly humiliated by carrying the piece of wood he will be nailed to. And yet He does it willingly. He embraces the cross even though as God the Son, He did not have to. He is determined to do His Father’s Will. He is determined to show us that He is willing to suffer anything for us.
How many times do we post for ourselves versus for our brothers? Let’s embrace the challenge, the difficulty, the sweat, the fatigue … like Jesus embraced His Cross.
Let’s be determined to post for each other as much as we do for ourselves. Let’s get stronger for our brothers, let’s get stronger so we can serve better.
EXERCISE: (50 American Hammers)
3rd Station: Jesus falls for the first time - COMMITMENT
Jesus has lost a lot of blood. He was nearly whipped to death, had a crown of thorns shoved and beat into his skull and he is exhausted. He falls.
We fall many times as well. We fall short of our goals at times, we have disappointments, discouragements and we have doubts.
Jesus went through this as well. But He didn’t quit. He fell but He got up. Let’s show that same commitment. Let’s never give up on ourselves or our brothers.
EXERCISE: (2 minute air chair)
4th Station: Jesus meets his mother - MOTIVATION, ENCOURAGEMENT, DEDICATION
Mary was doing everything she could to support, encourage, inspire, uplift her Son in the midst of all this suffering. She was the perfect teammate. Mary did not want her Son to die. But Mary nevertheless was there to support her Son achieve His mission which she knew required His death.
During our workouts we should be constantly looking for ways to encourage one another. The more we forget ourselves and focus on lifting others up, the less we are trapped in our own sufferings.
Let’s make sure that at every workout we are improving in our level of encouragement, motivation and communication. We all have our mission. We need our brotherhood to help us achieve it.
EXERCISE: (30 cotton pickers)
5th Station: Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry His cross - OTHER-CENTERED, CAMARADERIE
Simon did not want to help Jesus carry His Cross. He didn’t know Him.
Do we treat some of our brothers the same way? We are willing to encourage and challenge some, the ones we are close with, but the others who we don’t know as well … not so much.
But once Simon began to help Jesus, he grew to know Him, respect Him and love Him.
Let’s build true camaraderie in F3. With everyone! One F3, one heart, one purpose.
EXERCISE: (30 squat jumps)
6th Station: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus - COURAGE, BOLD
With angry, drunk, sociopathic soldiers surrounding a man they are en route to nail to a cross
… one extremely courageous, bold, brave woman risks her life and her reputation by wiping Jesus’ face with her cloth. She wanted to help in some small way and nothing was going to stop her.
How often do we give in to our fears of what others might say or do! Are we afraid of excellence? Are we afraid of challenging our brothers to do better, to strive harder for perfection?
May we imitate the bold courage of Veronica and let nothing hold us back from helping our brothers get better and to take the lead ourselves rather than waiting for others to do what we know needs to be done.
EXERCISE: (50 LBCs)
7th Station: Jesus falls for the second time PERSEVERANCE
Even after Simon comes to help Him, Jesus still falls again. Perseverance is agonizingly difficult at times.
Don’t let falls, failures or embarrassments stop you. Imitate Jesus on His way to Calvary. He fell down again and again, and every time He got back up.
He would fulfill His mission. Period.
Let’s persevere as a team, let’s fulfill our mission.
EXERCISE: (30 burpees)
8th Station: Jesus meets the weeping women of Jerusalem - SELF-LESS
Jesus is being marched to His death and He still takes time to encourage others. He is self- less. He is all about others. He is all about us.
Who do we work out for? Ourselves or our brothers?
Let’s imitate our Lord and get louder in here. Let’s encourage one another to go harder, finish stronger, with better form, seeking perfection all together.
Cowards get quiet in the face of adversity. Leaders get louder.
EXERCISE: (15 star jumps)
9th Station: Jesus falls for the third time - RELENTLESS
And another fall. We’ve all been through this. We want to achieve a personal best, break a record, accomplish a goal, see improvement … and we fail.
Jesus knows exactly what we are going through. But Jesus was relentless. He always got back up.
Jesus teaches us to forget about the failures and focus on the finish. Let’s be relentless.
EXERCISE: (30 Turkish Get-Ups)
10th Station: Jesus clothes are taken away - TOUGH
Betrayed, arrested, spit on, jailed, slapped, scourged, crowned with thorns, condemned, forced to carry a cross … and now stripped in public.
If we ever think that our life is hard, that we have it tough … just think about Jesus in this moment.
Jesus = Toughness. Never let anyone tell you that Jesus wasn’t tough.
With the blink of an eye He could have destroyed every one of his torturers, yet He took it because He wanted you to be able to look at Him when your life got rough and know that He is with you and with Him you can conquer anything.
EXERCISE: (100 Freddie Mercury’s)
11th Station: Jesus is nailed to the cross - SACRIFICE
We should offer up to God all our sufferings, all our sweat, all our difficulties. We should offer them up as sacrifices in imitation of Christ offering up His own body as a sacrifice and make them into prayers.
This workout should be a prayer that we are offering up to God for others and we should name them … I’m offering this up for my mom who has cancer, I’m offering this up for the little kid who gets bullied, I’m offering this up for the all Christians around the world being persecuted and killed for their faith. Or, I am offering this up for the intentions of Jesus’ Most Sacred and Loving Heart. He knows what to do with your sacrificial prayers, if you don’t. …
That is sacrifice. That’s what Jesus’ crucifixion was all about. Offering Himself for us.
Who are you offering this workout for? (Have everyone shout it out during the wall sit)
EXERCISE: (2 minute partner wall sit)
12th Station: Jesus dies on the cross - PASSION
Every athlete dreams of being on a team of passionate, dedicated leaders who will do anything and everything necessary to win a championship.
Where everyone is absolutely 100% ALL IN. Was anyone more passionate, more ALL IN than Jesus?
He did give anything and everything. It’s not a nice cliché with Him. It is reality. He gave His life for you.
Let’s have the passion to give our lives for Him and our brothers.
EXERCISE: (50 Sir Fazio Arm Circles)
13th Station: Jesus is taken down from the cross - ACCOUNTABILITY, LOYALTY
While Jesus was hanging in agony on the cross Mary, Mary Magdalene and John were there with Him at the foot of the cross. They did not abandon Him. They did not run for fear of the mob or the Romans. Jesus could count on them. They were loyal.
Are you that kind of brother? Can every one of your brothers count on you to be there for them when adversity hits?
Let’s prove to one another that we are that loyal, accountable brother by how strong we finish this workout.
EXERCISE: (40 lunges)
14th Station: Jesus is placed in the tomb - HOPE, CONFIDENCE
Jesus’ passion and death were not the end. Just as our own sufferings and death are not the end. Jesus’ death was in fact the new beginning. He conquered death and rose from the dead and changed everything!
This workout should renew us, give us hope and strengthen us both individually and as a team. We CAN achieve greatness … we were made for eternity … we were made for Heaven.
May our struggles, sweat and pain in the gloom give us the confidence to know that with Christ and our brethren, we can conquer the temptations of the flesh, the world, and the devil and accomplish the mission that God has put before us. .
In Christ we can conquer.