Posted on 03/11/2006 3:37:20 PM PST by NYer
A plenary indulgence can be gained once a day for making the Way of the Cross and praying for the intentions of our Holy Father the Pope. The following stations of the cross are based on those celebrated in the Antiochene Syriac Maronite Church. They are presented here as a way of reflecting more deeply on the accounts of Christ's passion.
The presiding Celebrant may be a priest or deacon. This Celebrant prays the opening and closing prayers, leads the acclamation, announces the stations, and says the prayer that concludes each station. As the priest and acolytes move between the stations, all sing a verse of the Stabat Mater (At the Cross Her Station Keeping - traditional)
Celebrant: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Congregation: Amen.
Celebrant: To You, eternal Father, we now offer this tribute of our worship in a spirit of humility and with a contrite heart. May it give You honor and glory, and make us and all faithful Christians, both living and dead, deserving of the forgiveness of our sins, he increase of grace, and the reward of everlasting life.
O God, through hte passion, death, and resurrection of Your Son, You showed us the path to eternal glory by the way of the Cross. As we now follow Him by our prayers to the place of Calvary, may we also share in His victory over sin and death, and be received into His kingdom for all eternity, where He lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit forever and ever.
Congregation: Amen.
Before each station:
Celebrant:
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
All:
Because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world.
After each station:
All:
Our Father ... Hail Mary ... Glory be to the Father ...
First Station: Jesus is Condemned to Death
Celebrant:
Jesus, after having been blasphemed, mocked, and scourged, is dragged before Pilate and unjustly condemned to die with disgrace on the Cross.
Celebrant:
My loving Jesus, it was my sins, not Pilate, that condemned You to die. Grant that I may detest them with all my heart, and by the merits of this sorrowful journey obtain Your mercy and pardon to assist my soul on its journey towards eternity.
My beloved Jesus, I love you above all things. I am truly sorry for having offended You, and I repent with my whole heart. May I never offend You again. Grant that I may never cease to love You, and do with me as you will.
Second Station: Jesus Takes Up His Cross
Celebrant: Jesus accepts His cross, the instrument that He will use to redeem the world. As He carries the heavy cross on His bruised shoulders He thinks of me, and offers His pending death to His Father for my sins, so that I may live.
Celebrant:My Most beloved Jesus, grant me by the virtue of Your Cross to embrace with meekness and cheerful submission all the tribulations You have destined for me until my death. By the merits of the pain You suffered in carrying Your Cross, give me the necessary help to be ever ready to take up my cross and follow You with perfect patience and resignation.
My beloved Jesus, I love you above all things. I am truly sorry for having offended You, and I repent with my whole heart. May I never offend You again. Grant that I may never cease to love You, and do with me as you will.
Third Station: Jesus Falls For The First Time
Celebrant: Jesus slowly sets forth on His way to Calvary, bowed down under the weight of His Cross. The soldiers strike Him, and the crowds mock and insult Him. His flesh is torn by the scourges, and on His head is a crown of thorns. Through His many wounds He has lost a great quantity of blood. He is so weak He can scarcely walk, yet He has to carry this great load. Finally, His strength fails Him, and He falls to the ground.
Celebrant:
O Jesus, it was for me that You bore the heavy burden of the Cross. By the merits of this first fall, may I be saved from the misfortune of falling into mortal sin.
My beloved Jesus, I love you above all things. I am truly sorry for having offended You, and I repent with my whole heart. May I never offend You again. Grant that I may never cease to love You, and do with me as you will.
Fourth Station: Jesus Meets His Mother
Celebrant: Jesus, still burdened with His Cross, and wounded even more by His fall, meets His Mother. A sword of anguish perces those hearts that love each other so tenderly.
Celebrant:
My sweet Jesus, by the compassion which You did feel for Your most holy Mother at this meeting, have compassion on me and grant me the grace of a truly devoted love for Her. O Mary, my Queen, overwhelmed with sorrow, intercede for me, that through the sufferings endured by Your Son, I may obtain a continual and tender remembrance of the Passion of Jesus.
My beloved Jesus, I love you above all things. I am truly sorry for having offended You, and I repent with my whole heart. May I never offend You again. Grant that I may never cease to love You, and do with me as you will.
Fifth Station: Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus Carry His Cross
Celebrant: Jesus’ strength is failing, and the executioners fear Jesus will die on the way instead of on the Cross. They seize Simon of Cyrene and compel him to carry the Cross for Jesus. Simon realizes what he is asked to do, and it changes his heart. The Cross becomes for Simon a privilege and a joy.
Celebrant:
My most beloved Jesus, it is my privilege also to carry whatever crosses You desire to send me. I will not refuse them. I accept them, embrace them, and rejoice that I may be counted worthy to suffer for Your Name’s sake. I unite them to Your death. You died for love of me, I will die for love of You. Help me by Your grace.
My beloved Jesus, I love you above all things. I am truly sorry for having offended You, and I repent with my whole heart. May I never offend You again. Grant that I may never cease to love You, and do with me as you will.
Sixth Station: Veronica Wipes The Face of Jesus
Celebrant:
Jesus, proceeding on His way, is covered with sweat and blood. His face, once beautiful, has now lost all of its beauty. It is disfigured by wounds and blood. A holy woman named Veronica, moved with compassion, approaches and wipes His face with her veil. Jesus, as a reward for her piety, leaves the impression of His Sacred Countenance imprinted upon it.
Celebrant:
My Jesus, at my Baptism my soul was also beautiful, but my sins have since disfigured it. By Your Passion, O Jesus, restore it to its former beauty. May the contemplation of Your sufferings move me with the greatest compassion, make me hate my sins, and kindle in my heart a more fervent love for You. Imprint Your image in my mind so that I may never forget what my sins have done to You. Guide me, that I may one day be transformed into Your likeness.
My beloved Jesus, I love you above all things. I am truly sorry for having offended You, and I repent with my whole heart. May I never offend You again. Grant that I may never cease to love You, and do with me as you will.
Seventh Station: Jesus Falls The Second Time
Celebrant: At every step the pain of His wounds and the loss of blood increase. His strength fails Him a second time, and Jesus falls to the ground.
Celebrant:
My Jesus, it was the burden of my sins that caused You to fall again. So many times You have pardoned me, but I am weak, and so many times I have fallen again and begun again to offend You. By the merits of this second fall, help me to persevere in Your grace until my death. May I always commend myself to You in all temptations which assail me.
My beloved Jesus, I love you above all things. I am truly sorry for having offended You, and I repent with my whole heart. May I never offend You again. Grant that I may never cease to love You, and do with me as you will.
Eighth Station: Jesus Speaks To The Women Of Jerusalem
Celebrant: TJesus walks on, streaming with blood. Some holy women in the crowd see Him and are so touched with sympathy and compassion that they openly weep for Him. Jesus, knowing the things that are to happen to Jerusalem because of her rejection of Him, turns to them and says:
“Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but for yourselves and for your children.”
Celebrant:
My Jesus, I weep bitterly for the offenses I have committed against You. I weep because of the pains thaey have deserved, but most of all because they caused you You, because of Your great love for me, to have to die for me. Teach me to be truly sorry for my sins, so that I may escape those dreadful judgements prepared for all who reject or neglect You in this life.
My beloved Jesus, I love you above all things. I am truly sorry for having offended You, and I repent with my whole heart. May I never offend You again. Grant that I may never cease to love You, and do with me as you will.
Ninth Station: Jesus Falls The Third Time
Celebrant: Jesus is now almost at the summit of Calvary. His weakness is extreme. The excessively brutal soldiers, anxious to crucify Him, cruelly try to hasten His steps, but He can scarcely move, and Jesus falls a third time.
Celebrant:
O Lord Jesus, by the merits of this third most painful fall, pardon my frequent relapses into sin and give me the strength I need to conquer all human respect and all my wicked passions. Imprint the thought of all Your sufferings firmly in my mind so that I may hate my sins more and more.
My beloved Jesus, I love you above all things. I am truly sorry for having offended You, and I repent with my whole heart. May I never offend You again. Grant that I may never cease to love You, and do with me as you will.
Tenth Station: Jesus is Stripped Of His Garments
Celebrant: Jesus, now at Calvary, is violently stripped by His executioners. His inner garments adhere to His torn flesh, and they are dragged off so roughly that the skin is pulled off with them.
Celebrant:
My innocent Jesus, You endured this shame for my most shameful deeds. By the merits of the torment You felt, help me to strip myself of all false shame, conceit, pride, and all affection of the things of earth, so that I may place all my love in You. Help me to humble myself voluntarily in this life, that I may escape everlasting punishment in the life to come.
My beloved Jesus, I love you above all things. I am truly sorry for having offended You, and I repent with my whole heart. May I never offend You again. Grant that I may never cease to love You, and do with me as you will.
Eleventh Station: Jesus Is Nailed To The Cross
Celebrant: The executioners lay the Cross on the ground, and Jesus is stretched upon it. He extends His hands willingly, offering to His Eternal Father the sacrifice of His life for our salvation. He is fastened to the Cross with nails, and then He and the Cross are raised up for all to see.
Celebrant:
My suffering Jesus, what my sins have done to You! Nail my heart to Your feet, that it may be united to You until my death so that I will never offent You again.
My beloved Jesus, I love you above all things. I am truly sorry for having offended You, and I repent with my whole heart. May I never offend You again. Grant that I may never cease to love You, and do with me as you will.
Twelfth Station: Jesus Dies
Celebrant: For three excrutiating hours Jesus hangs on the Cross. His blood runs in streams down His torn body. Finally, after all He had set out to do has been accomplished, He abandons Himself to the weight of His body, bows His head, and dies.
Celebrant:
My dying Jesus, I devoutly kiss the honoured Cross on which You died for love of me. My sins have merited for me a miserable death, but Your death is my hope. By the merits of Your death help me to live only for You. And when I die, help me to die embracing Your feet and burning for love for You.
My beloved Jesus, I love you above all things. I am truly sorry for having offended You, and I repent with my whole heart. May I never offend You again. Grant that I may never cease to love You, and do with me as you will.
Thirteenth Station: Jesus is Taken Down From the Cross
Celebrant: Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus take Jesus’ body down from the cross and place it in His mother’s arms. With unspeakable tenderness she receives the lifeless body of her Divine Son, and with boundless grief presses it to her bosom.
Celebrant:
O Mother of Sorrow, give me a share in your most holy sorrow in the suffering of your Son, that I may fully realize what my sins have caused. Accept me as your servant, pray for me, and have compassion on my infirmities. Jesus, my Redeemer, You have died for love of me. In Your mercy permit me to love You, for I wish only You, nothing more.
My beloved Jesus, I love you above all things. I am truly sorry for having offended You, and I repent with my whole heart. May I never offend You again. Grant that I may never cease to love You, and do with me as you will.
Fourteenth Station: Jesus is Placed in the Tomb
Celebrant:
The lifeless body of Jesus is carried by his disciples to the tomb. Mary, His most holy mother, arranges it with overwhelming sorrow. Then they all withdraw, and the tomb is sealed.
Celebrant:
My buried Jesus, devoutly I kiss the stone that encloses You. But death could not hold You. I too will descend into the grave when You will it. My sinful body will return to the dust from which it came. In Your great mercy, receive my immortal soul, so that on the last day I may rise in glory with You and join You in Your kingdom where I may love You and praise You forever.
My beloved Jesus, I love you above all things. I am truly sorry for having offended You, and I repent with my whole heart. May I never offend You again. Grant that I may never cease to love You, and do with me as you will.
Concluding Prayer:
Celebrant:
O God, You willed that Your only begotten Son should suffer and die on the Cross for us, in order to rescue us from the power of the enemy. As we now glory in honoring that same holy Cross, grant that we may everywhere rejoice in Your loving care and obtain the grace of rising with Him. This we ask of You through the same Christ our Lord.
All:
Amen.
The celebrant incenses the Cross and then blesses the people with it saying:
May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be always with you. May the memory and the power of the holy Passion dwell in your hearts and may the mark of His Triumphant Cross protect you from all your enemies.
In the Name of the Father + and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit +.
All:
Amen.
The above devotion has been hand transcribed. Any errors or omissions, are mine.
The above devotion has been hand transcribed. Any errors or omissions, are mine.
A few years ago, I attended Stations of the Cross every Friday during Lent. But lately every church we go to, the Lenten Stations are getting hard to participate in. They all let some "group" sponsor it, and they can do whatever they want it seems. Music, poems, I'm waiting for interpretive dance next....
One couple in the parish commented that they used to attend the Stations at a particular church until the pastor turned each station into a political statement.
Keep searching! There are parishes (usually small ones) that offer reverent meditations. In the meantime, print this one out and use it at home. The book we are following has beautiful graphics for each station that I could not reproduce for obvious reasons.
The holy priests are out there - you just have to look harder. My lenten prayers are with you and your family.
That's what happened at my old parish.
Each Station has a duel image painted on it. One, of the actual Station, and another image almost superimposed on it, representing some "political justice" message.
What a sad testimony to the priests to whom our souls have been entrusted. They just can't bring themselves to lead us into the passion of our Lord without political commentary.
I hope you take a few minutes to read through these reflections. Listening to a holy priest proclaim these messages - out loud - for all to hear, is indeed a great consolation for all catholics. The first time he went through them, I shuddered at the Tenth Station: Jesus is Stripped Of His Garments. How many times during my lifetime had I attended the Stations of the Cross, yet not once did any of them mention this agonizing aspect of his suffering and humiliation.
Last night I got caught up in the Fourth Station: Jesus Meets His Mother. The reflection:
Jesus, still burdened with His Cross, and wounded even more by His fall, meets His Mother. A sword of anguish pierces those hearts that love each other so tenderly.
The sensation was overwhelming. As a mother, I can't begin to imagine the agony and pain Mary endured watching the Passion of her Son.
Lent is not a time for political statements. It is a time for deep reflection on this awesome gift of God in our lives.
Even though I'm not a mother, that scene in "The Passion" still gets my gut every time.
To Jesus Christ my Son I walk with agonized steps forward
He stops to touch my face, his cross carried with no word.
Yet we know the spirit of each that needs no thought to speech.
With love I walk along but His side I can no longer reach.
On this day of cruelty we walk to the Place of the Skull.
Three crosses there upon the hill, my speech, my senses dull.
Crucified, beaten blue I scan his face for needed hope.
Perhaps another miracle, just please one so I can cope.
Each time he gasps my body moves to be close as He grows weak.
He was pierced, poked, pulled apart yet still He stayed there spread out, meek.
Sin kept him hanging there. Oh my dear sweet babe, God’s will be done.
Another gasp, another move, I crept passed guards to be with Son.
Blood streaked His eyes, His face, His all, yet close to me was His voice.
He spoke to me four simple words to change my world, I had no choice.
Beloved John at my side learned with me that he was to be my son.
John was told three simple words to care for me all day’s be done.
Then I knew that God had spoken with each careful verse we heard.
I was to be the mother of the followers of the word.
Jesus was the Son of God, eternal God, encompassed all.
I would pray for sinner’s sins for those with large to those with small.
This path before me here laid out was the greatest tragedy.
Having to watch my Son, without relief, dying in agony.
Beloved John held my hand as we both watched our Jesus go.
With psalms cried out, with hurt endured, His end seemed just too slow.
I prayed to God, please relieve His pain, to take him now just so fast.
Then came the hours He cried out psalm’s line and breathed out His last.
My aching chest was raw with hurt, my teeth clenched; I held John’s hand.
Then to the ground I slowly knelt to pray so to understand.
Up to His face I raised my own as then I began to weep.
Oh how I prayed with all my might for peace for both sons to keep!
The soldiers rushed away as dangers struck the earth this hour.
John and I stood without harm to watch the nature of God’s power.
Then I knew God’s will was true that I would have to be the one
For others to call Mother too, for any lost wanting son.
I took a deep breath, gave one final look, gave one final touch.
With patience, prayers, and blessings, I turned to love the world so much.
Thank you for posting the reflection and link. This is the work of your beautiful wife, is it not? I have visited her web site and been moved by her poetry.
Simply beautiful. Thanks SV.
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A Few of FR's Finest...Every Day...The Stations of the Cross
The Way of The Cross - a devotional reflection on Christ's Passion
I meditate on this a lot.
Meditations on the Fourth Station of the Cross
I
Did you feel your heart
beating in your throat
as the crowd closed in,
the swolen passover crowd,
some jeering,
some just strangers trying to see
what was happening,
blocking your access,
blocking your view,
blocking you.
Did you struggle through the backways
to catch up,
the need to be there
like panic
burning in your heart,
pulling you and the others
like a magnet,
your son,
your light
your life.
And when you finally caught up,
and saw him,
sprawled out on the road,
rough hands trying
to yank him upright,
bloody,
beaten,
exhausted,
muscles trembling in their fatigue,
and your hands were unable
to soothe the wounds,
and ease the pain,
did your voice dry up
in your grief
and shock
and longing to do
what you knew you couldn't,
to stop it all -
this thing God asked for
this thing you knew your son wanted?
Birthpangs
bitterer than any childbirth
this sword piercing your heart
as in your silent, grieving yes,
you became mother to the church.
II
How long ago you heard
the words of Simeon,
your dearest son
A sign of contradition,
a sword to pass through you,
and here it is,
that moment so long ago,
dreaded,
feared,
fulfilled.
It is not a long walk
from the judgement place
to the place of execution,
but the way is filled
with the passover crowd,
and the streets are narrow.
how you have to struggle,
trying to follow,
to get close,
to see.
The procession halts for a moment,
and soon you see why,
as he lies there,
bloody,
burdened,
tasting the dust of the street.
An exasperated soldier
begins a kick to motivate him,
but for some reason,
realizes the futility of it,
and begins to yank him up.
For a moment you touch him,
try to comfort him,
feel the sword go deeper into your heart.
How deep the sword must go before it is over.
III
Let us see it then,
That moment.
One tiny momement in time.
There he is,
the central person
of a sad procession,
the heavy crossbeam across his shoulders,
tied to his arms,
his head crowned with the ugly cap of thorns,
a trickle of blood down his forehead from their touch.
His face has started to swell from the bruising
homage the soldiers paid him,
blood seeps through the back of his robe
from the kiss of their whips.
She sees him then.
Their eyes meet,
He pauses,
stopping the sad procession.
No words pass between them.
No words need to be said.
She reaches out a hand,
Then the soldiers jerk his bonds forward to catch up with the rest.
IV
How thick the crowd must have seen,
O Lady of Sorrows,
as you threaded your way
in that numbing timelessness
that comes with crisis,
each second seeming to last minutes,
your son,
your son,
his beautiful face,
swollen,
bleeding, battered,
breaking your heart.
How much you must have wanted to scream
NONONONONO!
Don't let this be today,
now,
at this moment,
ever,
even though you knew he was given to you
for just this purpose,
and the sword you felt
had been fortold long ago.
How hard it must have been
not to throw yourself at the guards,
to some how get them to stop,
to let him rest,
to give him a chance
to change his mind
and make this all a nightmare.
And yet, you merely told God
Your will be done,
and continued on,
giving all you had
until the end
and darkness fell.___
It shows. That was beautiful, thank you.
Thank you for sharing that. It is a very powerful reflection on Mary's anguish. Thank you!
Wonderful; thanks for posting this!
According to St. Alphonsus Liguori, Our Lord revealed to St. Elizabeth of Hungary four special graces that are given to those who are devoted to the dolors of His holy Mother.
(1) That those who before death invoke the Blessed Mother in the name of her sorrows, should obtain true repentance of all their sins.
(2) That He would protect in their tribulations all who remember this devotion, and that He would protect them especially at the hour of death.
(3) That He would impress upon their minds the remembrance of His Passion, and that they should have their reward for it in Heaven.
(4) That He would commit such devout clients to the hands of Mary, so that she might obtain for these souls all the graces she wanted to lavish upon them.
Thanks for the ping, Pyro! I discovered the devotion to the Seven Sorrows during a trip to my local Catholic book store a few years ago when I was still Anglican. I looked at it and thought it was a wonderful way to show rememberance to Mary for her sorrows. It is one of my favorite devotions after the Rosary.
I have a strong devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows.
A couple of sites for you:
A Chapbook of prayers to Our Lady of Sorrows:
http://escproductions.bizland.com/catholicmeditations/prayers-ols.html
And a collection of prayers, poems and meditations I have written on our Lady.
http://escproductions.bizland.com/catholicmeditations/pmol.html
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