LENT REFLECTIONS AND MEDITATIONS ON THE WAY OF THE CROSS. Welcome friends of Jesus, to the Stations of the Cross. Pray with us every day of this Season of Lent, the Holy Stations of the Cross and the Daily Holy Rosary. These Prayers are very Important, for it Sanctifies and Purifies the Soul of its sins and of its guilt, along with the Sacrament of Holy Confession. We Join in Jesus Sufferings and in this way we ease the Pain of our Lord, committed by the hardened sinners of the world. We pray for the Poor Souls of Purgatory, Amen. Also for the conversion of hardened sinners and for our own prayer intentions. All for the Greater Glory of God, our Father, Amen. Please share with loved ones. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. I believe in God, the Father All Mighty... Our Father ... Hail Mary ... Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the Beginning is now and ever shall be world without end, Amen. O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to Heaven, Especially those in most in need of Your Mercy, (for the Poor Souls of Purgatory). Amen. I am always willing to forgive you. Every time you ask for it, you glorify my Mercy (1488). - Divine Mercy Jesus. May we never doubt Gods Mercy for us, never! ---------- Meditations on the Twelfth Station of the Way of the Cross. Jesus Prays to His Father, My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Many theologists think that Jesus Prayed the Entire Psalms, Chapter 22, during His Crucifixion. 1 For the leader; according to “The deer of the dawn.”* A psalm of David. 2 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why so far from my call for help, from my cries of anguish?a 3 My God, I call by day, but you do not answer; by night, but I have no relief.b 4 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the glory of Israel.c 5 In you our fathers trusted; they trusted and you rescued them. 6 To you they cried out and they escaped; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.d 7 *But I am a worm, not a man, scorned by men, despised by the people.e 8 All who see me mock me; they curl their lips and jeer; they shake their heads at me:f 9 “He relied on the LORD—let him deliver him; if he loves him, let him rescue him.”g 10 For you drew me forth from the womb, made me safe at my mother’s breasts. 11 Upon you I was thrust from the womb; since my mother bore me you are my God.h 12 Do not stay far from me, for trouble is near, and there is no one to help.i II 13 Many bulls* surround me; fierce bulls of Bashan* encircle me. 14 They open their mouths against me, lions that rend and roar.j 15 Like water my life drains away; all my bones are disjointed. My heart has become like wax, it melts away within me. 16 As dry as a potsherd is my throat; my tongue cleaves to my palate; you lay me in the dust of death.* 17 Dogs surround me; a pack of evildoers closes in on me. They have pierced my hands and my feet 18 I can count all my bones.k They stare at me and gloat; 19 they divide my garments among them; for my clothing they cast lots.l 20 But you, LORD, do not stay far off; my strength, come quickly to help me. 21 Deliver my soul from the sword, my life from the grip of the dog. 22 Save me from the lion’s mouth, my poor life from the horns of wild bulls.m III 23 Then I will proclaim your name to my brethren; in the assembly I will praise you:*n 24 “You who fear the LORD, give praise! All descendants of Jacob, give honor; show reverence, all descendants of Israel! 25 For he has not spurned or disdained the misery of this poor wretch, Did not turn away* from me, but heard me when I cried out. 26 I will offer praise in the great assembly; my vows I will fulfill before those who fear him. 27 The poor* will eat their fill; those who seek the LORD will offer praise. May your hearts enjoy life forever!”o IV 28 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD; All the families of nations will bow low before him.p 29 For kingship belongs to the LORD, the ruler over the nations.q 30 *All who sleep in the earth will bow low before God; All who have gone down into the dust will kneel in homage. 31 And I will live for the LORD; my descendants will serve you. 32 The generation to come will be told of the Lord, that they may proclaim to a people yet unborn the deliverance you have brought.r * [Psalm 22] A lament unusual in structure and in intensity of feeling. The psalmist’s present distress is contrasted with God’s past mercy in Ps 22:2–12. In Ps 22:13–22 enemies surround the psalmist. The last third is an invitation to praise God (Ps 22:23–27), becoming a universal chorus of praise (Ps 22:28–31). The Psalm is important in the New Testament. Its opening words occur on the lips of the crucified Jesus (Mk 15:34; Mt 27:46), and several other verses are quoted, or at least alluded to, in the accounts of Jesus’ passion (Mt 27:35, 43; Jn 19:24). * [22:1] The deer of the dawn: apparently the title of the melody. * [22:7] I am a worm, not a man: the psalmist’s sense of isolation and dehumanization, an important motif of Ps 22, is vividly portrayed here. * [22:13–14] Bulls: the enemies of the psalmist are also portrayed in less-than-human form, as wild animals (cf. Ps 22:17, 21–22). Bashan: a grazing land northeast of the Sea of Galilee, famed for its cattle, cf. Dt 32:14; Ez 39:18; Am 4:1. * [22:16] The dust of death: the netherworld, the domain of the dead. * [22:23] In the assembly I will praise you: the person who offered a thanksgiving sacrifice in the Temple recounted to the other worshipers the favor received from God and invited them to share in the sacrificial banquet. The final section (Ps 22:24–32) may be a summary or a citation of the psalmist’s poem of praise. * [22:25] Turn away: lit., “hides his face from me,” an important metaphor for God withdrawing from someone, e.g., Mi 3:4; Is 8:17; Ps 27:9; 69:18; 88:15. * [22:27] The poor: originally the poor, who were dependent on God; the term (‘anawim) came to include the religious sense of “humble, pious, devout.” * [22:30] Hebrew unclear. The translation assumes that all on earth (Ps 22:27–28) and under the earth (Ps 22:29) will worship God. Take up thy cross. ----------------- THE WAY OF THE CROSS. Take up thy cross, the Saviour said, If thou wouldst My disciple be; Deny thyself, the world forsake, And humbly follow after Me. Take up thy cross, let not its weight Fill thy weak spirit with alarm; His strength shall bear thy spirit up, And brace thy heart and nerve thine arm. Take up thy cross, nor heed the shame, Nor let thy foolish pride rebel; Thy Lord for thee the cross endured, And saved thy soul from death and hell. Take up thy cross then in His strength, And calmly sins wild deluge brave, Twill guide thee to a better home, It points to glory oer the grave. Take up thy cross and follow Christ, Nor think til death to lay it down; For only those who bear the cross May hope to wear the glorious crown. To Thee, great Lord, the One in Three, All praise forevermore ascend: O grant us in our home to see The heavenly life that knows no end. Introduction: Jesus voice, These fourteen steps that you are now about to walk you do not take alone. I walk with you. Though you are you, and I am I, yet we are truly one one Christ And therefore My way of the cross two thousand years ago and your way now are also one. But note this difference. My life was incomplete until I crowned it by My death. Your fourteen steps will only be complete when you have crowned them by your life. Station 1 -- Jesus Is Condemned to Death. We Adore You O Christ and we Bless You. Because by Your Holy Cross You have Redeemed me, a terrible sinner that I am and the whole world, Amen. Jesus voice In Pilates hands, My other self, I see My Fathers will. Though Pilate is unjust, he is the lawful governor and he has power over Me. And so the Son of God obeys a son of man. If I can bow to Pilates rule because this is My Fathers will, can you refuse obedience to those whom I place over you? Response 1 My Jesus, Lord, obedience cost You Your life. For me it only costs an act of will-- no more-- and yet how hard it is for me to bend. Remove the blinders from my eyes that I may see that it is You whom I obey in all who govern me. Lord, it is You. There is a green hill far away There is a green hill far away, Outside a city wall, Where the dear Lord was crucified, Who died to save us all. Refrain O dearly, dearly, has He loved, And we must love Him, too, And trust in His redeeming blood, And try His works to do. We may not know, we cannot tell, What pains He had to bear; But we believe it was for us He hung and suffered there. He died that we might be forgiven, He died to make us good, That we might go at last to heaven, Saved by His precious blood. There was no other good enough To pay the price of sin; He only could unlock the gate Of heaven and let us in. O dearly, dearly has He loved, And we must love Him, too, And trust in His redeeming blood, And try His works to do. Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . . O my Jesus, Forgive us our sins, Save us from the fires of hell and Lead All Souls to Heaven, especially those in most in need of Thine Mercy and for the Holy Souls of Purgatory, Amen. Station 2 -- Jesus Takes His Cross. We Adore You O Christ and we Bless You. Because by Your Holy Cross You have Redeemed me, a terrible sinner that I am and the whole world, Amen. Jesus voice This cross, this chunk of tree, is what My Father chose for Me. The crosses you must bear are largely products of your daily life. And yet My Father chose them, too, for you. Receive them from His hands. Take heart, My other self, I will not let your burdens grow one ounce too heavy for your strength. Response 2 My Jesus, Lord, I take my daily cross. I welcome the monotony that often marks my day, discomforts of all kinds, the summers heat, the winters cold, my disappointments, tensions, setbacks, cares. Remind me often that In carrying my cross, I carry Yours with You. And though I bear a sliver only of Your cross, You carry ail of mine, except a sliver, in return. Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . . O my Jesus, Forgive us our sins, Save us from the fires of hell and Lead All Souls to Heaven, especially those in most in need of Thine Mercy and for the Holy Souls of Purgatory, Amen. Station 3 -- Jesus Falls the first time. We Adore You O Christ and we Bless You. Because by Your Holy Cross You have Redeemed me, a terrible sinner that I am and the whole world, Amen. Jesus voice The God who made the universe, and holds it in existence by His will alone, becomes, as man, too weak to bear a piece of timbers weight. How human in His weakness is the Son of Man. My Father willed it thus. I could not be your model otherwise. If you would be My other self, you also must accept without complaint your human frailties. Response 3 Lord Jesus, how can I refuse? I willingly accept my weaknesses, my irritations and my moods, my headaches and fatigue, all my defects of body, mind, and soul. Because they are Your will for me, these handicaps, of my humanity, I gladly suffer them. Make me content with all my discontents, but give me strength to struggle after You. First Reading: A reading from the Prophet Isaiah. See, my servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. Just as there were many who were astonished at him-- so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of mortals--so he shall startle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which had not been told them they shall see, and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate. Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account. Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future? For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people. They made his grave with the wicked and his tomb with the rich, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him with pain. When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days; through him the will of the LORD shall prosper. Out of his anguish he shall see light; he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge. The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God. Station 4 -- Jesus Meets His Mother. We Adore You O Christ and we Bless You. Because by Your Holy Cross You have Redeemed me, a terrible sinner that I am and the whole world, Amen. Jesus voice My Mother sees Me whipped. She sees Me kicked and driven like a beast. She counts My every wound. But though her soul cries out in agony, no protest or complaint escapes her lips or even enters on her thoughts She shares My martyrdom- and I share hers. We hide no pain, no sorrow, from each others eyes. This is My Fathers will. Response 4 My Jesus, Lord, I know what You are telling me. To watch the pain of those we love is harder than to bear our own. To carry my cross after You, I, too, must stand and watch the sufferings of my dear ones; the heartaches, sicknesses and grief of those I love. And I must let them watch mine, too. I do believe-- for those who love You all things work together unto good. They must! Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . . O my Jesus, Forgive us our sins, Save us from the fires of hell and Lead All Souls to Heaven, especially those in most in need of Thine Mercy and for the Holy Souls of Purgatory, Amen. Station 5 -- Simon Helps Jesus carry His Cross. We Adore You O Christ and we Bless You. Because by Your Holy Cross You have Redeemed me, a terrible sinner that I am and the whole world, Amen. Jesus voice My strength is gone; I can no longer bear the cross alone. And so the legionnaires make Simon give Me aid. This Simon is like you, My other self. Give Me your strength. Each time you lift some burden from Another´s back, you lift as with your very hand the cross awful weight that crushes Me. Response 5 Lord, make me realize that every time I wipe a dish, pick up an object off the floor, assist a child in some small task, or give another preference in traffic or the store; each time I feed the hungry, clothe the naked, teach the ignorant, or lend my hand in any way it matters not to whom my name is Simon. And the kindness I extend to them I really give to You. Must Jesus bear the cross alone Must Jesus bear the cross alone, and all the world go free? No, theres a cross for everyone, and theres a cross for me. How happy now the saints of God, who once went sorrowing here; they rest in joy, lifes crown is theirs, they know no pain nor tear. They trod the path the Saviour trod, they bore the cross he bore; and none may look to wear the crown without the cross before. Then help me, Lord, my cross to bear, till death shall set me free, and so at last obtain my crown, for theres a crown for me. Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . . O my Jesus, Forgive us our sins, Save us from the fires of hell and Lead All Souls to Heaven, especially those in most in need of Thine Mercy and for the Holy Souls of Purgatory, Amen. Station 6 --Veronica Wipes the Holy Face of Jesus. We Adore You O Christ and we Bless You. Because by Your Holy Cross You have Redeemed me, a terrible sinner that I am and the whole world, Amen. Jesus voice Can you be brave enough, My other self, to wipe My bloody face? Where is My face, you ask? At home whenever eyes fill up with tears, at work when tensions rise, on playgrounds, in the slums, the courts, the hospitals, the jails-- wherever suffering exists-- My face is there. And there I look for you to wipe away My blood and tears. Response 6 Lord, what You ask is hard. It calls for courage and self-sacrifice, and I am weak. Please, give me strength. Dont let me run away because of fear. Lord, live in me and act in me and love in me. And not in me alone--in all men--so that we may reveal no more Your bloody but Your glorious face on earth. Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . . O my Jesus, Forgive us our sins, Save us from the fires of hell and Lead All Souls to Heaven, especially those in most in need of Thine Mercy and for the Holy Souls of Purgatory, Amen. Station 7 -- Jesus Falls the second time. We Adore You O Christ and we Bless You. Because by Your Holy Cross You have Redeemed me, a terrible sinner that I am and the whole world, Amen. Jesus voice This seventh step, My other self, is one that tests your will. From this fall learn to persevere in doing good. The time will come when all your efforts seem to fail and you will think, I cant go on. Then turn to Me, My heavy-laden one, and I will give you rest. Trust Me and carry on. Response 7 Give me your courage, Lord. When failure presses heavily on me and I am desolate, stretch out Your hand to lift me up. I know I must not cease, but persevere, in doing good. But help me, Lord. Alone theres nothing I can do. With You, I can do anything You ask. I will. Second Reading: A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews. This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds, he also adds, I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more. Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching. The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . . O my Jesus, Forgive us our sins, Save us from the fires of hell and Lead All Souls to Heaven, especially those in most in need of Thine Mercy and for the Holy Souls of Purgatory, Amen. Station 8 -- Jesus Consoles the Women of Jerusalem. We Adore You O Christ and we Bless You. Because by Your Holy Cross You have Redeemed me, a terrible sinner that I am and the whole world, Amen. Jesus voice How often had I longed to take the children of Jerusalem and gather them to Me. But they refused. But now these women weep for Me and My heart mourns for them-- mourns for their sorrows that will come. I comfort those who seek to solace Me. How gentle can you be, My other self, How kind? Response 8 My Jesus, Your compassion in Your passion is beyond compare. Lord, teach me, help me learn. When I would snap at those who hurt me with their ridicule, those who misunderstand, or hinder me with some misguided helpfulness, those who intrude upon my privacy--then help me curb my tongue. May gentleness become my cloak. Lord, make me kind like You. Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . . O my Jesus, Forgive us our sins, Save us from the fires of hell and Lead All Souls to Heaven, especially those in most in need of Thine Mercy and for the Holy Souls of Purgatory, Amen. Station 9 -- Jesus Falls the Third Time. We Adore You O Christ and we Bless You. Because by Your Holy Cross You have Redeemed me, a terrible sinner that I am and the whole world, Amen. Jesus voice 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. Response 9 My Lord, I see You take a moments rest then rise and stagger on. So I can do because my will is mine. When all my strength is gone and guilt and self-reproach press me to earth and seem to hold me fast, protect me from the sin of Judas--save me from despair! Lord, never let me feel that any sin of mine is greater than Your love. No matter what my post has been I can begin anew. When I survey the wondrous cross When I survey the wondrous cross On which the Prince of glory died, My richest gain I count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride. Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, Save in the death of Christ my God! All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood. See from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down! Did eer such love and sorrow meet, Or thorns compose so rich a crown? Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small: Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all. Station 10 -- Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments. We Adore You O Christ and we Bless You. Because by Your Holy Cross You have Redeemed me, a terrible sinner that I am and the whole world, Amen. Jesus voice Behold, My other self, the poorest King who ever lived. Before My creatures I stand stripped. The cross--My deathbed-- even this is not My own. Yet who has ever been so rich? Possessing nothing, I own all-- My Fathers love. If you, too, would own everything, be not solicitous about your food, your clothes, your life. Response 10 My Lord, I offer You my all-- whatever I possess, and more, my self. Detach me from the craving for prestige, position, wealth. Root out of me all trace of envy of my neighbor who has more than I. Release me from the vice of pride, my longing to exalt myself, and lead me to the lowest place. May I be poor in spirit, Lord, so that I can be rich in You. Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . . O my Jesus, Forgive us our sins, Save us from the fires of hell and Lead All Souls to Heaven, especially those in most in need of Thine Mercy and for the Holy Souls of Purgatory, Amen. Station 11 -- Jesus Is Crucified. We Adore You O Christ and we Bless You. Because by Your Holy Cross You have Redeemed me, a terrible sinner that I am and the whole world, Amen. Jesus voice Can you imagine what a crucifixion is? My executioners stretch My arms; they hold My hand and wrist against the wood and press the nail until it stabs My flesh. Then with one heavy hammer smash they drive it through and pain bursts like a bomb of fire in My brain. They seize the other arm; and agony again explodes. Then raising up My knees so that My feet are flat against the wood, they hammer them fast, too. Response 11 My God, I look at You and think: Is my soul worth this much? What can I give You in return? I here and now accept for all my life whatever sickness, torment, agony may come. To every cross I touch my lips. O blessed cross that lets me be-- with You-- a co-redeemer of my fellowmen. Third Reading: The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed by Saint John. Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! and striking him on the face. Pilate went out again and said to them, Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him. So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, Here is the man! When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, Crucify him! Crucify him! Pilate said to them, Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him. The Jews answered him, We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God. Now when Pilate heard this, he was more afraid than ever. He entered his headquarters again and asked Jesus, Where are you from? But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate therefore said to him, Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you? Jesus answered him, You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin. From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews cried out, If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor. When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside and sat on the judges bench at a place called The Stone Pavement, or in Hebrew Gabbatha. Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon. He said to the Jews, Here is your King! They cried out, Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him! Pilate asked them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but the emperor. Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, Do not write, The King of the Jews, but, This man said, I am King of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I have written I have written. When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it. This was to fulfill what the scripture says, They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots. And that is what the soldiers did. Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mothers sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, Woman, here is your son. Then he said to the disciple, Here is your mother. And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), I am thirsty. A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, It is finished. Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies removed. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. (He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.) These things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled, None of his bones shall be broken. And again another passage of scripture says, They will look on the one whom they have pierced. After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . . O my Jesus, Forgive us our sins, Save us from the fires of hell and Lead All Souls to Heaven, especially those in most in need of Thine Mercy and for the Holy Souls of Purgatory, Amen. Station 12 -- Jesus Dies on the Cross. We Adore You O Christ and we Bless You. Because by Your Holy Cross You have Redeemed me, a terrible sinner that I am and the whole world, Amen. Jesus voice The cross becomes a pulpit now-- Forgive them, Father You will be with Me in Paradise There is your mother There your son I thirst. It is complete. To speak I have to raise Myself by pressing on My wrists and feet, and every move engulfs Me in new waves of agony. And then, when I have borne enough, have emptied My humanity, I let My mortal life depart. Response 12 My Jesus, God, what can I say or do? I offer You my death with all its pains, accepting now the time and kind of death in store for me. Not by a single instant would I lengthen my lifes span. I offer You my death for my own sins and those of all my fellowmen. My God! My God! Forsake us not. We know not what we do. Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . . O my Jesus, Forgive us our sins, Save us from the fires of hell and Lead All Souls to Heaven, especially those in most in need of Thine Mercy and for the Holy Souls of Purgatory, Amen. Station 13 -- Jesus Is Taken Down and Given to His Sorrowful Mother Mary. - Pieta We Adore You O Christ and we Bless You. Because by Your Holy Cross You have Redeemed me, a terrible sinner that I am and the whole world, Amen. Jesus voice The sacrifice is done. Yes, My Mass is complete; but not My mothers and not yours, My other self. My mother still must cradle in her arms the lifeless body of the Son she bore. You, too, must part from those you love, and grief will come to you. In your bereavements think of this: A multitude of souls were saved by Marys sharing in My Calvary, Your grief can also be the price of souls. Response 13 I beg You, Lord, help me accept the partings that must come-- from friends who go away, my children leaving home, and most of all, my dear ones when You shall call them to Yourself. Then, give me grace to say: As it has pleased You, Lord, to take them home, I bow to Your most holy will And if by just one word I might restore their lives against Your will, I would not speak. Grant them eternal joy. O Love that will not let me go O Love that wilt not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee; I give thee back the life I owe, that in thine ocean depths its flow may richer, fuller be. O Light that followest all my way, I yield my flickering torch to thee; my heart restores its borrowed ray, that in thy sunshines blaze its day may brighter, fairer be. O Joy that seekest me through pain, I cannot close my heart to thee; I trace the rainbow through the rain, and feel the promise
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 03:36:00 +0000
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