We
adore you, O Christ, and we praise You.Stations of the Cross
St. Timothy Catholic Church, Chantilly, Va.
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OPENING PRAYER
Leader:
The Way of the Cross leads to the Holy Sepulcher, or the Basilica built over
Mount Calvary, and the place of the Resurrection, and this glorious finale gives
meaning to the entire journey. The Cross was, in reality, an instrument of
victory and it will always be a symbol of the triumph of Christ. The cross of
Christ leads to life and glory. The Way of the Cross is a path of triumph.
Christ conquered even death itself, changing the meaning of suffering, misery
and sin, and when about to undergo his passion, he said, "I have overcome the
world." (John 16:33)
FIRST STATION - JESUS IS CONDEMNED TO DEATH
We
adore you, O Christ, and we praise You.
Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
Pilate said, "What shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?" The people cried out, "Crucify him, crucify him." Pilate asked, "Why, what evil has he done?," but they shouted all the louder, "Crucify Him." So, wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him over to be crucified. (Mark 15:12-15)
SECOND STATION - JESUS CARRIES HIS CROSS
We
adore you, O Christ, and we praise You.
Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
The
soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorian where they stripped him, put a scarlet
cloak on him, placed a crown of thorns on his head and a reed in his hand.
After that, they mocked him saying, "Hail King of the Jews." They spat
upon him, took the reed and hit him over the head with it, then they led him
away to be crucified. (Matthew 27:27-30)
Let us
pray:
Lord, we have been guilty of thoughtless acts of cruelty toward the old, the
young or the helpless, and through either fear or vanity, we have failed to
defend the weak, the neglected and those who suffered unjustly. We implore
your forgiveness and we pray for the courage to treat others as we should like
you to treat us. Amen.
THIRD STATION - JESUS FALLS THE FIRST TIME
We
adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
I am like a broken vessel, like one already dead. Terror is around me and I can hear the whisperings of many as they plot and scheme to take my life. (Psalm 3:1) Jesus was overcome by physical weakness and he fell the first time under the weight of the cross.
Let us pray: O Lord, help us to recognize our moral weakness, help us to face the truth about ourselves and to strive earnestly to overcome the evil inclinations which help to obscure our vision of God's mercy and love. Amen.
FOURTH STATION - JESUS MEETS HIS AFFLICTED MOTHER
We
adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
As Jesus proceeded on the road to Calvary, his mother stepped forward to console him. We recall the day she presented him to God, as a child, in the Temple and heard Simeon's prophecy concerning him: "This child is destined to be a sign which men will reject, and you too will be pierced to the heart."
Let us pray: The summit of a mother's generosity is in the offering of her child to God and the depth of a mother's grief is in her final separation from her own child. Consider the anguish which tore at Mary's heart as she followed her son on his way to a disgraceful death. May her example teach us to accept the trials and sorrows of life with resignation to God's will and with unbounded confidence in his Providence. Amen.
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FIFTH STATION - SIMON OF CYRENE HELPS JESUS TO CARRY HIS CROSS
We
adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
As they led him away, the soldiers seized a man called Simon and laid on him the cross to carry it behind Jesus. (Luke 23:26) Jesus looked in vain for a friendly face among the rude and scoffing multitude. The soldiers forced Simon to help him. The man was frightened and angry, but powerless to refuse.
Let us pray: O Lord, help us to conquer fear and anger, help us to be at peace within ourselves and with other people as we endeavor to follow in the footsteps of your son. Amen.
SIXTH STATION - VERONICA WIPES THE FACE OF JESUS
We
adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
He had no form or comeliness that we should look at him, no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected, a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief. (Isaiah 53:3) As Jesus proceeded on his way covered with the sweat of death, a woman in the crowd came forward to wipe his face. The impression of his countenance remained upon the cloth she used. Here, we see woman at her best, stepping forward bravely to relieve pain and suffering.
Let us pray: May the image of the suffering Savior be imprinted on our hearts and minds. May we behold his countenance in the faces of the sick, and the poor and in the victims of injustice, war, persecution and famine. Help us to act like Veronica here and now by practicing patience and compassion, putting up with one another's failings and helping one another at all times. Amen.
SEVENTH STATION - JESUS FALLS THE SECOND TIME
We
adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
Though Jesus endured great physical pain, his mental anguish was greater still. We think of his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane where he told the waiting Apostles: "My soul is sorrowful even unto death, stay here and watch with me," then, falling to the ground, he prayed that if it were possible the hour of suffering might pass from him, and being in agony, he prayed the more earnestly and his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.
Let us pray: By freely accepting suffering and death, Jesus opened for us the channels of grace. Lord help us to appreciate his kindness and mercy, especially in the sacrament of penance and although it is humiliating to have to confess the same sins so often, never let this lead us to become oblivious to sin as we continue to place our confidence in you. Amen.
EIGHTH STATION - JESUS MEETS THE WOMEN OF JERUSALEM
We
adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
As Jesus drew near to Calvary, some women in the crowd bewailed and lamented him, but knowing the things that were to happen to the people of Jerusalem because they rejected him, he turned to them and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and your children."
Let us pray: O lord, do not allow me to accept kindness passively, let me imitate the kindness of Christ. Where there is hatred let me sow love, where there is injury, pardon, where there is doubt, faith, where there is darkness, light and where there is sadness, joy. Amen.
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NINTH STATION - JESUS FALLS A THIRD TIME
We
adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
All my bones are out of joint, my heart is melted within me, my tongue cleaves to my palate and in the dust of death you have laid me." Though this Psalm which Jesus recited at his darkest hour refers to his physical condition as he approached the place of sacrifice, it also expresses hope in the Lord who does not despise the affliction of the afflicted, but listens to the voice of him who cries out to him. (Psalm 3:1)
Let us pray: O Lord, there are days when life's burdens bruise and hurt us, when the road seems endless and our souls have lost their courage. Let not the power of evil discourage us, and as the desire to do your will inspired your son, may the desire to imitate him give us the strength to overcome vanity, selfishness, laziness and all our other faults. Amen.
TENTH STATION - JESUS IS STRIPPED OF HIS GARMENTS
We
adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
When Jesus arrived on the summit of Calvary, he was in a pitiful state. The soldiers offered him wine mixed with gall, and after stripping him, they divided his garments among them and cast lots for his robe. Here we "behold the man," naked and alone, abandoned by his own and surrounded by enemies who laughed him to scorn.
Let us pray: Lord help us to accept with resignation all the humiliations and disappointments of this world. Strip us to pretence, deception, conceit and pride. Teach us to value honesty, sincerity and truth, and give us the courage to live up to our Christian convictions, whatever the cost may be. Amen.
ELEVENTH STATION - JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS
We
adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
At the Last Supper, Jesus passed the cup of wine to his Apostles with the words, "Drink it all of you for this is my blood which will be poured out for many for the forgiveness of sin," and here on Calvary, the redeeming blood flows freely from his hands and feet as the nails are driven into the tender flesh. The barbarity of the scene is horrifying, yet in our own day brutality survives on a grand scale in the calculated cruelty of modern warfare and in the thoughtless violence within our own towns and cities.
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, you were wounded for our iniquities and pierced for our sins. Have pity on our weakness and give us the courage to abolish selfishness and greed from our own lives and to endeavor to heal the wounds caused by prejudice, distrust and hatred in today's world. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Amen.
TWELFTH STATION - JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
And when they came to Calvary, there they crucified him between two thieves; and Jesus said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do," and there was darkness over the whole earth when Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Father into your hands I commend my spirit, and having said this, he breathed his last. (Luke 23:46)
Greater love than this has no man, that he should give up his life for his friends. Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it yields much fruit.
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, by your cruel death you opened for us the way to eternal life. Teach us to be generous and to serve you as you deserve to be served, teach us to give and not to count the cost, to labor and to ask for no reward save only the knowledge that we are striving to do your will. Amen.
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First-Class Relic
Thorns from Christ's Crown of
Thorns
First-Class Relic
Wood from The True Cross
THIRTEENTH STATION - THE BODY OF JESUS IS TAKEN FROM THE CROSS
We
adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
In order to prevent the bodies from remaining on the Cross on the Sabbath, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken . . . so the soldiers broke the legs of those who had been crucified with him, but when they saw that Jesus was already dead, they did not break his legs but one of them pierced his side with a lance and at once, blood and water came out.
Let us pray: Lord, keep us always mindful of the certainty of our own death, and though the thought may be unattractive, we know that Jesus has already passed through death and has gone to prepare a place for us, so that where he is, we also may be. Help us to face death with resignation and with confidence in your mercy and love. Amen.
FOURTEENTH STATION - JESUS IS LAID IN THE TOMB
We
adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
Joseph of Aramathea asked Pilate if he might take the body of Jesus, and Pilate consented. Nicodemus came also and they wrapped the body in linen cloths with spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Near the place of the crucifixion, there was a garden, and in it a new tomb where no one had been buried, so as the tomb was near at hand, they laid Jesus there.
Let us pray: Eternal Father, like Jesus, we too shall be laid in the grave, when it shall please you, as it shall please you, and where it shall please you, and as Jesus rose in glory on the third day, we dare to hope that, through the merits of his passion and death, we shall be raised to live and reign with him in your heavenly home. Amen.