Thursday, March 31, 2011

Stations of the Cross, Eleventh Station

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

When they came to Golgotha, the place called the Skull, they crucified Jesus and the robbers, one of his right and the other on his left. And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Lk. 23, 33-34; Jn. 19, 18)

Reflection: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me, far from my prayer, far from the words of my cry? O my God, I cry out by day, and you answer not; I cry out by night, and there is no relief for me. All my bones are racked. My heart has become like wax melting away within my chest. My throat is dried up like baked clay, my tongue cleaves to my jaws; they have pierced my hands and my feet; I can count all my bones. (Ps. 21, 2-3, 15-16, 17b)


Let us pray: Lord and Saviour, You have told us that we too must accept crucifixion if we are to accept resurrection with You. Help us to rejoice in the sufferings that come with the fulfillment of our daily duties, seeing in them the royal road of the cross to the resurrection.

Click on the picture for a link to an excellently done page on the Catholic Stations of the Cross.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Stations of the Cross, Tenth Station

The Tenth Station

Jesus is stripped of his clothes


We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you,
because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

They gave Jesus wine to drink mixed with gall; but when he had tasted it, he would not drink. Then after they had crucified him, they divided his clothes, casting lots, to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet, "They divided my clothes among them, and upon my garments they cast lots." (Mt. 27, 34 and 35)

Reflection: Happy is the man whom God chastises! Do not reject the punishment of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he binds up; he smites, but his hands give healing. Insult has broken my heart, and I am weak; I looked for comforters, and I found none. Rather they put gall in my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. (Job 5, 17 and 18; Ps. 68, 21 and 22)

Let us pray: Lord Jesus Christ, stripped of everything, you stood exposed to the jeers and contempt of the people whom You loved. Clothe us with genuine love of others, so that nothing we suffer may ever fill our hearts with hatred or bitterness. Amen.


Click on the picture for a link to an excellently-done corresponding page on the Catholic Stations of the Cross.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Stations of the Cross, Ninth Station

The 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.

I lie prostrate in the dust; give me life according to your word. I declared my ways, and you answered me; teach me your commands. Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds. My sould weeps for sorrow; strengthen me with your words. (Ps. 118, 25 to 28)

Reflection: The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The Lord is my life's refuge; of whom should I be afraid? When evildoers come at me to devour my flesh, my foes and my enemies themselves stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart will not fear; though war be waged upon me, even then will I trust. (Ps. 26, 1 to 3)

Let us pray: Almighty and eternal God, You permitted your Son to be weakened, crushed, and profaned so that He might rise from the dead freed from the ravages of sin. Help us to accept our weaknesses and failings as forerunners of our glorious resurrection in union with your Son. Amen.


Click on the picture for a link to an excellently-done corresponding page on the Catholic Stations of the Cross.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Stations of the Cross, Eighth Station

The 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.

There was following Jesus a great crowd of people, and among them were some women who were bewailing and lamenting him. Jesus turning to them said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children." (Luke 23, 27 and 28)

Reflection: Come, all you who pass by the way, look and see whether there is any suffering like my suffering, suffering with which the Lord has afflicted me on the day of his blazing wrath. At this I weep, my eyes run with tears: far from me are all who could console me, far away are any who might revive me. (Lam. 1, 12 and 16)

Let us pray: Beloved Jesus, with tears of pity these women of Jerusalem responded to You, broken, bruised, and beaten, on the road to Calvary. Deepen our faith, we beg You, so that we may see You in our brothers and sisters, bruised by our envy, beaten down by injustice, and broken by our greed and our indifference. Amen.

Click on the picture for a link to an excellently-done corresponding page on the Catholic Stations of the Cross.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Stations of the Cross, Seventh Station

The 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.

It was our weaknesses that he carried, our sufferings that he endured, while we thought of him as stricken, as one struck by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins; upon him was the punishment that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed. We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; but the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all. (Is. 53, 4 to 6)

Reflection: Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his mouth; like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent and uttered no cry. When he was cut off from the land of the living, and smitten for the sin of his people, a grave was assigned him among the wicked and a burial place with evildoers, though he had done no wrong nor spoken any falsehood. (Is. 53, 7 and 9)

Let us pray: Lord Jesus Christ, You shared in our weaknesses and accepted our guilt. Grand us the favor of rejoicing over our human weaknesses, so that in all we do, Your strength, swelling in us, may be shown to all others. Amen.

Click on the picture for a link to an excellently-done corresponding page on the Catholic Stations of the Cross.