Opening Prayer
Mary, my Mother, you were the first to live the
Way of the Cross.
You felt every pain and every humiliation. You
were unafraid of the
ridicule heaped upon you by the crowds. Your eyes
were ever on Jesus
and His Pain. Is that the secret of your
miraculous strength? How did your
loving heart bear such a burden and such a
weight? As you watched Him
stumble and fall, were you tortured by the memory
of all the yesterdays-
His birth, His hidden life and His ministry?
You were so desirous of everyone loving Him. What
a heartache it was
to see so many hate Him - hate with a diabolical
fury. Take my hand as I
make this Way of the Cross. Inspire me with those
thoughts that will make
me realize how much He loves me. Give me light to
apply each station to my
daily life and to remember my neighbor's needs in
this Way of the Pain.
Obtain for me the grace to understand the
mystery, the wisdom
and the Divine love as I go from scene to scene.
Grant that my heart, like
yours, may be pierced through by the sight of His
sorrow and the misery and
that I may determine never to offend Him again.
What a price He paid to
cover my sins, to open the gates of heaven for me
and to fill my soul with His
own Spirit . Sweet Mother, let us travel this way
together and grant that the
love in my poor heart may give you some slight
consolation.
Amen.
The First Station:
Jesus Is Condemned To Death (Mark 15:1-15, Matthew 27:23-31)
My Jesus, the world still has You on trial. It
keeps asking who You are and why You make the demands You make. It asks over
and over the question, If You are God's Son, why do You permit the world to be
in the state it is in? Why are You so silent?
Though the arrogance of the world angers me, I
must admit that silently, in the depths of my soul, I too have these questions.
Your humility frustrates me and makes me uncomfortable. Your strength before
Pilate as You drank deeply from the power of the Father, gives me the answer to
my question - The Father's Will. The Father permits many sufferings in my life
but it is all for my good. If only I too could be silent in the face of worldly
prudence - steadfast in the faith when all seems lost - calm when accused
unjustly - free from tyranny of human respect - ready to do the Father's Will
no matter how difficult.
Silent Jesus, give us all the graces we need to
stand tall in the face of the ridicule of the world. Give the poor the strength
not to succumb to their privation but to be ever aware of their dignity as sons
of God. Grant that we might not bend to the crippling disease of worldly glory
but be willing to be deprived of all things rather than lose Your friendship.
My Jesus, though we are accused daily of being fools, let the vision of Quiet
Dignity standing before Monstrous Injustice, give us all the courage to be Your
followers.
Amen
The Second Station:
How could any human impose such a
burden upon Your torn and bleeding body, Lord Jesus? Each movement of the cross
drove the thorns deeper into Your Head. How did You keep the hatred from
welling up in Your Heart? How did the injustice of it all not ruffle your
peace? The Father's Will was hard on You - Why do I complain when it is hard on
me?
I see injustice and am frustrated and
when my plans to alleviate it seems futile, I despair. When I see those
burdened with poverty suffer ever more and cross is added to cross my heart is
far from serene. I utterly fail to see the dignity of the cross as it is
carried with love. I would so much rather be without it.
My worldly concept is that suffering,
like food, should be shared equally. How ridiculous I am, dear Lord. Just as we
do not all need the same amount of material food, neither do we need the same
amount of spiritual food and that is what the cross is in my life, isn't it - spiritual
food proportional to my needs.
Amen
The Third Station:
My Jesus, it seems to me, that as God,
You would have carried Your cross without faltering, but You did not. You fell
beneath it's weight to show me You understand when I fall. Is it pride that
makes me want to shine even in pain? You were not ashamed to fall- to admit the
cross was heavy. There are those in world whom my pride will not tolerate as I
expect everyone to be strong, yet I am weak. I am ashamed to admit failure in
anything.
If the Father permits failure in my
life just as He permitted You to fall, then I must know there is good in that
failure which my mind will never comprehend. I must not concentrate on the eyes
of others as they rest upon me in my falls. Rather, I must reach up to touch
that invisible hand and drink in that invisible strength ever at my side.
Weak Jesus, help all men who try so
hard to be good but whose nature is constantly opposed to them walking straight
and tall down the narrow road of life. Raise their heads to see the glory that
is to come rather than the misery of the present moment.
Your love for me gave You strength to
rise from Your fall. Look upon all those whom the world considers unprofitable
servants and give them the courage to be more concerned as to how they stand
before You, rather than their fellowmen.
Amen
The Fourth Station:
Jesus Meets His Afflicted Mother - John 19:25-27)
My Jesus, it was a great sorrow to realize Your
pain caused Mary so much grief. As Redeemer, You wanted her to share in Your
pain for mankind. When You glanced at each other in unutterable suffering, what
gave you both the courage to carry on without the least alleviation - without
anger at such injustice?
It seems as if you desired to suffer every
possible pain to give me an example of how to suffer when my time comes. What a
humiliation for You when Your mother saw you in such a pitiable state - weak -
helpless - at the mercy of sinful men - holiness exposed to evil in all
hideousness.
Did every moment of that short encounter seem
like an eternity? As I see so much suffering in the world, there are times I
think it is all hopeless. There is an element of lethargy in my prayers for
mankind that says "I'll pray, but what good will it do? The sick grow
sicker and the hungry starve. " I think of that glance between You and
Mary - the glance that said, "Let us give this misery to the Father for
the salvation of souls. The Father's power takes our pain and frustration and
renews souls, saves them for a new life - a life of eternal joy, eternal
happiness. It is worth it all." Give perseverance to the sick so they can
carry the cross of frustration and agony with love and resignation for the
salvation of others.
Amen
The Fifth Station
My Jesus, Your tormentors enlisted a
Simon of Cyrene to help You carry Your cross. Your humility is beyond my
comprehension. Your power upheld the whole universe and yet You permit one of
Your creatures to help You carry a cross. I imagine Simon was reluctant to take
part in Your shame. He had no idea that all who watched and jeered at him would
pass into oblivion while his name would go down in history and eternity as the
one who helped his God in need. Is it not so with me, dear Jesus? Even when I
reluctantly carry my cross as Simon did, it benefits my soul.
If I keep my eyes on You and watch how
You suffered, I will be able to bear my cross with greater fortitude. Were you
trying to tell all those who suffer from prejudice to have courage? Was Simon a
symbol of all those who are hated because of race, color and creed?
Simon wondered as he took those beams
upon his shoulders, why he was chosen for such a heavy burden and now he knows.
Help me Jesus, to trust your loving Providence as you permit suffering to weave
itself in and out of my life. Make me understand that You looked at it and held
it fondly before You passed it on to me. You watch me and give me strength just
as You did Simon. When I enter Your Kingdom, I shall know as he knows, what
marvels Your Cross has wrought in my soul.
Amen
The Sixth Station
My Jesus, where were all the hundreds of peoples
whose bodies and souls were healed by you? Where were they when You needed
someone to give You the least sign of comfort? Ingratitude must have borne down
upon Your heart and made the cross nearly impossible to carry. There are times
I too feel all my efforts for Your Kingdom are futile and end in nothingness.
Did your eyes roam through the crowd for the comfort of just one individual -
one sign of pity - one sign of grief?
My heart thrills with a sad joy when I think of
one woman, breaking away from fear and human respect and offeringYou her thin
veil to wipe Your bleeding Face. Your loving heart, ever watching for the least
sign of love, imprinted the Image of your torn Face upon it! How can You forget
Yourself so completely and reward such a small act of kindness?
I must admit, I have been among those who were
afraid to know You rather than like Veronica. She did not care if the whole
world knew she loved You. Heartbroken Jesus, give me that quality of the soul
so necessary to witness to spread Your Word - to tell all people of Your love
for them. Send many into Your Vineyard so the people of all nations may receive
the Good News. Imprint Your Divine Image upon my soul and let the thin veil of
my human nature bear a perfect resemblance to your loving Spirit.
Amen
The Seventh Station:
My Jesus, one of the beautiful qualities the
people admired in You was Your strength in time of ridicule - Your ability to
rise above the occasion. But now, You fall a second time - apparently conquered
by the pain of the Cross. People who judged You by appearances made a terrible
mistake. What looked like weakness was unparalleled strength!
I often judge by appearances and how wrong I am
most of the time. The world judges entirely by this fraudulent method of
discerning. It looks down upon those who apparently have given their best and
are now in need. It judges the poor as failures, the sick as useless and the
aged as a burden. How wrong that kind of judgment is in the light of your
second fall! Your greatest moment wasYour weakest one. Your greatest triumph
was in failure. Your greatest act of love was in desolation. Your greatest show
of power was in that utter lack of strength that threw You to the ground.
Weak and powerful Jesus, give me the grace to see
beyond what is visible and be more aware of Your Wisdom in the midst of
weakness. Give the aged, sick, handicapped, retarded, deaf and blind the fruit
of joy so they may ever be aware of the Father's gift and the vast difference
between what the world sees and what the Father sees that they may glory in
their weakness so the power of God may be manifest.
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