We walk the stations on Fridays during the liturgical season of Lent.
In the 5th Century, St. Petronius constructed a group of connected chapels representing the places where Christ suffered and died. Many Christians traveled to Jerusalem and took guided tours retracing the last hours of Christ's life, but that became very difficult and dangerous during the Crusades (Holy Wars) in the Middle Ages, a time when Christian forces defended Europe against Muslim invasion.
Tradition says that the first Stations of the Cross were developed by St. Francis of Assisi himself. In 1686, the pope gave the Franciscan monks permission to place the stations in all of their churches. By the late 1800's, the stations had been placed in most Catholic churches. Traditionally there are only 14 stations, but Pope John Paul II encouraged Catholics to use a 15th station, the Resurrection of Christ.
Purposes of the Stations
The stations help us to connect emotionally with the suffering that Jesus accepted so that he could save us from Hell. This should fill us with a deep thankfulness that inspires us to repent- to turn away from sin and turn back to God by doing what is right.The stations also remind us to imitate the heroic goodness of the Jesus, Mary, Veronica, John, Joseph of Arimathea and others.
The stations turn our attention to the identity of Jesus- true God and true man. This reminds us of the compassion which we must show to all human beings who suffer. The stations remind us that cruelty and abuse are evil. Solidarity (oneness) with Christ requires solidarity with all who are abused or neglected, including our fellow Christians suffering persecution for their faith in Communist and Muslim countries.
Most important, this is an act of reparation- an opportunity for us to share God's grace with those who have rejected Jesus and live sinful lives. The Virgin Mary and the Apostle John stood by Jesus while His enemies abused Him. We Christians now stand by Jesus today as non-believers mock Christ, the Bible, and the Church. We pray that God will forgive and convert the enemies of His Son. We pray that God will change the hearts of those who reject the truth and love that Jesus offers.
What follows is The Way of the Cross by Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787), with Scriptural references and the stanzas of the Stabat Mater (in Latin and English) added. Melody for the Stabat Mater here.
Stations of the Cross
Opening Prayer:
Leader: God of power and mercy,
in love your sent your Son
that we might be cleansed of sin
and live with you forever.
Bless us as we gather to reflect
on his suffering and death
that we may learn from his example
the way we should go.
We ask this through that same Christ, our Lord.
All: Amen
Before each station:
V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. R. Because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
After each station:
Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven. And give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
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.
(Matthew 27:22-23,26, John 3:16, Isaiah 53:7, John 18:33-John 19:1-16)
V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
R. Because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
Consider, that Jesus, after having been scourged and crowned with thorns, was unjustly condemned by Pilate to die on the cross. My adorable Jesus, it was not Pilate, no, it was my sins, that condemned Thee to die. I beseech Thee, by the merits of this sorrowful journey, to assist my soul in its journey toward eternity.
I love Thee, my beloved Jesus; I love Thee more than myself; I repent with my whole heart of having offended Thee. Never permit me to separate myself from Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt.
The Judge of the world, who will come again to judge us all, stands there, dishonored and defenseless before the earthly judge. Pilate is not utterly evil. He knows that the condemned man is innocent, and he looks for a way to free him. But his heart is divided. And in the end he lets his own position, his own self-interest, prevail over what is right. Nor are the men who are shouting and demanding the death of Jesus utterly evil. Many of them, on the day of Pentecost, will feel "cut to the heart" (Acts 2:37), when Peter will say to them: "Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God ... you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law" (Acts 2:22ff.). But at that moment they are caught up in the crowd. They are shouting because everyone else is shouting, and they are shouting the same thing that everyone else is shouting. And in this way, justice is trampled underfoot by weakness, cowardice and fear of the diktat of the ruling mind-set. The quiet voice of conscience is drowned out by the cries of the crowd. Evil draws its power from indecision and concern for what other people think.
All:
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| Duccio di Buoninsegna, (1308-1311) |
Hail Mary . . . .
Glory be . . . .
Stabat Mater Stanza:
Stabat Mater dolorosa
At the cross her station keeping
Juxta crucem lacrymosa
Stood the mournful Mother weeping
Dum pendebat Filius
Close to Jesus to the last
Response:
Sancta Mater, istud agas
Holy Mother! pierce me through
Crucifixi fige plagas
In my heart each wound renew
Cordi meo valide
Of my Saviour crucified
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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| Gustave Doré |
(Matthew 27:27-31, Isaiah 53:4-6, Luke 9:23)
V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
R. Because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
Consider, that Jesus, in making this journey with the cross on His shoulders, thought of us, and offered for us, to His Father, the death that He was about to undergo. My most beloved Jesus, I embrace all the tribulations that Thou hast destined for me until death. I beseech Thee, by the merits of the pain Thou didst suffer in carrying Thy cross, to give me the necessary help to carry mine with perfect patience and resignation. I love Thee, Jesus, my love, I repent of having offended Thee. Never permit me to separate myself from Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always, and then do with me what Thou wilt.Cardinal Ratzinger:
Jesus, condemned as an imposter king, is mocked, but this very mockery lays bare a painful truth. How often are the symbols of power, borne by the great ones of this world, an affront to truth, to justice and to the dignity of man! How many times are their pomps and their lofty words nothing but grandiose lies, a parody of their solemn obligation to serve the common good! It is because Jesus is mocked and wears the crown of suffering that he appears as the true King. His scepter is justice (cf. Psalm 45:7). The price of justice in this world is suffering: Jesus, the true King, does not reign through violence, but through a love which suffers for us and with us. He takes up the Cross, our cross, the burden of being human, the burden of the world. And so he goes before us and points out to us the way which leads to true life.
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| Duccio di Buoninsegna, (1308-1311) |
Our Father . . . . .
Hail Mary . . . .
Glory be . . . .
Stabat Mater Stanza:
Cujus animan gementem
Through her heart, His sorrow sharing
Contristatam, et dolentem
All His bitter anguish bearing
Pertransivit gladius
Now at length the sword had passed
Response:Sancta Mater, istud agas
Holy Mother! pierce me through
Crucifixi fige plagas In my heart each wound renew
Cordi meo valide Of my Saviour crucified
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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| Pieter Bruegel |
(Isaiah 53:4-6)
V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
R. Because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
Consider, this first fall of Jesus under His cross. His flesh was torn by the scourges, His head crowned with thorns, and He had lost a great quantity of blood. He was so weakened that He could scarcely walk, and yet He had to carry this great load upon His shoulders. The soldiers struck Him rudely, and thus He fell several times in His journey.Cardinal Ratzinger:
My beloved Jesus, it is not the weight of the cross, but of my sins, which has made Thee suffer so much pain. Ah, by the merits of this first fall, deliver me from the misfortune of falling into mortal sin. I love Thee, O my Jesus, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt.
Man has fallen, and he continues to fall: often he becomes a caricature of himself, no longer the image of God, but a mockery of the Creator. Is not the man who, on the way from Jerusalem to Jericho, fell among robbers who stripped him and left him half-dead and bleeding beside the road, the image of humanity par excellence? Jesus' fall beneath the Cross is not just the fall of the man Jesus, exhausted from his scourging. There is a more profound meaning in this fall, as Paul tells us in the Letter to the Philippians: "though he was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men... He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a Cross" (Philippians 2:6-8). In Jesus' fall beneath the weight of the Cross, the meaning of his whole life is seen: his voluntary abasement, which lifts us up from the depths of our pride. The nature of our pride is also revealed: it is that arrogance which makes us want to be liberated from God and left alone to ourselves, the arrogance which makes us think that we do not need his eternal love, but can be the masters of our own lives. In this rebellion against truth, in this attempt to be our own god, creator and judge, we fall headlong and plunge into self-destruction. The humility of Jesus is the surmounting of our pride; by his abasement he lifts us up. Let us allow him to lift us up. Let us strip away our sense of self-sufficiency, our false illusions of independence, and learn from him, the One who humbled himself, to discover our true greatness by bending low before God and before our downtrodden brothers and sisters.
All:
Our Father . . . . .
Hail Mary . . . .
Glory be . . . .
Stabat Mater Stanza:
O quam tristis et afflicta Oh, how sad and sore distressed
Fuit illa benedicta Was that Mother highly blessed
Mater Unigeniti Of the sole-begotten One!
Response:
Sancta Mater, istud agas Holy Mother! pierce me throughCrucifixi fige plagas In my heart each wound renew
Cordi meo valide Of my Saviour crucified
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Luke 2:34-35,51, John 19:25-27, John 16:22)
V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
R. Because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
Consider, the meeting of the Son and the Mother, which took place on this journey. Jesus and Mary looked at each other, and their looks became as so many arrows to wound those hearts which loved each other so tenderly.Cardinal Ratzinger:
My most loving Jesus, by the sorrow Thou didst experience in this meeting, grant me the grace of a truly devoted love for Thy most holy Mother. And thou, my Queen, who wast overwhelmed with sorrow, obtain for me by thy intercession a continual and tender remembrance of the Passion of thy Son. I love Thee, Jesus, my love; I repent of ever having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always, and then do with me what Thou wilt.
On Jesus' Way of the Cross, we also find Mary, his Mother. During his public life she had to step aside, to make place for the birth of Jesus' new family, the family of his disciples. She also had to hear the words: "Who is my mother and who are my brothers? ... Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is brother, and sister and mother" (Matthew 12:48-50). Now we see her as the Mother of Jesus, not only physically, but also in her heart. Even before she conceived him bodily, through her obedience she conceived him in her heart. It was said to Mary: "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son. He will be great and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David" (Luke 1:31ff.). And she would hear from the mouth of the elderly Simeon: "A sword will pierce through your own soul" (Luke 2:35). She would then recall the words of the prophets, words like these: "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he was like a lamb that is led to slaughter" (Isaiah 54:7). Now it all takes place. In her heart she had kept the words of the angel, spoken to her in the beginning: "Do not be afraid, Mary" (Luke 1:30). The disciples fled, yet she did not flee. She stayed there, with a Mother's courage, a Mother's fidelity, a Mother's goodness, and a faith which did not waver in the hour of darkness: "Blessed is she who believed" (Luke 1:45). "Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?" (Luke 18:8). Yes, in this moment Jesus knows: he will find faith. In this hour, this is his great consolation.
All:
Our Father . . . . .
Hail Mary . . . .
Glory be . . . .
Stabat Mater Stanza:
Quae moerebat, et dolebat Christ above in torment hangs
Pia Mater, dum videbat She beneath beholds the pangs
Nati poenas inclyti Of her dying, glorious Son
Response:
Sancta Mater, istud agas Holy Mother! pierce me through
Crucifixi fige plagas In my heart each wound renew
Cordi meo valide Of my Saviour crucified
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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| Duccio |
(Matthew 27:32; 16:24, Galatians 6:2)
V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
R. Because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
Consider that the Jews seeing that at each step Jesus, from weakness, was on the point of expiring, and fearing that He would die on the way when they wished Him to die the ignominious death of the cross, constrained Simon the Cyrenian to carry the cross behind Our Lord.Cardinal Ratzinger:
My most sweet Jesus, I will not refuse the cross as the Cyrenian did; I accept it, I embrace it. I accept in particular the death that Thou hast destined for me with all the pains which may accompany it; I unite it to Thy death, I offer it to Thee. Thou has died for love of me, I will die for love of Thee, and to please Thee. Help me by Thy grace. I love Thee, Jesus, my love; I repent of having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always, and then do with me what Thou wilt.
Simon of Cyrene is on his way home, returning from work, when he comes upon the sad procession of those condemned -- for him, perhaps, it was a common sight. The soldiers force this rugged man from the country to carry the Cross on his own shoulders. How annoying he must have thought it to be suddenly caught up in the fate of those condemned men! He does what he must do, but reluctantly. Significantly, the Evangelist Mark does not only name him, but also his children, who were evidently known as Christians and as members of that community (cf. Mark 15:21). From this chance encounter, faith was born. The Cyrenian, walking beside Jesus and sharing the burden of the Cross, came to see that it was a grace to be able to accompany him to his crucifixion and to help him. The mystery of Jesus, silent and suffering, touched his heart. Jesus, whose divine love alone can redeem all humanity, wants us to share his Cross so that we can complete what is still lacking in his suffering (cf. Colossian 1:24). Whenever we show kindness to the suffering, the persecuted and defenseless, and share in their sufferings, we help to carry that same Cross of Jesus. In this way we obtain salvation, and help contribute to the salvation of the world.
All:
Our Father . . . . .
Hail Mary . . . .
Glory be . . . .
Stabat Mater Stanza:
Quis est homo qui non flerent Is there one who would not weep
Matrem Christi si videret Whelmed in miseries so deep
In tanto supplicio? Christ's dear Mother to behold?
Response:
Sancta Mater, istud agas Holy Mother! pierce me through
Crucifixi fige plagas In my heart each wound renew
Cordi meo valide Of my Saviour crucified
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| Rogier van der Weyden |
(Isaiah 53:2-3, Isaiah 52:14, John 14:9)
V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
R. Because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
Consider that the holy woman named Veronica, seeing Jesus so afflicted, and His face bathed in sweat and blood, presented Him with a towel with which He wiped His adorable face, leaving on it the impression of His holy countenance.Cardinal Ratzinger:
My most beloved Jesus, Thy face was beautiful before, but in this journey it has lost all its beauty, and wounds and blood have disfigured it. Alas! my soul also was once beautiful, when it received Thy grace in Baptism; but I have disfigured it since by my sins. Thou alone, my Redeemer, canst restore it to its former beauty. Do this by Thy Passion, O Jesus. I repent of having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always, and then do with me what Thou wilt.
"Your face, Lord, do I seek. Hide not your face from me" (Psalm 27:8-9). Veronica -- Bernice, in the Greek tradition -- embodies the universal yearning of the devout men and women of the Old Testament, the yearning of all believers to see the face of God. On Jesus' Way of the Cross, though, she at first did nothing more than perform an act of womanly kindness: she held out a facecloth to Jesus. She did not let herself be deterred by the brutality of the soldiers or the fear which gripped the disciples. She is the image of that good woman, who, amid turmoil and dismay, shows the courage born of goodness and does not allow her heart to be bewildered. "Blessed are the pure in heart," the Lord had said in his Sermon on the Mount, "for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8). At first, Veronica saw only a buffeted and pain-filled face. Yet her act of love impressed the true image of Jesus on her heart: on his human face, bloodied and bruised, she saw the face of God and his goodness, which accompanies us even in our deepest sorrows. Only with the heart can we see Jesus. Only love purifies us and gives us the ability to see. Only love enables us to recognize the God who is love itself.
All:
Our Father . . . . .
Hail Mary . . . .
Glory be . . . .
Stabat Mater Stanza:
Quis non posset contristari Can the human heart refrain
Christi Matrem contemplari From partaking in her pain
Dolentem cum Filio? In that Mother's pain untold?
Response:
Sancta Mater, istud agas Holy Mother! pierce me through
Crucifixi fige plagas In my heart each wound renew
Cordi meo valide Of my Saviour crucified
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| Martin Schongauer |
(Lamentations 3:1-2,9,16, Hebrews 4:15)
V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
R. Because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
Consider the second fall of Jesus under the cross—a fall which renews the pain of all the wounds of the head and members of our afflicted Lord.Cardinal Ratzinger:
My most gentle Jesus, how many times Thou hast pardoned me, and how many times have I fallen again, and begun again to offend Thee! Oh, by the merits of this new fall, give me the necessary helps to persevere in Thy grace until death. Grant that in all temptations which assail me I may always commend myself to Thee. I love Thee, Jesus, my love, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt.
The tradition that Jesus fell three times beneath the weight of the Cross evokes the fall of Adam -- the state of fallen humanity -- and the mystery of Jesus' own sharing in our fall. Throughout history the fall of man constantly takes on new forms. In his First Letter, Saint John speaks of a threefold fall: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life. He thus interprets the fall of man and humanity against the backdrop of the vices of his own time, with all its excesses and perversions. But we can also think, in more recent times, of how a Christianity which has grown weary of faith has abandoned the Lord: the great ideologies, and the banal existence of those who no longer believing in anything, who simply drift through life, have built a new and worse paganism, which in its attempt to do away with God once and for all, have ended up doing away with man. And so man lies fallen in the dust. The Lord bears this burden and falls, over and over again, in order to meet us. He gazes on us, he touches our hearts; he falls in order to raise us up.
All:
Our Father . . . . .
Hail Mary . . . .
Glory be . . . .
Stabat Mater Stanza:
Pro peccatis Suae gentis Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled
Vidit Jesum in tormentis She beheld her tender Child
Et flagellis subditum All with bloody scourges rent
Response:
Sancta Mater, istud agas Holy Mother! pierce me through
Crucifixi fige plagas In my heart each wound renew
Cordi meo valide Of my Saviour crucified
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| Peter Paul Rubens |
(Luke 23:27-31, John 15:6)
V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
R. Because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
Consider that those women wept with compassion at seeing Jesus in so pitiable a state, streaming with blood, as He walked along. But Jesus said to them, "Weep not for Me but for your children."Cardinal Ratzinger:
My Jesus, laden with sorrows, I weep for the offenses that I have committed against Thee, because of the pains which they have deserved, and still more because of the displeasure which they have caused Thee, Who hast loved me so much. It is Thy love, more than the fear of hell, which causes me to weep for my sins. My Jesus, I love Thee more than myself; I repent of having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt.
Hearing Jesus reproach the women of Jerusalem who follow him and weep for him ought to make us reflect. How should we understand his words? Are they not directed at a piety which is purely sentimental, one which fails to lead to conversion and living faith? It is no use to lament the sufferings of this world if our life goes on as usual. And so the Lord warns us of the danger in which we find ourselves. He shows us both the seriousness of sin and the seriousness of judgment. Can it be that, despite all our expressions of consternation in the face of evil and innocent suffering, we are all too prepared to trivialize the mystery of evil? Have we accepted only the gentleness and love of God and Jesus, and quietly set aside the word of judgment? "How can God be so concerned with our weaknesses?" we say. "We are only human!" Yet as we contemplate the sufferings of the Son, we see more clearly the seriousness of sin, and how it needs to be fully atoned if it is to be overcome. Before the image of the suffering Lord, evil can no longer be trivialized. To us too, he says: "Do not weep for me, weep for yourselves ... if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?"
All:
Our Father . . . . .
Hail Mary . . . .
Glory be . . . .
Stabat Mater Stanza:
Vidit suum dulcem Natum For the sins of His own nation
Moriendo desolatum Saw Him hang in desolation
Dum emisit spiritum Till His spirit forth He sent
Response:
Sancta Mater, istud agas Holy Mother! pierce me through
Crucifixi fige plagas In my heart each wound renew
Cordi meo valide Of my Saviour crucified
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| Domenichino (c. 1610) |
(Philippians 2:5-7, Luke 14:11)
V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
R. Because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
Consider the third fall of Jesus Christ. His weakness was extreme, and the cruelty of His executioners excessive, who tried to hasten His steps when He had scarcely strength to move. Ah, my outraged Jesus, by the merits of the weakness Thou didst suffer in going to Calvary, give me strength sufficient to conquer all human respect and all my wicked passions, which have led me to despise Thy friendship. I love Thee, Jesus, my love, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt.Cardinal Ratzinger:
What can the third fall of Jesus under the Cross say to us? We have considered the fall of man in general, and the falling of many Christians away from Christ and into a godless secularism. Should we not also think of how much Christ suffers in his own Church? How often is the holy sacrament of his Presence abused, how often must he enter empty and evil hearts! How often do we celebrate only ourselves, without even realizing that he is there! How often is his Word twisted and misused! What little faith is present behind so many theories, so many empty words! How much filth there is in the Church, and even among those who, in the priesthood, ought to belong entirely to him! How much pride, how much self-complacency! What little respect we pay to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, where he waits for us, ready to raise us up whenever we fall! All this is present in his Passion. His betrayal by his disciples, their unworthy reception of his Body and Blood, is certainly the greatest suffering endured by the Redeemer; it pierces his heart. We can only call to him from the depths of our hearts: Kyrie eleison -- Lord, save us (cf. Matthew 8: 25).
All:
Our Father . . . . .
Hail Mary . . . .
Glory be . . . .
Stabat Mater Stanza:
Eia Mater, fons amoris Ah Mother, fountain of love
Me sentire vim doloris make me feel the force of the sorrow
Fac, ut tecum lugeam so that I may mourn with you
Response:
Sancta Mater, istud agas Holy Mother! pierce me through
Crucifixi fige plagas In my heart each wound renew
Cordi meo valide Of my Saviour crucified
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| El Greco (1583-84) |
(John 19:23-25, Luke 14:33)
V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
R. Because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
Consider the violence with which the executioners stripped Jesus. His inner garments adhered to His torn flesh and they dragged them off so roughly that the skin came with them. Compassionate your Saviour thus cruelly treated, and say to Him:Cardinal Ratzinger:
My innocent Jesus, by the merits of the torment which Thou hast felt, help me to strip myself of all affection to things of earth, in order that I may place all my love in Thee, Who art so worthy of my love. I love Thee, O Jesus, with my whole heart: I repent of having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt.
Jesus is stripped of his garments. Clothing gives a man his social position; it gives him his place in society, it makes him someone. His public stripping means that Jesus is no longer anything at all, he is simply an outcast, despised by all alike. The moment of the stripping reminds us of the expulsion from Paradise: God's splendor has fallen away from man, who now stands naked and exposed, unclad and ashamed. And so Jesus once more takes on the condition of fallen man. Stripped of his garments, he reminds us that we have all lost the "first garment" that is God's splendor. At the foot of the Cross, the soldiers draw lots to divide his paltry possessions, his clothes. The Evangelists describe the scene with words drawn from Psalm 22:19; by doing so they tell us the same thing that Jesus would tell his disciples on the road to Emmaus: that everything takes place "according to the Scriptures." Nothing is mere coincidence; everything that happens is contained in the Word of God and sustained by his divine plan. The Lord passes through all the stages and steps of man's fall from grace, yet each of these steps, for all its bitterness, becomes a step toward our redemption: this is how he carries home the lost sheep. Let us not forget that John says that lots were drawn for Jesus' tunic, "woven without seam from top to bottom" (John 19:23). We may consider this as a reference to the High Priest's robe, which was "woven from a single thread," without stitching (Fl. Josephus, a III, 161). For he, the Crucified One, is the true High Priest.
All:
Our Father . . . . .
Hail Mary . . . .
Glory be . . . .
Stabat Mater Stanza:
Fac ut ardeat cor meum Make me feel as thou hast felt
In amando Christum Deum Make my soul to glow and melt
Ut sibi complaceam With the love of Christ, my Lord
Response:
Sancta Mater, istud agas Holy Mother! pierce me through
Crucifixi fige plagas In my heart each wound renew
Cordi meo valide Of my Saviour crucified
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| Gerard David (1481) |
(Psalm 22:17-18, Zechariah 12:10, Luke 23:33)
V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
R. Because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
Consider that Jesus, after being thrown on the cross, extended His hands, and offered to His eternal Father the sacrifice of His life for our salvation. These barbarians fastened Him with nails; and then, raising the cross, left Him to die with anguish on this infamous gibbet.Cardinal Ratzinger:
My Jesus, loaded with contempt, nail my heart to Thy feet, that it may ever remain there to love Thee, and never quit Thee again. I love Thee more than myself; I repent of having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt.
Jesus is nailed to the Cross. The shroud of Turin gives us an idea of the unbelievable cruelty of this procedure. Jesus does not drink the numbing gall offered to him: he deliberately takes upon himself all the pain of the Crucifixion. His whole body is racked; the words of the Psalm have come to pass: "But I am a worm and no man, scorned by men, rejected by the people" (Psalm 22:7). "As one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised ... surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows" (Isaiah 53:3f.). Let us halt before this image of pain, before the suffering Son of God. Let us look upon him at times of presumptuousness and pleasure, in order to learn to respect limits and to see the superficiality of all merely material goods. Let us look upon him at times of trial and tribulation, and realize that it is then that we are closest to God. Let us try to see his face in the people we might look down upon. As we stand before the condemned Lord, who did not use his power to come down from the Cross, but endured its suffering to the end, another thought comes to mind. Ignatius of Antioch, a prisoner in chains for his faith in the Lord, praised the Christians of Smyrna for their invincible faith: he says that they were, so to speak, nailed with flesh and blood to the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ (1:1). Let us nail ourselves to him, resisting the temptation to stand apart, or to join others in mocking him.
All:
Our Father . . . . .
Hail Mary . . . .
Glory be . . . .
Stabat Mater Stanza:
Sancta Mater, istud agas Holy Mother! pierce me through
Crucifixi fige plagas In my heart each wound renew
Cordi meo valide Of my Saviour crucified
Response:
Sancta Mater, istud agas Holy Mother! pierce me through
Crucifixi fige plagas In my heart each wound renew
Cordi meo valide Of my Saviour crucified
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| Hans Memling (1491) |
(Luke 23:46, John 19:30, Philippians 2:8-9)
V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
R. Because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
Consider how thy Jesus, after three hours of agony on the cross, consumed at length with anguish, abandons Himself to the weight of His body, bows His head, and dies.Cardinal Ratzinger:
O my dying Jesus, I kiss devoutly the cross on which Thou didst die for love of me. I have merited by my sins to die a miserable death, but Thy death is my hope. Ah, by the merits of Thy death, give me grace to die, embracing Thy feet and burning with love of Thee. I commit my soul into Thy hands. I love Thee with my whole heart; I repent of ever having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt.
In Greek and Latin, the two international languages of the time, and in Hebrew, the language of the Chosen People, a sign stood above the Cross of Jesus, indicating who he was: the King of the Jews, the promised Son of David. Pilate, the unjust judge, became a prophet despite himself. The kingship of Jesus was proclaimed before the entire world. Jesus himself had not accepted the title "Messiah," because it would have suggested a mistaken, human idea of power and deliverance. Yet now the title can remain publicly displayed above the Crucified Christ. He is indeed the king of the world. Now he is truly "lifted up." In sinking to the depths he rose to the heights. Now he has radically fulfilled the commandment of love, he has completed the offering of himself, and in this way he is now the revelation of the true God, the God who is love. Now we know who God is. Now we know what true kingship is. Jesus prays Psalm 22, which begins with the words: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Psalm 22:2). He takes to himself the whole suffering people of Israel, all of suffering humanity, the drama of God's darkness, and he makes God present in the very place where he seems definitively vanquished and absent. The Cross of Jesus is a cosmic event. The world is darkened, when the Son of God is given up to death. The earth trembles. And on the Cross, the Church of the Gentiles is born. The Roman centurion understands this, and acknowledges Jesus as the Son of God. From the Cross he triumphs -- ever anew.
All: Our Father . . . . .
Hail Mary . . . .
Glory be . . . .
Stabat Mater Stanza:
Tui Nati vulnerati Let me share with thee His pain
Tam dignati pro me pati Who for all our sins was slain
Poenas mecum divide Who for me in torments died
Response:
Sancta Mater, istud agas Holy Mother! pierce me through
Cordi meo valide In my heart each wound renew
Crucifixi fige plagas Of my Saviour crucified
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| Hans Pleydenwurff (1465) |
(Luke 23:50-53, John 19:31-37, Luke 24:26)
V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
R. Because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
Consider that, our Lord having expired, two of His disciples, Joseph and Nicodemus, took Him down from the cross, and placed Him in the arms of His afflicted Mother, who received Him with unutterable tenderness, and pressed Him to her bosom.
O Mother of Sorrow, for the love of this Son, accept me for thy servant and pray to Him for me. And Thou, my Redeemer, since Thou hast died for me, permit me to love Thee; for I wish but Thee, my Jesus, and I repent of ever having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt.
Michelangelo's Pieta
Cardinal Ratzinger:
Jesus is dead. From his heart, pierced by the lance of the Roman soldier, flow blood and water: a mysterious image of the stream of the sacraments, Baptism and the Eucharist, by which the Church is constantly reborn from the opened heart of the Lord. Jesus' legs are not broken, like those of the two men crucified with him. He is thus revealed as the true Paschal lamb, not one of whose bones must be broken (…). And now, at the end of his sufferings, it is clear that, for all the dismay which filled men's hearts, for all the power of hatred and cowardice, he was never alone. There are faithful ones who remain with him. Under the
Cross stands Mary, his Mother, the sister of his Mother, Mary, Mary Magdalen and the disciple whom he loved. A wealthy man, Joseph of Arimathea, appears on the scene: a rich man is able to pass through the eye of a needle, for God has given him the grace. He buries Jesus in his own empty tomb, in a garden. At Jesus' burial, the cemetery becomes a garden, the garden from which Adam was cast out when he abandoned the fullness of life, his Creator. The garden tomb symbolizes that the dominion of death is about to end. A member of the Sanhedrin also comes along, Nicodemus, to whom Jesus had proclaimed the mystery of rebirth by water and the Spirit. Even in the Sanhedrin, which decreed his death, there is a believer, someone who knows and recognizes Jesus after his death. In this hour of immense grief, of darkness and despair, the light of hope is mysteriously present. The hidden God continues to be the God of life, ever near. Even in the night of death, the Lord continues to be our Lord and Savior. The Church of Jesus Christ, his new family, begins to take shape.
All:
Our Father . . . . .
Hail Mary . . . .
Glory be . . . .
Stabat Mater Stanza:
Fac me tecum pie flere Let me mingle tears with thee
Crucifixo condolere Mourning Him Who mourned for me
Donec ego vixero All the days that I may live
Response:Crucifixo condolere Mourning Him Who mourned for me
Donec ego vixero All the days that I may live
Sancta Mater, istud agas Holy Mother! pierce me through
Crucifixi fige plagas In my heart each wound renew
Cordi meo valide Of my Saviour crucified
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| attributed to Fra Angelico (c. 1445) |
(Luke 23:50-56, John 19:38-42, John 12:24-25, Romans 6:10-11)
V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
R. Because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
Consider that the disciples carried the body of Jesus to bury it, accompanied by His holy Mother, who arranged it in the sepulchre with her own hands. They then closed the tomb and all withdrew.Cardinal Ratzinger:
Oh, my buried Jesus, I kiss the stone that encloses Thee. But Thou didst rise again the third day. I beseech Thee, by Thy resurrection, make me rise glorious with Thee at the last day, to be always united with Thee in heaven, to praise Thee and love Thee forever. I love Thee, and I repent of ever having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee; and then do with me what Thou wilt.
Krilich Mosaics
Jesus, disgraced and mistreated, is honorably buried in a new tomb. Nicodemus brings a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight, which gives off a precious scent. In the Son's self-offering, as at his anointing in Bethany, we see an "excess" which evokes God's generous and superabundant love. God offers himself unstintingly. If God's measure is superabundance, then we for our part should consider nothing too much for God. This is the teaching of Jesus himself, in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5:20). But we should also remember the words of Saint Paul, who says that God "through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ everywhere. We are the aroma of Christ" (2 Corinthians 2:14ff.). Amid the decay of ideologies, our faith needs once more to be the fragrance which returns us to the path of life. At the very moment of his burial, Jesus' words are fulfilled: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (John 12:24). Jesus is the grain of wheat which dies. From that lifeless grain of wheat comes forth the great multiplication of bread which will endure until the end of the world. Jesus is the bread of life which can satisfy superabundantly the hunger of all humanity and provide its deepest nourishment. Through his Cross and Resurrection, the eternal Word of God became flesh and bread for us. The mystery of the Eucharist already shines forth in the burial of Jesus.
All:
Our Father . . . . .
Hail Mary . . . .
Glory be . . . .
Stabat Mater Stanza:
Juxta Crucem tecum stare By the cross with thee to stay
Et me tibi sociare There with thee to weep and pray
In plactu desidero Is all I ask of thee to give
Crucifixi fige plagas In my heart each wound renew
Cordi meo valide Of my Saviour crucified
Et me tibi sociare There with thee to weep and pray
In plactu desidero Is all I ask of thee to give
Response:
Sancta Mater, istud agas Holy Mother! pierce me throughCrucifixi fige plagas In my heart each wound renew
Cordi meo valide Of my Saviour crucified
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15th Station: The Resurrection- Christ Defeats Death and Returns to Life!
Leader: Angels guarded the manger and proclaimed the birth of Christ. Now angels guard His tomb and proclaim His rebirth- the Resurrection! Jesus is the firstborn of the dead. If we live in Him and He lives in us, then He WILL raise us up from death at the end of history. Death is no longer frightening if we trust and obey the man who destroyed it. Darkness cannot triumph over Light.
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SOURCES:
Art Bible info - The Way of the Cross
http://www.wmofa.com source for: Stations of the Cross by Henri Matisse
Are We There Yet - 6th Station - graphic of Veronica and Christ
Krilich Mosaics - 14th Station - Mosaic
http://www.wmofa.com source for: Stations of the Cross by Henri Matisse
Are We There Yet - 6th Station - graphic of Veronica and Christ
Krilich Mosaics - 14th Station - Mosaic
RESOURCES:
Many wonderful paintings by Duccio di Buoninsegna, (1308-1311) Google Image Search it!
http://credidimus.wordpress.com/2009/04/26/stations-of-the-cross/
http://credidimus.wordpress.com/2009/04/26/stations-of-the-cross/
2 comments:
Incredible post!
Thank you so much, Jackie.
I am so very happy to find your blog again. I lost track of you for awhile.
Are you on facebook?
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