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Begin with an Act of
Contrition.
First Station:
Jesus condemned to Death
V. We adore thee, O
Christ, and we bless thee.
R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
THE Holy, Just, and
True was judged by sinners, and put to death. Yet, while they judged,
they were compelled to acquit Him. Judas, who betrayed Him, said, "I
have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood." Pilate, who
sentenced Him, said, "I am innocent of the blood of this just person,"
and threw the guilt upon the Jews. The Centurion who saw Him crucified
said, "Indeed this was a just man." Thus ever, O Lord, Thou art
justified in Thy words, and dost overcome when Thou art judged. And so,
much more, at the last day "They shall look on Him whom they
pierced"; and He who was condemned in weakness shall judge the world in
power, and even those who are condemned will confess their judgment is
just.
Our Father, Hail
Mary, Glory be.
V. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
R. Have mercy on us.
May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest
in peace. Amen.
The Second Station:
Jesus receives His Cross
V. We adore thee, O
Christ, and we bless thee.
R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
JESUS supports the
whole world by His divine power, for He is God; but the weight was less
heavy than was the Cross which our sins hewed out for Him. Our sins cost
Him this humiliation. He had to take on Him our nature, and to appear
among us as a man, and to offer up for us a great sacrifice. He had to
pass a life in penance, and to endure His passion and death at the end
of it. O Lord God Almighty, who dost bear the weight of the whole world
without weariness, who bore the weight of all our sins, though they
wearied Thee, as Thou art the Preserver of our bodies by Thy Providence,
so be Thou the Saviour of our souls by Thy precious blood.
Our Father, Hail
Mary, Glory be, &c.
The Third Station:
Jesus falls under the weight of the Cross the first time
V. We adore thee, O
Christ, and we bless thee.
R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
SATAN fell from
heaven in the beginning; by the just sentence of his Creator he fell,
against whom he had rebelled. And when he had succeeded in gaining man
to join him in his rebellion, and his Maker came to save him, then his
brief hour of triumph came, and he made the most of it. When the Holiest
had taken flesh, and was in his power, then in his revenge and malice he
determined, as he himself had been struck down by the Almighty arm, to
strike in turn a heavy blow at Him who struck him. Therefore it was that
Jesus fell down so suddenly. O dear Lord, by this Thy first fall raise
us all out of sin, who have so miserably fallen under its power.
Our Father, Hail
Mary, Glory be, &c.
The Fourth Station:
Jesus meets His Mother
V. We adore thee, O
Christ, and we bless thee.
R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
THERE is no part of
the history of Jesus but Mary has her part in it. There are those who
profess to be His servants, who think that her work was ended when she
bore Him, and after that she had nothing to do but disappear and be
forgotten. But we, O Lord, Thy children of the Catholic Church, do not
so think of Thy Mother. She brought the tender infant into the Temple,
she lifted Him up in her arms when the wise men came to adore Him. She
fled with Him to Egypt, she took Him up to Jerusalem when He was twelve
years old. He lived with her at Nazareth for thirty years. She was with
Him at the marriage-feast. Even when He had left her to preach, she
hovered about Him. And now she shows herself as He toils along the
Sacred Way with His cross on His shoulders. Sweet Mother, let us ever
think of thee when we think of Jesus, and when we pray to Him, ever aid
us by thy powerful intercession.
Our Father, Hail
Mary, Glory be, &c.
The Fifth Station:
Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry the Cross
V. We adore thee, O
Christ, and we bless thee.
R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
JESUS could bear His
Cross alone, did He so will; but He permits Simon to help Him, in order
to remind us that we must take part in His sufferings, and have a
fellowship in His work. His merit is infinite, yet He condescends to let
His people add their merit to it. The sanctity of the Blessed Virgin,
the blood of the Martyrs, the prayers and penances of the Saints, the
good deeds of all the faithful, take part in that work which,
nevertheless, is perfect without them. He saves us by His blood, but it
is through and with ourselves that He saves us. Dear Lord, teach us to
suffer with Thee, make it pleasant to us to suffer for Thy sake, and
sanctify all our sufferings by the merits of Thy own.
Our Father, Hail
Mary, Glory be, &c.
The Sixth Station:
The Face of Jesus is wiped by Veronica
V. We adore thee, O
Christ, and we bless thee.
R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
JESUS let the pious
woman carry off an impression of His Sacred Countenance, which was to
last to future ages. He did this to remind us all, that His image must
ever be impressed on all our hearts. Whoever we are, in whatever part of
the earth, in whatever age of the world, Jesus must live in our hearts.
We may differ from each other in many things, but in this we must all
agree, if we are His true children. We must bear about with us the
napkin of St. Veronica; we must ever meditate upon His death and
resurrection, we must ever imitate His divine excellence, according to
our measure. Lord, let our countenances be ever pleasing in Thy sight,
not defiled with sin, but bathed and washed white in Thy precious blood.
Our Father, Hail
Mary, Glory be, &c.
The Seventh Station:
Jesus falls a second time
V. We adore thee, O
Christ, and we bless thee.
R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
SATAN had a second
fall, when our Lord came upon earth. By that time he had usurped the
dominion of the whole world—and he called himself its king. And he
dared to take up the Holy Saviour in his arms, and show Him all
kingdoms, and blasphemously promise to give them to Him, His Maker, if
He would adore him. Jesus answered, "Begone, Satan!"—and
Satan fell down from the high mountain. And Jesus bare witness to it
when He said, "I saw Satan, as lightning, falling from
heaven." The Evil One remembered this second defeat, and so now he
smote down the Innocent Lord a second time, now that he had Him in his
power. O dear Lord, teach us to suffer with Thee, and not be afraid of
Satan's buffetings, when they come on us from resisting him.
Our Father, Hail
Mary, Glory be, &c.
The Eighth Station:
The Women of Jerusalem mourn for Our Lord
V. We adore thee, O
Christ, and we bless thee.
R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
EVER since the
prophecy of old time, that the Saviour of man was to be born of a woman
of the stock of Abraham, the Jewish women had desired to bear Him. Yet,
now that He was really come, how different, as the Gospel tells us, was
the event from what they had expected. He said to them "that the days
were coming when they should say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs
that have not borne, and the breasts which have not given suck." Ah,
Lord, we know not what is good for us, and what is bad. We cannot
foretell the future, nor do we know, when Thou comest to visit us, in
what form Thou wilt come. And therefore we leave it all to Thee. Do Thou
Thy good pleasure to us and in us. Let us ever look at Thee, and do Thou
look upon us, and give us the grace of Thy bitter Cross and Passion, and
console us in Thy own way and at Thy own time.
Our Father, Hail
Mary, Glory be, &c.
The Ninth Station:
Jesus falls the third time
V. We adore thee, O
Christ, and we bless thee.
R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
SATAN will have a
third and final fall at the end of the world, when he will be shut up
for good in the everlasting fiery prison. He knew this was to be his end—he
has no hope, but despair only. He knew that no suffering which he could
at that moment inflict upon the Saviour of men would avail to rescue
himself from that inevitable doom. But, in horrible rage and hatred, he
determined to insult and torture while he could the great King whose
throne is everlasting. Therefore a third time he smote Him down fiercely
to the earth. O Jesus, Only-begotten Son of God, the Word Incarnate, we
adore with fear and trembling and deep thankfulness Thy awful
humiliation, that Thou who art the Highest, should have permitted
Thyself, even for one hour, to be the sport and prey of the Evil One.
Our Father, Hail
Mary, Glory be, &c.
The Tenth Station:
Jesus is stripped of His Garments
V. We adore thee, O
Christ, and we bless thee.
R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
JESUS would give up
everything of this world, before He left it. He exercised the most
perfect poverty. When He left the Holy House of Nazareth, and went out
to preach, He had not where to lay His head. He lived on the poorest
food, and on what was given to Him by those who loved and served Him.
And therefore He chose a death in which not even His clothes were left
to Him. He parted with what seemed most necessary, and even a part of
Him, by the law of human nature since the fall. Grant us in like manner,
O dear Lord, to care nothing for anything on earth, and to bear the loss
of all things, and to endure even shame, reproach, contempt, and
mockery, rather than that Thou shalt be ashamed of us at the last day.
Our Father, Hail
Mary, Glory be, &c.
The Eleventh Station:
Jesus is nailed to the Cross
V. We adore thee, O
Christ, and we bless thee.
R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
JESUS is pierced
through each hand and each foot with a sharp nail. His eyes are dimmed
with blood, and are closed by the swollen lids and livid brows which the
blows of His executioners have caused. His mouth is filled with vinegar
and gall. His head is encircled by the sharp thorns. His heart is
pierced with the spear. Thus, all His senses are mortified and
crucified, that He may make atonement for every kind of human sin. O
Jesus, mortify and crucify us with Thee. Let us never sin by hand or
foot, by eyes or mouth, or by head or heart. Let all our senses be a
sacrifice to Thee; let every member sing Thy praise. Let the sacred
blood which flowed from Thy five wounds anoint us with such sanctifying
grace that we may die to the world, and live only to Thee.
Our Father, Hail
Mary, Glory be, &c.
The Twelfth Station:
Jesus dies upon the Cross
V. We adore thee, O
Christ, and we bless thee.
R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
"CONSUMMATUM
est." It is completed—it has come to a full end. The mystery of
God's love towards us is accomplished. The price is paid, and we are
redeemed. The Eternal Father determined not to pardon us without a
price, in order to show us especial favour. He condescended to make us
valuable to Him. What we buy we put a value on. He might have saved us
without a price—by the mere fiat of His will. But to show His love for
us He took a price, which, if there was to be a price set upon us at
all, if there was any ransom at all to be taken for the guilt of our
sins, could be nothing short of the death of His Son in our nature. O my
God and Father, Thou hast valued us so much as to pay the highest of all
possible prices for our sinful souls—and shall we not love and choose
Thee above all things as the one necessary and one only good?
Our Father, Hail
Mary, Glory be, &c.
The Thirteenth Station:
Jesus is laid in the arms of His Blessed Mother
V. We adore thee, O
Christ, and we bless thee.
R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
HE is Thy property
now, O Virgin Mother, once again, for He and the world have met and
parted. He went out from Thee to do His Father's work—and He has done
and suffered it. Satan and bad men have now no longer any claim upon Him—too
long has He been in their arms. Satan took Him up aloft to the high
mountain; evil men lifted Him up upon the Cross. He has not been in Thy
arms, O Mother of God, since He was a child—but now thou hast a claim
upon Him, when the world has done its worst. For thou art the all-favoured,
all-blessed, all-gracious Mother of the Highest. We rejoice in this
great mystery. He has been hidden in thy womb, He has lain in thy bosom,
He has been suckled at thy breasts, He has been carried in thy arms—and
now that He is dead, He is placed upon thy lap. Virgin Mother of God,
pray for us.
Our Father, Hail
Mary, Glory be, &c..
The Fourteenth Station:
Jesus is laid in the Sepulchre
V. We adore thee, O
Christ, and we bless thee.
R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world..
JESUS, when He was
nearest to His everlasting triumph, seemed to be farthest from
triumphing. When He was nearest upon entering upon His kingdom, and
exercising all power in heaven and earth, He was lying dead in a cave of
the rock. He was wrapped round in burying-clothes, and confined within a
sepulchre of stone, where He was soon to have a glorified spiritual
body, which could penetrate all substances, go to and fro quicker than
thought, and was about to ascend on high. Make us to trust in thee, O
Jesus, that Thou wilt display in us a similar providence. Make us sure,
O Lord, that the greater is our distress, the nearer we are to Thee. The
more men scorn us, the more Thou dost honour us. The more men insult
over us, the higher Thou wilt exalt us. The more they forget us, the
more Thou dost keep us in mind. The more they abandon us, the closer
Thou wilt bring us to Thyself.
Our Father, Hail
Mary, Glory be, &c.
LET
US PRAY
God, who by the Precious Blood
of Thy only-begotten Son didst sanctify the standard of the Cross,
grant, we beseech Thee, that we who rejoice in the glory of the same
Holy Cross may at all times and places rejoice in Thy protection,
through the same Christ, our Lord.
End with one Our
Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be, for the intention of the Sovereign
Pontiff.
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