Monday, April 6, 2009

STATION OF THE CROSS

Eighth Station: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you. All: Because by your holy cross You have redeemed the world. Jesus, as you carry your cross you see a group of women along the road. As you pass by you see they are sad. You stop to spend a moment with them, to offer them some encouragement. Although you are have been abandoned by your friends and are in pain, you stop and try to help them. As a child, sometimes I think a lot about myself. I think about what I want and would like people to spend their lives pleasing me. As an adult, sometimes I act like a child. I become so absorbed in myself and what I'd like that I forget about the needs of others. I take them for granted, and often ignore their needs. Help me think more about others. Help me remembers that others have problems, too. Help me respond to them even when I'm busy or preoccupied with my own problems. My Jesus, Who didst comfort the pious women of Jerusalem who wept to see Thee bruised and torn, comfort my soul with Thy tender pity, for in Thy pity lies my trust. May my heart ever answer Thine. Our Father.... Hail Mary.... Glory be to the Father.... Leader: Jesus Christ Crucified. All: Have Mercy on Us. Leader: May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, Rest in peace. All: Amen.

Ninth Station: Jesus falls a third time

Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you. All: Because by your holy cross You have redeemed the world. Jesus, your journey has been long. You fall again, beneath your cross. You know your journey is coming to an end. You struggle and struggle. You get up and keep going. As a child, sometimes I fail time and time again. I find it hard to get along with my sisters and brothers, sometimes I'm not honest, sometimes I'm lazy. I'm tempted to stop trying. It's just too hard sometimes. As an adult, I often feel I should have conquered my weaknesses by now. I become discouraged when I'm confronted by the same problems over and over again. Sometimes I get weary. When I have health problems, I can become discouraged and depressed. Help me think of the cross you carried. Help me continue to hope that I can make the changes in my life I need to. You didn't give up. I can have the strength to get up again as well. My Jesus, by all the bitter woes Thou didst endure when for the third time the heavy cross bowed Thee to the earth, never, I beseech Thee, let me fall again into sin. Ah, my Jesus, rather let me die than ever offend Thee again. Our Father.... Hail Mary.... Glory be to the Father.... Leader: Jesus Christ Crucified. All: Have mercy on Us. Leader: May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, Rest in Peace. All: Amen.

Tenth Station: Jesus clothes are taken away

Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you. All: Because by your holy cross You have redeemed the world. The soldiers notice you have something of value. They remove your cloak and throw dice for it. Your wounds are torn open once again. Some of the people in the crowd make fun of you. They tease you and challenge you to perform a miracle for them to see. They're not aware that you'll perform the greatest miracle of all! As a child, sometimes I'm tempted to repeat stories I know are unclean and disrespectful. I sometimes try to act grown up by using crude and bad words. As an adult, sometimes I repeat stories that are disrespectful of others. I can entertain thoughts that are not clean. Sometimes I give the young people around me a bad example to follow. Help me to keep myself pure and clean. Help me say things that build up the people around me. Help me overcome worldly desires that I may become more like Jesus. Help me set a good example for others to follow. My Jesus, stripped of Thy garments and drenched with gall, strip me of love for things of earth, and make me loathe all that savors of the world and sin. Our Father.... Hail Mary.... Glory be to the Father.... Leader: Jesus Christ Crucified. All: Have mercy on Us. Leader: May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, Rest in peace. All: Amen.

Eleventh Station: Jesus is nailed to the cross

Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you. All: Because by your holy cross You have redeemed the world. You are stretched out on the cross you have carried so far. The soldiers take big nails and drive them into your hands and feet. You feel abandoned by the people you loved so much. People seem to have gone mad. You have done nothing but good, yet they drive nails through your hands and feet. As a child, sometimes I hurt others. Sometimes I join with friends and decide not to like another. We gang up against another and cause them hurt and pain. Sometimes I say or do hurtful things to my brothers and sisters. I can wonder what they'd think about themselves if they believed everything I told them about themselves. As and adult, sometimes I discriminate against others. Even without thinking, I judge others because of their color, intelligence, income level or name. I forget that I am to live as a brother or sister to all people. Sometimes I use harsh words when I speak to my children and family members. I can find it easy to look for something that isn't very important and make it very important. Help me look again at the people around me. Help me see the hurt and pain I have caused in others. Be with me to help me make amends for the harm I have done. My Jesus, by Thine agony when the cruel nails pierced Thy tender hands and feet and fixed them to the cross, make me crucify my flesh by Christian penance. Our Father.... Hail Mary.... Glory be to the Father.... Leader: Jesus Christ Crucified. All: Have mercy on Us. Leader: May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, Rest in peace. All: Amen.

Twelfth Station: Jesus dies on the cross

Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you. All: Because by your holy cross You have redeemed the world. As Jesus hung on the cross, he forgave the soldiers who had crucified him, and prayed for his mother and friends. Jesus wanted all of us to be able to live forever with God, so he gave all he had for us. Jesus, let me take a few moments now to consider your love for me. Help me thank you for your willingness to go to your death for me. Help me express my love for you! My Jesus, three hours didst Thou hang in agony, and then die for me; let me die before I sin, and if I live, live for Thy love and faithful service. Our Father.... Hail Mary.... Glory be to the Father.... Leader: Jesus Christ Crucified. All: Have mercy on Us. Leader: May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, Rest in peace. All: Amen.

Thirteenth Station: The body of Jesus is taken down from the cross

Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you. All: Because by your holy cross You have redeemed the world. Jesus, how brutally you were put to death. How gently your are taken from the cross. Your suffering and pain are ended, and you are put in the lap of your mother. The dirt and blood are wiped away. You are treated with love. As a child, sometimes I treat others better when they're sad or in pain. When somebody dies, I become very gentle and kind. I notice the good and kind things people say about those who have died. As an adult, I seem to be kinder when someone dies. If only I could learn to see the good things about them while they were alive. If only I would tell those around me how much I love them, while I still have the opportunity to do so. Help me look for the good in those around me, especially those I love the most. Help me live this day as if it were the last. Help me become a more gentle and loving person through my greater appreciation for those around me. O Mary, Mother most sorrowful, the sword of grief pierced thy soul when thou didst see Jesus lying lifeless on thy bosom; obtain for me hatred of sin because sin slew thy Son and wounded thine own heart, and grace to live a Christian life and save my soul. Our Father.... Hail Mary.... Glory be to the Father.... Leader: Jesus Christ Crucified. All: Have mercy on Us. Leader: May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, Rest in peace. All: Amen.

Fourteenth Station: Jesus is laid in the tomb

Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you. All: Because by your holy cross You have redeemed the world. Jesus, your body is prepared for burial. Joseph gave you his own tomb. He laid your body there and rolled a large stone in front of it, then went home. What a sad day it has been for so many people. As a child, sometimes I try to keep everything for myself. I find it hard to share my things with my brothers or sisters and with my friends. As an adult, I can be selfish too. I can accumulate things and keep them for myself. I try to make sure I have what I want before I share what I have with anybody else. Help me think of Joseph of Arimathea, who risked his own life as he accepted Jesus' body for burial. Help me think of how Joseph loved Jesus so much that he gave him his own tomb. My Jesus, beside Thy body in the tomb I, too, would lie dead; but if I live, let it be for Thee, so as one day to enjoy with Thee in heaven the fruits of Thy passion and Thy bitter death. Our Father.... Hail Mary.... Glory be to the Father.... Leader: Jesus Christ Crucified. All: have mercy on Us. Leader: May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, Rest in peace. All: Amen.

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