Then the Priest and people move in procession to the First Station. FIRST STATION. JESUS CHRIST CONDEMNED TO DEATH. V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee. R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world. Priest. Leaving the house of Caiphas, where he had been blasphemed, and the house of Herod, where he had been mocked, Jesus is dragged before Pilate, his back torn with scourges, his head crowned with thorns; and he, who on the last day will judge the living and the dead, is himself condemned to a disgraceful death. Prayer. It was for us that thou didst suffer, O blessed Jesus; it was for our sins thou wast condemned to die. Oh, grant that we may detest them from the bottom of our hearts, and by this repentance obtain thy mercy and pardon. An Act of Contrition. O God, we love thee with our whole hearts and above all things, and are heartily sorry that we have offended thee. May we never offend thee any more. Oh, may we love thee without ceasing, and make it our delight to do in all things thy most holy will. Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be to the Father. Have mercy on us, O Lord; have mercy on us. V. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. R. Amen. This act of Contrition is to be repeated after each Station. While passing from one Station to another, a verse of the Stabat Mater is sung or said. If many persons perform the Via Crucis, the priests, or one part of the people, may sing the verses in or der, and the rest of the people repeat after each verse: R. Sancta Mater, istud Holy Mother, pierce me through, In my heart each wound renew Or this verse alone may be sung after each Station. SECOND STATION. JESUS RECEIVES THE CROSS. V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee. R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world. Priest. A heavy cross is laid upon the bruised shoulders of Jesus. He receives it with meekness, nay, with a secret joy, for it is the instrument with which he is to redeem the world. Prayer. O Jesus! grant us, by virtue of thy cross, to embrace with meekness and cheerful submission the difficulties of our state, and to be ever ready to take up our cross and follow thee. Act of Contrition, &c., as before. V. Cujus animam ge mentem, Contristatam, et dolentem, Pertransivit gladius. R. Sancta Mater, &c. Through her heart, his All his bitter anguish THIRD STATION. JESUS FALLS THE FIRST TIME UNDER THE WEIGHT OF THE CROSS. V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee. R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world. Priest. Bowed down under the weight of the cross, Jesus slowly sets forth on the way to Calvary, amidst the mockeries and insults of the crowd. His agony in the garden has exhausted his body; he is sore with blows and wounds; his strength fails him; he falls to the ground under the cross. Prayer. O Jesus! who for our sins didst bear the heavy burden of the cross, and fell under its weight, may the thoughts of thy sufferings make us watchful over ourselves, and save us from any grievous fall into sin. Act of Contrition, &c., as before. V. O quam tristis et af- Oh, how sad and sore flicta Fuit illa benedicta Mater Unigeniti ! R. Sancta Mater, &c. distress'd Was that Mother highly blest Of the sole begotten one ! Holy Mother, &c. FOURTH STATION. JESUS IS MET BY HIS BLESSED MOTHER. V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee. R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world. Priest. Still burdened with his cross,_ and wounded yet more by his fall, Jesus proceeds on his way. He is met by his mother. What a meeting must that have been! What a sword of anguish must have pierced that Mother's bosom ! What must have been the compassion of that Son for his holy Mother! Prayer. O Jesus! by the compassion which thou didst feel for thy Mother, have compassion on us, and give us a share in her intercession. O Mary, most afflicted Mother! intercede for us, that, through the sufferings of thy Son, we may be delivered from the wrath to come. Act of Contrition, &c., as before. |