1 Albert Loteyro
2 Marie Claire Burikukiye
3 Jean-Jacques Niowy
4 Becky Vilchis Chavez
5 Claudia Carbajal de Inzaurraga
6 Maria Giovanna Ruggieri
7 Maru Megina
8 Angelines Morales
9 Marija Cachia
10 Codruta Fernea
11 Samar Messayeh
12 Gianni Rotondo
13 Lorenzo Zardi
14 Emilio Inzaurraga
1. Jesus is condemned to death (Albert)
Matthew 27:22-23,26:
Pilate said to them, “Then what should I do with Jesus, who is called the Messiah?” All of them said, “Let him be crucified!” Then he asked, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!” So he released Barabbas for them, and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.
MEDITATION:
The first Station of the Cross tells us that ‘Jesus is condemned to death.’ It is easy enough to interpret this as referring to the moment at which Pontius Pilate hands Jesus over to the chief priests because this is as close to a single moment of ‘condemnation’ as we have.
Lord, you were condemned to death because fear of what other people may think suppressed the voice of conscience. So, too, throughout history, the innocent have always been maltreated, condemned, and killed.
How often have we preferred success to the truth, our reputation to justice? Strengthen the quiet voice of our conscience, your voice, in our lives. Look at me as you looked at Peter after his denial.
2. Jesus takes up his Cross (Marie Claire)
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed (1 Pet 2:24).
MEDITATION:
Let us look at Jesus, his face disfigured, his body bloodied. On him is the weight of all the suffering and sins of the whole world, past, present and future.
By this gesture of love, he wanted to bear for each one of us our most painful sufferings, our most hidden wounds, our sins and our own death.
Lord Jesus, you who accepted the cross, lean over those who are overwhelmed by suffering so that they may experience your presence with them.
May we know how to make the sign of the cross our pride and proclaim it as a sign of your infinite love.
3. Jesus falls for the first time (Jean-Jacques)
Like someone in front of whom one hides one’s face, despised, we paid no attention to it. Isaiah 53, 3
MEDITATION:
Jesus falls to his knees under the weight of the cross. But he does not reject it, He gets up and picks it up to carry it further.
– The burden of crosses that sometimes weighs on us is heavy. We may fall under the onslaught of temptations and adversities, or we may become overcome by discouragement and despair.
– Lord Jesus, save us from falling, and if we fall, help us to get up. Amen
Our father…
Hail Mary…
4. Jesus meets his Mother (Becky)
Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against – and a sword will pierce through your own soul also – that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Lk 2:34-35).
MEDITATION:
On his way to Calvary, Jesus is surrounded by a multitude of soldiers, Jewish chiefs, people, people of good feelings… There is also Mary, who does not look away from her Son, who, in turn, manages to see her among the crowd. The looks meet, the Mother sees the Son destroyed; Jesus sees Mary sad and afflicted, and in each of them the pain becomes greater when contemplating the pain of the other.
How many mothers mourn in our country the violence their children have suffered? How many women suffer violence, just because they are women?
Violence against women represents a social and cultural challenge. This behavior is learned and socially tolerated; it is related to the understanding that men and women have of their masculinity and femininity (No. 69)
Lord,you have made love an extraordinary force, that moves people to commit with courage and generosity in the field of justice and peace, may love be expressed in our families in the respect and care of women who are: mothers, sisters, daughters, wives. AMEN.
5. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry his cross (Claudia)
As the soldiers were leading him away, they stopped a certain Simon of Cyrene, who was returning from the fields, and put the cross on him, to be carried behind Jesus (Luke 23:26)
MEDITATION:
On the way of the cross there is pain, injustice, compassion and even a gesture of solidarity, perhaps imposed. As the suffering Jesus passes by, a man, the Cyrenean, helps him with his undeserved weight.
May we, as Catholic Action present in the world, be Cyrenians capable of relieving so many brothers and sisters who suffer the wounds of war, violence, inequity, indifference and abandonment.
May we walk together to overcome the culture of death and proclaim the abundant life that brings us the Good News, which is made complete at Easter.
6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus (Maria Giovanna)
“I presented the back to the scourgers, the cheek to
those who plucked out my beard; I have not withdrawn my face from insults and spitting. The Lord God assists me, therefore I do not remain confused, therefore I make my face hard as stone, knowing that I will not be disappointed” (Isaiah 50,6-7).
MEDITATION:
Here we are, Lord, before you.
With bated breath, after having so much walking. But if we feel exhausted, it is not because we have travelled a long way or covered who knows what endless straights. It is because, unfortunately, many of our steps have been taken on our own paths, and not on your paths, following the involuted tracks of our own stubbornness, and not the directions of your Word.
7. Jesus falls for the second time (Maru)
Come, blessed of my Father, and inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was passing through and you gave me lodging, naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me (Mt 25:34-36).
MEDITATION:
And you continue to fall, Lord.
How heavy is the pain of the world!
The weight of people’s pain is overwhelming.
Hunger, misery, violence and war have names and faces…
The workers who are exploited and in undignified jobs, the victims of industrial accidents;
women victims of violence, the victims of sexual abuse,
the pain of this Mother Earth groaning with climate change.
You look and you feel,
you allow yourself to be invaded by all the looks
of pain of all times…
How heavy that wood weighs!
The pain of seeing your dreams remain unfulfilled:
“that all may be one so that the world may believe”.
How heavy is that wood!
But, Lord, we beg you, we ask you, do not give up.
It helps us to see you fall, to see your pain,
because it is the expression of your love for humanity,
you are not an apathetic and indifferent God.
You are with us and you walk with us.
Do not give up, Lord, do not give up!
We are rising too,
and we help you to get up because:
we are already showing signs,
we are living situations that are small lights, grains of salt,
that continue to “make alternative experiences visible
telling us another world is possible.
We are, Lord, in this synodal time,
creating spaces to recognise ourselves in the Spirit who calls us.
We are making efforts
to “heal” together, like you, so many wounds in the world and in the Church.
Lord, come on, up!
Walk with us!
Let us pray saying: Walk with us, Lord!
− In the effort to build your Kingdom: Walk with us, Lord!
− In carrying our cross: Walk with us, O Lord
− In the signs of hope: Walk with us, O Lord
− So that pessimism and discouragement do not invade us: Walk with us, O Lord
− That you may lead us to your Resurrection: Walk with us, O Lord.
8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem (Angelines)
And there followed him a great multitude of the people, and of the women weeping and wailing for him. But Jesus turned to them and said to them, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. (Lk 23:27-28)
MEDITATION:
Jesus reaches out to relieve their suffering and restore their dignity. Lord, teach us to have your ears that we may hear people’s pain, to have your eyes that we may see men and women as you see them. Lord, give us a piece of your heart to be able to welcome and comfort the suffering. And your hands to be able to help them to alleviate the situation.
9. Jesus falls for the third time (Marija)
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. (Genuflect). R: Because, by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.
Psalm 6
Do not reprove me in your anger, LORD,
nor punish me in your wrath.
Have pity on me, LORD, for I am weak;
heal me, LORD, for my bones are shuddering
My soul too is shuddering greatly—
and you, LORD, how long?
Turn back, LORD, rescue my soul;
save me because of your mercy.
For in death there is no remembrance of you.
Who praises you in Sheol?
I am wearied with sighing;
all night long I drench my bed with tears;
I soak my couch with weeping.
My eyes are dimmed with sorrow,
worn out because of all my foes.
Away from me, all who do evil!
The LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
The LORD has heard my plea;
the LORD will receive my prayer.
MEDITATION:
I have fallen again Lord. How many promises not to make another mistake? All in vain, I fell again. Even you have fallen again Lord, you have fallen for the 3rd time. But you bear no blame for your falls. Even under great weight, you hear me and be with me to dry my tears. Have mercy on me oh Lord, help me stand again.
I have fallen again Lord. How many promises not to make a mistake again? How many promises that was the last time? How much did I brag that I had finally arrived, that I had changed? All in vain, I fell again.
I feel weak Lord, I feel like a fool that will never change. I wish the earth would swallow me up. How will I show my face in front of people again after this mistake? How will they accept me again? How will they forgive me again? How will they love me again? These fears haunt me and freeze me.
Even you have fallen again Lord, you have fallen for the third time. But you bear no blame for your falls. Blameless and yet you still know what it means to fall under a heavy weight and so you can listen to me and be with me while I cry. You are with me to dry my tears. You are with me and therefore I won’t be alone. You did not rebuke me in my mistakes but had mercy on me. You love me in spite of everything. Have mercy on me oh Lord, help me stand again.
10. Station – Jesus is stripped of his clothes (Codruta)
When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top (Jn 19:23).
MEDITATION:
I ask you, Lord, grant that all of us may acknowledge
the dignity belonging to our nature,
even when we find ourselves naked and alone before others.
Grant that we may always see the dignity of others,
respect it and defend it.
We ask you to grant us the courage needed
to understand ourselves as more than the clothing we wear,
and to accept our own nakedness.
It reminds us of our poverty,
with which you fell in love, even to giving your life for us.Amen
11. Jesus is nailed to the cross (Samar)
(Lk 23:33-34.38).
33 When they came to the place called Skull, they crucified him and the evildoers there, one on the right and the other on the left. 34Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Then they divided his garments and cast lots for them. 38 There was also an inscription over him: ‘This is the King of the Jews’.
MEDITATION:
It escapes no one that we are living through bitter days that we never seemed to experience. Even dwelling on the re-enactment of violence gives the impression of being wearily repetitive. The international situation, the massacres, the spectacles of starvation flash before our eyes like inconsumable gutters, and one is tempted to think of situations with no outlet. Our moral conscience is crushed by this storm of pain. And the time of the press. Our soul swells with turmoil. We are gripped by despondency.
12. Jesus dies forgiving those who crucified him (Gianni)
And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do”. It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last (Lk 23:34.44-46).
MEDITATION:
Lord,you who offered your life for all of us, for those who have been faithful to you as well as those who have been wounded, humiliated and crucified teach us to give our lives. Teach us to embrace the Cross, to accept the Father’s will even when it seems incomprehensible to us. You innocent victim sustain us in our quest for justice for our brothers and sisters, for those who are persecuted, for those who suffer poverty and hunger, for those who experience the tragedy of war.
Through Christ our Lord.
13. Jesus is taken down from the cross (Lorenzo)
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?… No, through all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us (Rom 8:35.37).
MEDITATION:
Our unbelief would be the answer: only our unbelief will separate us from Christ!
For in our life it is like this: our shortcomings make us feel distant from the Lord and deceive us into believing that we do not deserve Love.
Yet no unbelief can stand before the Lord laid at the foot of the cross, knocking loudly at the door of our heart, showing us how much we are loved!
14. Jesus is placed in the tomb (Emilio)
After this, Joseph of Arimathea […] asked Pilate for permission to remove the body of Jesus. Pilate granted it, and he went to take it away. Nicodemus also went […] and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about thirty pounds. Then they took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in bandages, adding to it the mixture of perfumes (Jn 19:38-40).
MEDITATION:
In that place, at that moment, when the stone is rolled away, all dreams seem to be locked up, all projects are cornered, then, the temptation of discouragement, anguish and despair appears.
Without faith, it seems that death has the last word.
There are many expressions of death all around us.
We know and believe that the grave is not the final resting place, but that we are all called to a new life, to rise with you.
May the apparent failure in the face of death not be able to defeat us Lord!
May we be able to roll away the stone so that it may gain life anew, transfigured by your surrender! We await, Lord, the third night that will announce the resurrection to us! And which tells us that Risen, you live forever in our midst.
We proclaim as a people: We believe, Lord, in the God of Life! We believe that Life has triumphed over death! We want to be witnesses of Life in abundance!
Concluding Prayer
(Fourteen “thank yous”)
Lord Jesus, eternal Word of the Father, you became silent for us. And in the silence that leads us to your tomb, there is still a word we want to say to you, recalling the journey of the Stations of the Cross we have traveled with you: thank you!
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the meekness that overwhelms arrogance.
Thank you, for the courage you embraced the cross with.
Thank you, for the peace that flows from your wounds.
Thank you, for having given us your holy Mother to be our Mother as well.
Thank you, for the love shown in the face of betrayal.
Thank you, for turning tears into smiles.
Thank you, for having loved everyone without excluding anyone.
Thank you, for the hope you instill in time of trial.
Thank you, for the mercy that heals sufferings.
Thank you, for stripping yourself of everything to enrich us.
Thank you, for having transformed the cross into the tree of life.
Thank you, for the forgiveness you offered your executioners.
Thank you, for having defeated death.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the light you kindled in our nights. In reconciling all divisions, you made us all brothers and sisters, children of the same Father who is in heaven:
Pater noster…
