As we are unable to gather to observe Good Friday together, we want to invite you to pray through the Stations of the Cross with us. Instead of physical stations to walk through, there are Scripture readings and meditations with written prayers that each tell a part of the story of our Lord's passion. As you pray through the stations individually or taking turns reading with your family, pause at the end of each one, allowing time to reflect and pray silently about the challenge of each station. Then pray aloud together the call and response with the repeated refrain, "We adore You, O Christ, and we praise you. Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world. Amen." Then move on to the next station, concluding with the final prayer and then a song.
Sing: His Mercy Is More
Praise the Lord His mercy is more
Stronger than darkness new every morn
Our sins they are many His mercy is more
What love could remember no wrongs we have done
Omniscient all knowing He counts not their sum
Thrown into a sea without bottom or shore
Our sins they are many His mercy is more
Stronger than darkness new every morn
Our sins they are many His mercy is more
What love could remember no wrongs we have done
Omniscient all knowing He counts not their sum
Thrown into a sea without bottom or shore
Our sins they are many His mercy is more
What patience would wait as we constantly roam
What Father so tender is calling us home
He welcomes the weakest the vilest the poor
Our sins they are many His mercy is more
What riches of kindness He lavished on us
His blood was the payment His life was the cost
We stood 'neath a debt we could never afford
Our sins they are many His mercy is more
What Father so tender is calling us home
He welcomes the weakest the vilest the poor
Our sins they are many His mercy is more
What riches of kindness He lavished on us
His blood was the payment His life was the cost
We stood 'neath a debt we could never afford
Our sins they are many His mercy is more
Sing: When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride
Forbid it Lord that I should boast
Save in the death of Christ my God
All the vain things that charm me most
I sacrifice them to His blood
On which the Prince of glory died
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride
Forbid it Lord that I should boast
Save in the death of Christ my God
All the vain things that charm me most
I sacrifice them to His blood
See from His head His hands His feet
Sorrow and love flow mingled down
Did ever such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown
Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were an offering far too small
Love so amazing so divine
Demands my soul my life my all
Sorrow and love flow mingled down
Did ever such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown
Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were an offering far too small
Love so amazing so divine
Demands my soul my life my all
I. Pilate Condemns Jesus to Die
Luke 23:13-25
How often do we do this sort of thing ourselves? How often do we rationalize our sins, blaming them upon others? How often do we fail to take responsibility for what we have done wrong, preferring to assign credit to our parents for raising us wrong, our society for mistreating us, our boss, our teachers, or our friends for misunderstanding us? When we’re tempted to be like Pilate, we’d do well to remember a portion of the first letter of John in the New Testament:
As you look at your life, don’t be like Pilate. Don’t try to wash your hands of that which you have done wrong. God isn’t fooled. Rather, tell God the truth about your sins so that you might experience His forgiveness through Christ.
Dear Lord, You know how easy it is for us to be like Pilate. We don’t like to take responsibility for
our failures. We find rationalization to be so natural. We can fool ourselves into thinking we
haven’t really done wrong. So forgive us, Lord, when we follow the way of Pilate. Help us to
acknowledge our sins, both to ourselves and to You, rather than wallowing in our pointless
excuses and defenses. By Your Spirit, guide us to see clearly where we have missed Your mark,
so that we might confess truly and fully. Help us to experience the forgiveness You offer in
Christ, and to live in the freedom of the cleansing You alone provide.
[Challenge: To accept and confess our own guilt in Christ’s death]
Let us pray together.
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world. Amen.
Pilate then called together the chief priests, the leaders, and the people, and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was perverting the people; and here I have examined him in your presence and have not found this man guilty of any of your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us. Indeed, he has done nothing to deserve death. I will therefore have him flogged and release him.†Then they all shouted out together, “Away with this fellow! Release Barabbas for us!†(This was a man who had been put in prison for an insurrection that had taken place in the city, and for murder.) Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again; but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!†A third time he said to them, “Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no ground for the sentence of death; I will therefore have him flogged and then release him.†But they kept urgently demanding with loud shouts that he should be crucified; and their voices prevailed. So Pilate gave his verdict that their demand should be granted. He released the man they asked for, the one who had been put in prison for insurrection and murder, and he handed Jesus over as they wished.
Pilate issued the verdict that sent Jesus to the cross. Yet he did so in such a way as to appear innocent of Jesus’ blood. He did not take responsibility for what he had done.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:8-10)
As you look at your life, don’t be like Pilate. Don’t try to wash your hands of that which you have done wrong. God isn’t fooled. Rather, tell God the truth about your sins so that you might experience His forgiveness through Christ.
Dear Lord, You know how easy it is for us to be like Pilate. We don’t like to take responsibility for
our failures. We find rationalization to be so natural. We can fool ourselves into thinking we
haven’t really done wrong. So forgive us, Lord, when we follow the way of Pilate. Help us to
acknowledge our sins, both to ourselves and to You, rather than wallowing in our pointless
excuses and defenses. By Your Spirit, guide us to see clearly where we have missed Your mark,
so that we might confess truly and fully. Help us to experience the forgiveness You offer in
Christ, and to live in the freedom of the cleansing You alone provide.
[Challenge: To accept and confess our own guilt in Christ’s death]
Let us pray together.
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world. Amen.
II. Jesus Accepts His Cross
Mark 15:20
Saint Paul of the Cross once said, “Most fortunate is the soul who walks by the way of Calvary, following Jesus our Redeemer, for if we suffer with Christ now, with Christ we shall reign in the glory of the Father.â€
Jesus, condemned as an imposter king, is mocked, but this very mockery lays bare a painful truth. How often are the symbols of power, born by the great ones of this world, an affront to truth, to justice, and to the dignity of man! How many times are their pomp 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. 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.
Lord, you willingly subjected yourself to mockery and scorn. Help us not to ally ourselves with those who look down on the weak and suffering. Help us to acknowledge your face in the lowly and the outcast. May we never lose heart when faced with the contempt of this world, which ridicules our obedience to your will. You chose the cross. Yes, the Jewish leaders accused you. And, yes, Pilate sentenced you. And, indeed, Roman soldiers led you to Golgotha. But in a very real sense they were simply working out what the Triune God had freely willed and painfully chosen. How we thank you for this costly choice!
[Challenge: To acknowledge the difficulty of life’s trials & deny power and comfort]
My Jesus, this cross should be ours, not Yours; our sins crucified You.
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world. Amen.
After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
Saint Paul of the Cross once said, “Most fortunate is the soul who walks by the way of Calvary, following Jesus our Redeemer, for if we suffer with Christ now, with Christ we shall reign in the glory of the Father.â€
Jesus, condemned as an imposter king, is mocked, but this very mockery lays bare a painful truth. How often are the symbols of power, born by the great ones of this world, an affront to truth, to justice, and to the dignity of man! How many times are their pomp 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. 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.
Lord, you willingly subjected yourself to mockery and scorn. Help us not to ally ourselves with those who look down on the weak and suffering. Help us to acknowledge your face in the lowly and the outcast. May we never lose heart when faced with the contempt of this world, which ridicules our obedience to your will. You chose the cross. Yes, the Jewish leaders accused you. And, yes, Pilate sentenced you. And, indeed, Roman soldiers led you to Golgotha. But in a very real sense they were simply working out what the Triune God had freely willed and painfully chosen. How we thank you for this costly choice!
[Challenge: To acknowledge the difficulty of life’s trials & deny power and comfort]
My Jesus, this cross should be ours, not Yours; our sins crucified You.
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world. Amen.
III. Simon Helps Carry the Cross
Luke 23:26
Saint Paul of the Cross said, “Those who suffer tribulations, suffering, persecutions, and are despised for the love of God are helping Jesus Christ carry His cross. If they persevere, they will be partakers of His glory in heaven.â€
Dear Lord, the powerful example of Simon reminds us that we are also to take up the cross and follow you on this path. You have called us to die to ourselves so that we might live for you. We confess that sometimes we resist this call, even though we know that in dying to ourselves we find true life in you. Help us to take up the Cross, and not to shun it. May we never complain or become discouraged by life's trials. Help us to follow the path of love and, in submitting to its demands, to find true joy. Help us, Lord, to carry our crosses, to give our lives away so that we might receive the abundant life of your kingdom. We could not do this were it not for the fundamental fact that you took our place on the cross. Through you, we are forgiven and invited into the fullness of life. In your death, we are raised to new life. All thanks and praise be to you, Lord Jesus, for bearing our sin on the cross, so that we might bear the cross into eternal life, both now and forever.
[Challenge: To take up our cross & follow Him]
Simon unwillingly assisted You; may we, with patience, suffer all for You
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world. Amen.
As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus.
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. In this way we obtain salvation and help contribute to the salvation of the world.
Dear Lord, the powerful example of Simon reminds us that we are also to take up the cross and follow you on this path. You have called us to die to ourselves so that we might live for you. We confess that sometimes we resist this call, even though we know that in dying to ourselves we find true life in you. Help us to take up the Cross, and not to shun it. May we never complain or become discouraged by life's trials. Help us to follow the path of love and, in submitting to its demands, to find true joy. Help us, Lord, to carry our crosses, to give our lives away so that we might receive the abundant life of your kingdom. We could not do this were it not for the fundamental fact that you took our place on the cross. Through you, we are forgiven and invited into the fullness of life. In your death, we are raised to new life. All thanks and praise be to you, Lord Jesus, for bearing our sin on the cross, so that we might bear the cross into eternal life, both now and forever.
[Challenge: To take up our cross & follow Him]
Simon unwillingly assisted You; may we, with patience, suffer all for You
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world. Amen.
IV. Jesus Speaks to the Women
Luke 23:27-31
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 judgement. 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 judgement? "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?"
Lord, to the weeping women you spoke of repentance and the Day of Judgement, when all of us will stand before your face: before you, the Judge of the world. You call us to leave behind the trivialization of evil, which salves our consciences and allows us to carry on as before. You show us the seriousness of our responsibility, the danger of our being found guilty and without excuse on the Day of Judgement. Grant that we may not simply walk at your side, with nothing to offer other than compassionate words. Convert us and give us new life. Grant that in the end we will not be dry wood, but living branches in you, the true vine, bearing fruit for eternal life.
[Challenge: To remember the coming judgment and the seriousness of sin]
Our greatest consolation would be to hear You say:
"Many sins are forgiven, because you have loved much."
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world. Amen.
A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him. But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For the days are surely coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us’; and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?â€
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 judgement. 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 judgement? "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?"
Lord, to the weeping women you spoke of repentance and the Day of Judgement, when all of us will stand before your face: before you, the Judge of the world. You call us to leave behind the trivialization of evil, which salves our consciences and allows us to carry on as before. You show us the seriousness of our responsibility, the danger of our being found guilty and without excuse on the Day of Judgement. Grant that we may not simply walk at your side, with nothing to offer other than compassionate words. Convert us and give us new life. Grant that in the end we will not be dry wood, but living branches in you, the true vine, bearing fruit for eternal life.
[Challenge: To remember the coming judgment and the seriousness of sin]
Our greatest consolation would be to hear You say:
"Many sins are forgiven, because you have loved much."
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world. Amen.
V. Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments
Matthew 27:33-36
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 towards our redemption: this is how he carries home the lost sheep. Let us not forget that John says that lots were drawn for Jesus's tunic, "woven without seam from top to bottom.†We may consider this as a reference to the High Priest's robe, which was "woven from a single thread", without stitching. For he, the Crucified One, is the true High Priest.
Saint Paul of the Cross said, Jesus permitted Himself to be despoiled of His garments on Calvary in order to teach us to renounce our own will when it is not conformable to the will of the Father. He wants us to strip ourselves of earthly affections and all inordinate love of the things of this world, so that we may clothe ourselves with the virtues of Christ.
Lord Jesus, you were stripped of your garments, exposed to shame, cast out of society. You took upon yourself the shame of Adam, and you healed it. You also take upon yourself the sufferings and the needs of the poor, the outcasts of our world. And in this very way you fulfill the words of the prophets. This is how you bring meaning into apparent meaninglessness. This is how you make us realize that your Father holds you, us, and the whole world in his hands. Give us a profound respect for man at every stage of his existence, and in all the situations in which we encounter him. Clothe us in the light of your grace.
[Challenge: To clothe ourselves in Christ & find Identity on in Him alone]
Our souls have been robbed of their robes of innocence;
clothe us, dear Jesus, with the garb of penance and contrition.
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull), they offered him wine to drink, mingled with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots; then they sat down and kept watch over him there.
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 towards our redemption: this is how he carries home the lost sheep. Let us not forget that John says that lots were drawn for Jesus's tunic, "woven without seam from top to bottom.†We may consider this as a reference to the High Priest's robe, which was "woven from a single thread", without stitching. For he, the Crucified One, is the true High Priest.
Saint Paul of the Cross said, Jesus permitted Himself to be despoiled of His garments on Calvary in order to teach us to renounce our own will when it is not conformable to the will of the Father. He wants us to strip ourselves of earthly affections and all inordinate love of the things of this world, so that we may clothe ourselves with the virtues of Christ.
Lord Jesus, you were stripped of your garments, exposed to shame, cast out of society. You took upon yourself the shame of Adam, and you healed it. You also take upon yourself the sufferings and the needs of the poor, the outcasts of our world. And in this very way you fulfill the words of the prophets. This is how you bring meaning into apparent meaninglessness. This is how you make us realize that your Father holds you, us, and the whole world in his hands. Give us a profound respect for man at every stage of his existence, and in all the situations in which we encounter him. Clothe us in the light of your grace.
[Challenge: To clothe ourselves in Christ & find Identity on in Him alone]
Our souls have been robbed of their robes of innocence;
clothe us, dear Jesus, with the garb of penance and contrition.
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
VI. Jesus Is Nailed to the Cross
Luke 23:33-34, 47
When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.†And they cast lots to divide his clothing. When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, “Certainly this man was innocent.â€
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." "As one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised... surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows." 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. Let us nail ourselves to him, resisting the temptation to stand apart, or to join others in mocking him.
Saint Paul of the Cross said, “We must glory in nothing else but in being crucified with Jesus and in bearing the marks of His wounds in our body. We must strive for great detachment from creatures in order to be united only with the Creator, through the various sufferings and pains of life, endured for the love of God, in patience, silence in the midst of all the sacrifices demanded by our state in life, and by practicing the virtues taught by our Divine Savior.â€
Lord Jesus Christ, you let yourself be nailed to the Cross, accepting the terrible cruelty of this suffering, the destruction of your body and your dignity. You allowed yourself to be nailed fast; you did not try to escape or to lessen your suffering. Yet we confess that we can sometimes take your death for granted, forgetting what you did for us and neglecting its significance. Forgive us, Lord. And even when we can’t go to the actual place of your crucifixion today, may the reality of your sacrifice press itself upon my mind and flood my heart. Help us to remain faithful to you. Help us to unmask the false freedom which would distance us from you. Help us to accept your "binding" freedom, and, "bound" fast to you, to discover true freedom.
[Challenge: To not lose sight of the costly price of Jesus’ forgiveness]
All praise to you, merciful Lord, for Your cross!
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world. Amen.
When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.†And they cast lots to divide his clothing. When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, “Certainly this man was innocent.â€
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." "As one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised... surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows." 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. Let us nail ourselves to him, resisting the temptation to stand apart, or to join others in mocking him.
Saint Paul of the Cross said, “We must glory in nothing else but in being crucified with Jesus and in bearing the marks of His wounds in our body. We must strive for great detachment from creatures in order to be united only with the Creator, through the various sufferings and pains of life, endured for the love of God, in patience, silence in the midst of all the sacrifices demanded by our state in life, and by practicing the virtues taught by our Divine Savior.â€
Lord Jesus Christ, you let yourself be nailed to the Cross, accepting the terrible cruelty of this suffering, the destruction of your body and your dignity. You allowed yourself to be nailed fast; you did not try to escape or to lessen your suffering. Yet we confess that we can sometimes take your death for granted, forgetting what you did for us and neglecting its significance. Forgive us, Lord. And even when we can’t go to the actual place of your crucifixion today, may the reality of your sacrifice press itself upon my mind and flood my heart. Help us to remain faithful to you. Help us to unmask the false freedom which would distance us from you. Help us to accept your "binding" freedom, and, "bound" fast to you, to discover true freedom.
[Challenge: To not lose sight of the costly price of Jesus’ forgiveness]
All praise to you, merciful Lord, for Your cross!
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world. Amen.
VII. Jesus Dies on the Cross
John 19:19-20
Matthew 27:45-50, 54
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 all the 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?" 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.
Saint Paul of the Cross said, “Jesus died to give us life: all creatures are in sorrow: the sun is darkened, the earth trembles, the rocks split, the veil of the temple is rent; will only our heart remain harder than the rock? Let us be immersed in a sea of sorrow over the death of Jesus and let us say to Him: ‘Lord, we thank you for having died on the cross for our sins.’â€
Let us pray together.
Lord Jesus Christ, at the hour of your death the sun was darkened.
Ever anew you are being nailed to the Cross.
At this present hour of history we are living in God's darkness.
Through your great sufferings and the wickedness of men,
the face of God, your face, seems obscured, unrecognizable.
And yet, on the Cross, you have revealed yourself.
Precisely by being the one who suffers and loves, you are exalted.
From the Cross on high you have triumphed.
Help us to recognize your face at this hour of darkness and tribulation.
Help us to believe in you and to follow you in our hour of darkness and need.
Show yourself once more to the world at this hour.
Reveal to us your salvation.
[Challenge: To pray in the darkness of this hour for God’s love to be revealed again]
You indeed died on that day, my Jesus,
yet Your Heart still throbs with love for Your sinful children.
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world. Amen.
Pilate also wrote a title and put it on the Cross; it read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews". Many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek.
Matthew 27:45-50, 54
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" That is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" And some of the bystanders hearing it said, "This man is calling Elijah". And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, "Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him". And Jesus cried again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit". When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe, and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!"
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 all the 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?" 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.
Saint Paul of the Cross said, “Jesus died to give us life: all creatures are in sorrow: the sun is darkened, the earth trembles, the rocks split, the veil of the temple is rent; will only our heart remain harder than the rock? Let us be immersed in a sea of sorrow over the death of Jesus and let us say to Him: ‘Lord, we thank you for having died on the cross for our sins.’â€
Let us pray together.
Lord Jesus Christ, at the hour of your death the sun was darkened.
Ever anew you are being nailed to the Cross.
At this present hour of history we are living in God's darkness.
Through your great sufferings and the wickedness of men,
the face of God, your face, seems obscured, unrecognizable.
And yet, on the Cross, you have revealed yourself.
Precisely by being the one who suffers and loves, you are exalted.
From the Cross on high you have triumphed.
Help us to recognize your face at this hour of darkness and tribulation.
Help us to believe in you and to follow you in our hour of darkness and need.
Show yourself once more to the world at this hour.
Reveal to us your salvation.
[Challenge: To pray in the darkness of this hour for God’s love to be revealed again]
You indeed died on that day, my Jesus,
yet Your Heart still throbs with love for Your sinful children.
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world. Amen.
Sing: There Is A Fountain
There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Emmanuel’s veins
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains
Lose all their guilty stains
Lose all their guilty stains
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains
The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day
And there may I though vile as He
Wash all my sins away
Wash all my sins away
Wash all my sins away
And there may I though vile as He
Wash all my sins away
Drawn from Emmanuel’s veins
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains
Lose all their guilty stains
Lose all their guilty stains
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains
The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day
And there may I though vile as He
Wash all my sins away
Wash all my sins away
Wash all my sins away
And there may I though vile as He
Wash all my sins away
Hallelujah fountain full of love for us
Poured out on us
Hallelujah fountain full of love for us
Poured out on us
E’er since by faith I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply
Redeeming love has been my theme
And shall be till I die
And shall be till I die
And shall be till I die
Redeeming love has been my theme
And shall be till I die
Poured out on us
Hallelujah fountain full of love for us
Poured out on us
E’er since by faith I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply
Redeeming love has been my theme
And shall be till I die
And shall be till I die
And shall be till I die
Redeeming love has been my theme
And shall be till I die
Benediction
Go in peace, remembering how your Savior gave his own life for yours.