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Thursday, February 28, 2013

The Twelfth Station: Jesus Dies on the Cross



 Station XII
JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS


1st Prelude: History.----In addition to all His physical pain, our Lord had also to endure the mental suffering of mockery and derision. "And they that passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying: Vah, Thou that destroyest the Temple of God, and in three days buildest it up again; save Thyself, coming down from the Cross. In like manner also the Chief Priests, mocking, said with the Scribes one to another: He saved others, Himself He cannot save. Let Christ, the King of Israel, come down from the Cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with Him reviled Him." (Mark xv.)

Whilst all around were deriding and mocking our dying Saviour, the thief on His right hand began to reflect and repent. Rebuking his companion, he said: "Neither dost thou fear God, seeing thou art under the same condemnation. And we justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds----but this Man hath done no evil. And he said to Jesus: Lord, remember me when Thou shalt come into Thy Kingdom. And Jesus said to him: Amen, I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with Me in Paradise."

"Now, there stood by the Cross of Jesus, His Mother, and His Mother's sister Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen. When Jesus therefore had seen His Mother and the disciple standing whom He loved, He saith to His Mother: Woman, behold thy Son. After that, He saith to the disciple: Behold thy Mother. And from that time the disciple took her to his own."

2nd Prelude: Composition of Place.----The summit of Calvary----the foot of the Cross. See the crowd of Priests, Scribes, and Ancients pushing their way through the people to get in sight and within hearing of Jesus. They stand triumphant before the Cross to mock Him in His misery. Note how the darkness deepens. With it comes fear over the souls of men. See the Immaculate Mother, Magdalen, and John close to the Cross. I shall take my place with them close to Jesus.

Mary is Jesus' last gift, kept for the end. He had declared His Father to be ours-" I ascend to My Father and to your Father." He had given Himself----"This is My Body; this is My Blood." He had promised us His Holy Spirit----"If I go I will send Him to you." Jesus had parted for our sakes with all He had in this world----His followers, His friends, His fame, His honour. What was now left to Him? She alone----she to whom He came at first----His Immaculate Mother----now He will give her to us. We must not be able to say there is anything, however dear to Him----however especially His Own, that He has not shared with us. Jesus will prove His right to the title of elder Brother by making His Mother our Mother. As He has said----"My Father, and your Father," He will say----My Mother and yours.

Heartbroken, Mary is standing at the foot of His Cross, with the disciple whom Jesus loved. Who can fathom her sorrow? Never was there a mother whose heart was capable of a greater, deeper, or more comprehensive love----and therefore also of greater pain----than the heart of the Mother of Jesus. The whole awful scene was enacted before her eyes; she saw it all----the nails, the wounds; she heard it all----the strokes of the hammer, the imprecations against her Son, and His own words and sighs. She stood close to the Cross, and looked into His blessed, dying face. Who can form any idea of her pain! And Mary suffered all this voluntarily. No one, nothing but her own intense love could impose upon her the sacrifice of being present in person at the death of Jesus. She made it courageously and undauntedly----in spite of the threats and invectives of His foes. She held up until the day with all its horrors was over, and accompanied it all with the most magnificent acts of adoration, love, compassion, and all other virtues.

And why did the Immaculate Mother of Jesus act thus? Precisely because she was the Mother of Jesus----and wished to participate in the sufferings and shame of her Divine Son. Mary recognized to the full the great significance of His death. It was the great sacrifice of the Redemption, and she must co-operate in it, as Eve had once taken active part in the Fall. What drew our Lady to the Cross and held her there? Her deep, loyal faith, which revealed to her all the glory of the Cross. And then her love----love stronger than death. Lastly, the unfathomable humility that made her ashamed to be treated better than her Jesus----her Son, and her God.

How Mary and John are rewarded. Such faithful, motherly, and heroic love as Mary showed was certain to be rewarded by our Lord. Jesus saw everything----her actions, her thoughts, and her sufferings. He comforted and cared for her life. Mary was not to die with Jesus but to survive Him many years, and therefore it was fitting that He should make provision for her. So, glancing at John, He said to His Mother: "Woman (i.e., second Eve), behold thy Son." Thy Son Jesus is dying, and can no longer care for thee. I will give thee John to take My place, he shall tend thee----I give him to thee.

And to John He said: "Behold thy Mother." Take My place with her now, honour and love her, and take care of her as I have hitherto done. Poor Mother! These words smote Mary's heart with a thrill of unutterable pain----they were His actual leave-taking, a formal adieu to her. Everything seemed to vanish from her heart and before her eyes----her whole life, the soul and centre of which Jesus had been, seemed nothing----His place is now to be taken by John. But it was Jesus' Will, and Mary consented to the loss of her Son and our Saviour with the same humility with which she had once consented to His conception----"Ecce ancilla Domini----Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum."

John, too, obeyed our Lord's Will with deep, great humility and confusion, readiness and love----receiving Mary as his own Mother with dispositions of reverence, love, and tender solicitude----striving to care for her as Jesus had done throughout His whole life. John had a great privilege by his virginity, his courage and fidelity to Jesus----and his child-like love for our Blessed Lady.

And it was almost the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened: and the veil of the Temple was rent in the midst" (Luke xxiii. 44). Towards midday, and probably very shortly after the Crucifixion, the sky began to grow dark and lowering, and by degrees a complete eclipse of the sun set in, which lasted until about three o'clock in the afternoon, when our Lord's death took place. The eclipse of the sun was evidently given as a testimony to the innocence and Divinity of Jesus. This eclipse could not have been an ordinary natural one, for the moon was at the full, and the eclipse lasted nearly three hours. As the appearance of a miraculous star had proclaimed the birth of Jesus, so now an eclipse of the sun proclaimed His death. Jesus waS the spiritual Light of the world, and thus it was right that the sun, the source of all its material light, should mourn at His departure. The Jews had repeatedly desired a sign from Heaven. Now they had a sign, and a very great one. And it was given to show them what a terrible crime they had committed, and to lead them to repentance. Darkness and obscurity betoken in the Scripture approaching judgment and the anger of God.

In the midst of the silence and obscurity that surrounded Mount Calvary, and towards the end of the three hours of Agony, when darkness and terror had reached their climax, our Lord suddenly made the air ring with the loud cry: "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Matt. xxvii. 46). Then Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said: "I thirst " (John xix. 28). And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the Temple was rent in the midst, and Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said: " All is consummated. Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit." And saying this He gave up the Ghost. And the Centurion, seeing what was done, glorified God, saying: "Indeed this was a just Man."

Why did Jesus utter this cry: "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" Not through reluctance to suffer or repugnance to bear the greatness of His pain----but to reveal to us that He took these sufferings of interior desolation upon Himself also, and that He suffered without any interior consolation. He wished, too, to show that all the prophecies with regard to the manner of His death were now fulfilled; and therefore He chose for this cry the first words of the very Psalm in which the principal prophecy is contained. Lastly, Jesus, our loving Lord, intended this cry to be a comfort to us when we, too, have to suffer without human or Divine consolation. By His complete abandonment He has left us a precious treasure for the benefit of the desolate to the end of time.

Here on the Cross, Jesus merited for us the strength not to despond when we stand in the midst of the desert of darkness and solitude----and not to despair even in our last hour. We are not alone there----Jesus our Saviour has been there before us and erected His Cross to be a comfort to us. This cry, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" is like the voice of a friendly guide and powerful helper, proclaiming His presence in the pathless desert waste, and offering His aid. Jesus loves to call Himself the "Son of Man," and truly there is none among His many titles to which He has more fully proved His claim.

But there was a deeper depth yet to which He must descend if He would be like us in all things. Sin had fixed a gulf between us and our God. It had hidden His face from us----and then left us wailing in our despair. Here surely the Son of Man must part company with us----He "Who did no sin, neither was guilt found in His mouth." No, for He is come to seek and to save that which was lost----Jesus, our loving Saviour, will follow us down into our misery that He may rescue us. Sin cannot touch Him----but its chastisement He can draw upon Himself. He has undertaken to satisfy for us to the full----to bear all that He may bear consistently with the. dignity of His Person. Therefore Jesus will endure, as far as possible, the most awful form of human suffering----separation from God, dereliction by God.

How was Jesus' cry of agony----" My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?"----received? This touching cry of the desolate Heart of Jesus only evoked fresh mockery and scorn from the enemies of Jesus----"Behold He calleth Elias; let us see if Elias come to take Him down." They seem not to have quite caught our Lord's words, and thought He had called Elias, who was regarded as the forerunner of the Messiah, the helper in great distress and persecution, and defender of God's people. At all events their words were a fresh expression of derision. O Sacred, suffering Heart of Jesus!

St. Mark tells us" there was darkness over the whole earth until the ninth hour "but, oh, how deep, how terrible the darkness over the soul of Jesus! Among His unspeakable sufferings the keenest was this hiding of the face of the Father. We have no thoughts or images whereby to bring home to ourselves in the very least the love with which the soul of Jesus turned to the Father. To be about His Father's business He had come into the world. That the Father's name might be hallowed He had taught and toiled and wearied, and suffered. It was when He spoke of the Father that His full Heart revealed itself. To the Father's face He lifted His eyes, weary with sin and sorrow of earth.

How did Mary and John and Magdalen hear this cry of Jesus' Crucified Soul? The deep, mysterious abysses of His dereliction and mortal agony lay open before them. They themselves were plunged therein, and accompanied our Lord in all His pain, all His conformity of Will, and love to His heavenly Father, and His love for us sinners. Let us think of this when we, too, shall be alone in this desert of darkness, aridity, abandonment, desolation, and engulfed in this abyss.

COLLOQUY.----O love of the Sacred Heart! O my Jesus, how good art Thou! Behold, O Thou delight of the Angels and Saints, Thou art forsaken upon the Cross, and deprived of every consolation, yet Thou dost deal so mercifully with me, a wretched sinner. All, Lord Jesus, willingly do I entrust myself to Thy loving Heart, wholly do I resign myself to Thy Will. Do Thou carry out the designs of Thy Heart, cleanse me, sanctify me, dear Lord, in the way and manner pleasing to Thee, only keep me from every sin. O Mother of Jesus, in every temptation and danger, assist me efficaciously, at any cost. O my Mother, keep me faithful to Jesus.

"It is consummated." All the enemies of God and man are conquered. (1) Satan is prostrate beside the Cross, with his head crushed under the foot of the Blessed Mother. (2) The world, Satan's great ally, without whose aid he can do nothing, is also conquered----Have confidence, I have overcome the world. (3) The lust of the flesh, of the eyes, and the pride of life: Jesus' most patient Body has conquered all. Body of Christ, save me. Passion of Christ, strengthen me. "He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the Cross"----and so has triumphed over pride.

  O Sacred Heart of Jesus, help me by the contemplation of Thy Sacred Passion to love Thee ardently, to give Thee of my best, to give fearlessly, perseveringly, and from love. O my Mother, keep me close to thee, then I shall be true to Jesus and value and love the Cross of Christ.

With a mighty voice, with an upward glance of infinitely touching resignation and childlike confidence Jesus cried----Father, into Thy Hands I commend My spirit. The head drops on the breast, the Heart is still, the Soul is with the Father----Jesus has been obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross. He has loved us to the end!

"Father, into Thy Hands I commend My spirit." O beautiful words! full of help and consolation for me. A little while ago Jesus' words were a piteous cry to the Creator"----My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" Now it is the filial commendation to the Father. The lesson He wishes us to have ready for our last hour is confidence. Had there been any other, Jesus would have taught it. I must learn this lesson now. I ought to be perpetually rehearsing for the hour of my death, as the Church teaches in the Hail Mary, and the most important thing to rehearse is confidence.

St. Francis de Sales tells us that we shall derive great spiritual profit by committing our souls absolutely and without reserve into the hands of God's infinite goodness and mercy. Is He not our Father, Who has made us, preserved us, spared us, chosen us, called us? We advance slowly in perfection, only because we have never abandoned ourselves entirely to God, and yet if we desire to attain sanctity----we must begin, continue, and end our spiritual career by the practice of this virtue, in imitation of our Divine Model----Whose whole life so beautifully exemplified it.



12th Station Image


12th Station
The Twelfth Station:
Jesus Dies on the Cross

God is dead! No wonder the earth quaked, the sun hid itself, the dead rose and Mary stood by in horror. Your human body gave up it's soul in death but Your Divinity, dear Jesus, continued to manifest its power. All creation rebelled as the Word made Flesh departed from this world. Man alone was too proud to see and too stubborn to acknowledge truth.

Redemption was accomplished! Man would never have an excuse to forget how much You loved him. The thief on Your right saw something he could not explain - he saw a man on a tree and knew He was God. His need made him see his own guilt and Your innocence. The Promise of eternal life made the remaining hours of his torture. endurable.

A common thief responded to Your love with deep Faith, Hope, and Love. He saw more than his eyes envisioned - he felt a Presence he could not explain and would not argue with. He was in need and accepted the way God designed to help him.

Forgive our pride, dear Jesus as we spend hours speculating, days arguing and often a lifetime in rejecting Your death, which is a sublime mystery. Have pity on those whose intelligence leads them to pride because they never feel the need to reach out to the Man of Sorrows for consolation.

Amen

Read more:http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/stations/stat12.htm#ixzz2MCL7tORK


The Eleventh Station: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross



  Station XI
JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS


Watch the perfect obedience of Jesus even unto death. The executioners order Him to lie down upon the Cross that they may take the measure for the nails. Jesus submits at once, and does exactly as they tell Him. This done, they thrust Him aside while they bore the holes in the wood. See Him pushed here and there, not knowing where to stand in His misery, as closer and closer, driven forward by the multitude pressing up the slope, crowds the coarse, cruel rabble. It is with difficulty the centurion and his band keep it back, and leave the executioners room to do their work. Ah, pity our dear and blessed Lord, try to realize what He suffers. Wonder how His love could go so far, how reverence due to His Majesty did not compel Him to prevent ignominy such as this!

"He loved me and delivered Himself for me. Who, then, shall separate me from the love of Christ?"

The soldiers now formed a circle round the place of crucifixion, and the executioners entered the ring. Contemplate our dear Jesus. Must not His Heart have quailed, and His whole being have trembled at this moment, before the terrible execution that was about to take place? Shall I not adore with fervent love every pulsation of His beating Heart? Shall I not offer Him my own without reserve? Shall I not suffer with Him in His anguish, and offer every reparation and consolation possible to that loving, agonizing Heart of Jesus?

All is ready! The condemned are called for----Jesus is seized by the executioners and thrown down on the Cross, like a helpless victim. Note again His obedience. He stretches Himself upon it voluntarily. How touchingly beautiful Jesus is as He lies there in His disfigurement! How venerable in His shame! The Eternal God upon the Cross with His eyes upraised to Heaven! The agony of His human Soul is beyond words. The thieves extended on their crosses blaspheme in their despair. Jesus prays. No Martyr, no criminal, ever quailed like this before torture and death, for Jesus knows all that is to come. Every pang from now to the death struggle is vividly present to Him. He does not divert His mind from it. He does not seek to repulse the horror it produces. He allows it to assail Him with the most vehement repugnance.

Our Jesus overcomes all with the love that will love us even unto death. Ah, my dear Lord, I compassionate Thee in this strife between the inferior part of Thy Blessed Soul that shrinks from torments and death and the superior which rules that at such exceeding cost we shall be redeemed. And now, dear Lord, may I learn from this strife of Thine endured for me that repugnance which is conquered by the energy of the will, far from lessening, enhances the heroism of love.

In our Lord's repugnance there was nothing inordinate, as unfortunately there sometimes is in ours. His was reasonable and arose exclusively from the objective difficulty or the awful degree of agony about to be endured. It was, moreover, brought on Him by His Own Will.

At the bidding of the executioner, Jesus lies down upon the Cross and stretches out His arms. They bind the upper part of His Body to the stem of the Cross. One executioner holds His right hand, another places the rough, three-sided nail, filed to a sharp point, in the palm, and drives it with powerful blows, through the tendons in the hollow of the hand into the hole already made for it in the Cross. A tremor of exquisite pain passes through our Lord's limbs, the blood spurts up and around about, and the fingers contract convulsively round the nail, the limbs contract, the knees are drawn up, the left hand will not reach the hole prepared for it. And then, oh, agony inexpressible. They draw a noose around the wrist and stretch the arm till the sinews give way and the joints are dislocated. At last they bring it to its place, and a blow nails it fast, the breast heaves and the muscles crack. Then the feet are violently pulled down, and with a spitting crackling sound the nail is driven through the instep into the hole in the place for the feet. Then the executioners rise and survey their work.

Ah! look long----and with deepest love and sympathy----at our dear Jesus, as He lies there, nailed to the Cross. His whole body is terribly distended; every nerve is twitching and quivering with intensest anguish. His face is deadly pale, and covered with blood; tears, sighs, and gentle moans mingle with the terrible blows of the hammer, while the blood pours from His gaping wounds. Can we not realize the horror and anguish of our Lord's Blessed Mother, St. John, Magdalen, and the holy women, who were close by and heard the strokes of the hammer and the groans of the innocent Victim? Ah, how different is the live Crucifix from the white figure, unscathed except for the wounds in the hands and feet, that we behold so often and so heedlessly! The form of Jesus crucified on Calvary is a sight almost too fearful to look upon. One alone of the many tortures inflicted on it was sufficient to cause death. The scourging, the thorny crown, the thirst, would certainly have killed the strongest man.

And what does our dear Jesus think? What does He feel? His own words tell us best. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Now is the moment of His prayer. He begins at once His work of Mediator; begins, as men are nailing Him to the Cross, to secure their pardon. Father ,forgive them, for they know not what they do. Would not his charity prove Him to be Divine, were all other evidence wanting? Jesus asks forgiveness for them all, for His torturers, the Chief Priests, and the Jews----all who have a hand in His sufferings and death. And He asks it so pleadingly, supporting His petition by the most touching motives. Note how Jesus makes use of the tenderest form of address, the name of Father! He pleads in His quality of Son, and conjures the Father by His obedience unto death, by all His wounds and sufferings, and by the love that His Father bears Him.

Jesus' second motive is taken from His tormentors themselves; He excuses their crimes by their ignorance. It was certainly a culpable ignorance, at all events as far as the Jews were concerned, as our Lord Himself had testified. Lastly, Jesus pleads with success. All who were converted on the Feast of Pentecost and subsequently, and all who will be converted at the end of the world, are the fruit of this touching and earnest entreaty. The excess of pain and the fearful malice of His foes could extort nothing from His Sacred Heart but this precious prayer. All who have the Spirit of Jesus will endeavour to act as He did.

The Jews had seen Him give sight to the blind, cleanse the lepers, free the possessed, cure every disease and every infirmity, raise the dead. They had heard Him preach a sublime doctrine, silence all cavillers, speak as never man spake. He had read their thoughts, fulfilled their propheciel, proved Himself their long-expected Messias. And they had hated and rejected Him; they had shut their eyes to His miracles, and their ears to His invitations and His warnings. They had stirred up His people against Him, delivered Him to the Gentiles to be put to death, and invoked His Blood in condemnation upon themselves and upon their children. How could He find excuse for them? How could He plead their ignorance? He did so in this way----they did not see the full extent of their malice, they had not an approximate idea of the greatness of their sin. But that they knew they were doing wrong is evident from His praying that they should be forgiven. Their ignorance, therefore, did not excuse them totally, but it did partially: and our Lord asked that the rest of their guilt should be pardoned.

O mercy of the Sacred Heart! a tender and forgiving Lord! Who will fear Thy condemnation! Who will fear Thee as Judge even, provided we do not refuse the pardon for which Thou pleadest earnestly! Ah, my dear Jesus, can I ever mistrust Thee, or doubt Thy most earnest desire to save me? Help me, my God, to understand what sin is----to hate it, because it grieves Thee. Plead for me, dear Lord, with the Father, that I may be forgiven for the past, and so enlighten and strengthen me that I may be kept from sin for the time to come. May I never, dear Jesus, never again grieve Thee, nor be disloyal to Thy loving Heart. They know not what they do. Ah, Lord, how different are my harsh judgments and my vindictiveness, from the charity of Thy Sacred Heart. How hard I find it to make excuses for those who injure or annoy me. a Jesus, make my heart like unto Thine, patient, kind, thinking no evil, bearing all things, believing all things, hoping all things, enduring all things! "Father, forgive them." a dear Jesus, offer this tender prayer for all near and dear to me who stand in need of Thy special mercy, for all who at this hour are crucifying again the Son of God. In Thy prayer, my Jesus, is my trust. Draw me close to Thee, my God, by the grace of perfect love and sorrow.



The Eleventh Station:
Jesus is Nailed to the Cross

It is hard to imagine a God being nailed to a cross by His own creatures. It is even more difficult for my mind to understand a love that permitted such a thing to happen! As those men drove heavy nails into Your hands and feet, dear Jesus, did You offer the pain as reparation for some particular human weakness and sin? Was the nail in Your right hand for those who spend their lives in dissipation and boredom?

Was the nail in Your left hand in reparation for all consecrated souls who live lukewarm lives? Were You stretching out Your arms to show us how much You love us? As the feet that walked the hot, dusty roads were nailed fast, did they cramp up in a deadly grip of pain to make reparation for all those who so nimbly run the broad road of sin and self-indulgence?

It seems, dear Jesus, Your love has held You bound hand and foot as Your heart pleads for a return of love. You seem to shout from the top of the hill "I love you - come to me - see, I am held fast - I cannot hurt you - only you can hurt Me." How very hard is the heart that can see such love and turn away. Is it not true I too have turned away when I did not accept the Father's Will with love? Teach me to keep my arms ever open to love, to forgive and to render service - willing to be hurt rather than hurt, satisfied to love and not be loved in return..
Amen

Read more:http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/stations/stat11.htm#ixzz2MCJpCTFG

Novena For Support Of Pope Benedict XVI Day 9


Today is Pope Benedict XVI's last day as Pope. 


 
Today, we heed the words of scripture echoed by Pope John Paul II - "Be not afraid" 
 
Let us approach this day with confidence in the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Let's put our trust in Jesus, that He will preserve and protect His bride, the Church. 
 
Here are the novena prayers for today:
 
Day 9 - Novena Prayers for Pope Benedict
 
On this final day of his reign as Pope, we pray to You Almighty God, that Pope Benedict XVI will grow ever closer to You. May Pope Benedict's prayers for the Church be answered. May Pope Benedict's prayers for the Papacy be answered. May Pope Benedict's prayers for all of us be answered - According to Your Holy will. 
 
[Insert your intentions and personal petitions for the Pope here]
 
Prayer for the Pope:
 
Let us pray for Benedict, the Pope.
May the Lord preserve him,
give him a long life,
make him blessed upon the earth,
and not hand him over
to the power of his enemies.
May Your hand be upon Your holy servant.
And upon Your son, whom You have anointed.
 
Closing: The Prayer of St. Benedict
 
Gracious and holy Father,
please give to our Pope and 
to us the faithful:
intellect to understand You;
reason to discern You;
diligence to seek You;
wisdom to find You;
a spirit to know You;
a heart to meditate upon You;
ears to hear You;
eyes to see You;
a tongue to proclaim You;
a way of life pleasing to You;
patience to wait for You;
and perseverance to look for You.
 
Grant Your servant the 
Pope and us the faithful:
a perfect end,
Your holy presence.
A blessed resurrection,
And life everlasting.
 
Our Father...
Hail Mary...
Glory Be...
 
Amen.
 

Novena For Support Of Pope Benedict XVI Day 8


We're almost to the end of the novena!


 
Tomorrow is the Holy Father's last day 'in office' - let's pray especially hard for him to day and tomorrow. 
 
Here are the novena prayers for today:
 
Day 8 - Novena Prayers for Pope Benedict
 
Lord Jesus, You suffered persecutions and physical anguish for our sake. Grant, we pray, that the Holy Father is strengthened to unite the sufferings he has endured due to persecutions and his physical limitations to Your cross. 
 
[Insert your intentions and personal petitions for the Pope here]
 
Prayer for the Pope:
 
Let us pray for Benedict, the Pope.
May the Lord preserve him,
give him a long life,
make him blessed upon the earth,
and not hand him over
to the power of his enemies.
May Your hand be upon Your holy servant.
And upon Your son, whom You have anointed.
 
Closing: The Prayer of St. Benedict
 
Gracious and holy Father,
please give to our Pope and 
to us the faithful:
intellect to understand You;
reason to discern You;
diligence to seek You;
wisdom to find You;
a spirit to know You;
a heart to meditate upon You;
ears to hear You;
eyes to see You;
a tongue to proclaim You;
a way of life pleasing to You;
patience to wait for You;
and perseverance to look for You.
 
Grant Your servant the 
Pope and us the faithful:
a perfect end,
Your holy presence.
A blessed resurrection,
And life everlasting.
 
Our Father...
Hail Mary...
Glory Be...
 
Amen.


Novena For Support Of Pope Benedict XVI Day 7


Soon after Pope Benedict announced his retirement, I saw this quotation on facebook. I think it is very wise and want you to see it.
 


"Pope John Paul II remained in office so that he might show us how to suffer and how to die. Pope Benedict XVI is leaving the Papal Office so that he might show us how to live in humble honesty." - Sister Mary Theresa
 
Here are the novena prayers for today:
 
Day 7 - Novena Prayers for Pope Benedict
 
Heavenly Father, our Pope has shown us an example of great humility. May he be blessed as You promised in Holy Scripture for he is meek and humble of heart. Grant that the whole world will be moved by his example.
 
[Insert your intentions and personal petitions for the Pope here]
 
Prayer for the Pope:
 
Let us pray for Benedict, the Pope.
May the Lord preserve him,
give him a long life,
make him blessed upon the earth,
and not hand him over
to the power of his enemies.
May Your hand be upon Your holy servant.
And upon Your son, whom You have anointed.
 
Closing: The Prayer of St. Benedict
 
Gracious and holy Father,
please give to our Pope and 
to us the faithful:
intellect to understand You;
reason to discern You;
diligence to seek You;
wisdom to find You;
a spirit to know You;
a heart to meditate upon You;
ears to hear You;
eyes to see You;
a tongue to proclaim You;
a way of life pleasing to You;
patience to wait for You;
and perseverance to look for You.
 
Grant Your servant the 
Pope and us the faithful:
a perfect end,
Your holy presence.
A blessed resurrection,
And life everlasting.
 
Our Father...
Hail Mary...
Glory Be...
 
Amen.
 

Novena For Support Of Pope Benedict XVI Day 6


The papacy plays a huge role in bringing unity to the Church. 


 
Let's pray today in thanksgiving for the unity that Pope Benedict XVI has brought about within the Church. 
 
Here are the novena prayers for today:
 
Day 6 - Novena Prayers for Pope Benedict
 
Lord, source of eternal life and truth, give to Your shepherd, Benedict XVI, a spirit of courage and right judgment, a spirit of knowledge and love. By governing with fidelity those entrusted to his care in these last days of his rule, may he, as successor to the Apostle Peter and the Vicar of Christ, build Your Church into a sacrament of unity, love and peace for all the world.
 
[Insert your intentions and personal petitions for the Pope here]
 
Prayer for the Pope:
 
Let us pray for Benedict, the Pope.
May the Lord preserve him,
give him a long life,
make him blessed upon the earth,
and not hand him over
to the power of his enemies.
May Your hand be upon Your holy servant.
And upon Your son, whom You have anointed.
 
Closing: The Prayer of St. Benedict
 
Gracious and holy Father,
please give to our Pope and 
to us the faithful:
intellect to understand You;
reason to discern You;
diligence to seek You;
wisdom to find You;
a spirit to know You;
a heart to meditate upon You;
ears to hear You;
eyes to see You;
a tongue to proclaim You;
a way of life pleasing to You;
patience to wait for You;
and perseverance to look for You.
 
Grant Your servant the 
Pope and us the faithful:
a perfect end,
Your holy presence.
A blessed resurrection,
And life everlasting.
 
Our Father...
Hail Mary...
Glory Be...
 
Amen.


Sunday, February 24, 2013

World Day Of Prayer: March 1 2013


World Day of Prayer is a worldwide movement of Christian women of many traditions who welcome all to observe a common day of prayer each year on the first Friday of March. It is an ecumenical movement that brings together women of various races, cultures, and traditions in closer fellowship, understanding and action throughout the year.

Our motto of "Informed Prayer and Prayerful Actionsignifies that prayer and action are inseparable.



The Tenth Station: Jesus is Stripped of His Garments



Station X
JESUS IS STRIPPED OF HIS GARMENTS
"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to Myself."

See Jerusalem at the Crucifixion; about two millions of people are in and around the city. Look at the crowd winding through the dark, narrow thoroughfares, pouring through the judgment-gate, and congregating in vast masses round the place of execution. Watch the three condemned as they painfully toil up the little mound outside the walls known as "the place of Calvary".

The soldiers clear a space on the summit. The crosses are thrown on the ground. The executioners lay hands on our Lord. How tenderly we prepare for death those we love. Jesus is prepared by His executioners. He has been made to carry His Cross. All the dread preparations are made before His eyes and those of His Mother. There is no pity, no attempt to mitigate in the very least the awful sentence of crucifixion.

Contemplate with love and compassion our Blessed Lord, Whom the soldiers, as soon as the preparations were completed, drag to the place of crucifixion. See the agony of Jesus as they take off the crown of thorns. It has been so knocked about, so roughly removed and replaced, that His head is a mass of wounds. Note that Jesus will not drink the wine mixed with myrrh or gall, which it was customary to give the condemned, in order to deaden their pain. See His Sacred Body as these cruel men drag off His garments, thus scourging Him a second time, since all His gashes, to which His clothes adhered, were torn open afresh. His Sacred Body is but one wound; not the lightest texture could touch it without causing Him awful agony. It is in expiation of our vanity and self-indulgence that Jesus would have His vesture during the whole of His Passion a source of torture to Him! The sweat of Blood in the Garden, which trickled down to the ground, must have first saturated His garments. Think how hard and stiff they would become when dry, what agony they would occasion Him after the scourging and along the Way of the Cross, as they rubbed against the raw wounds when they were dragged off, and when He fell. What He suffers now as they are again torn off! Jesus our Saviour, our Lord and our God, has come to His death in a manner too horrible for description, yet not piteous enough to arouse compassion in the thousands that have come to see Him die.

How is it that we, His own chosen ones, can be so niggardly, so ungenerous in His service? That we seek so persistently all possible convenience, comfort, rest, variety in our life? How ashamed we shall be when we stand before Him in judgment----if we have not led a life of sacrifice and labour for His interests.



The Tenth Station:
Jesus is Stripped of His Garments

It seems that every step to Calvary brought You fresh humiliation, my Jesus. How Your sensitive nature recoiled at being stripped before a crowd of people. You desired to leave this life as You entered it - completely detached from all the comforts of this world. You want me to know without a doubt that you loved me with an unselfish love. Your love for me caused You nothing but pain and sorrow. You gave everything and received nothing in return. Why do I find it so hard to be detached?

In your loving mind, dear Jesus, did You look up to the Father as You stood there on that windy hill, shivering from cold and shame and trembling from fear, and ask Him to have mercy on those who would violate their purity and make love a mockery? Did you ask forgiveness for those whose greed would make them lie, cheat and steal for a few pieces of cold silver?

Forgive us all, dear Jesus. Look upon the world with pity, for mankind has lost its way and the principles of this world make lust a fun game and luxury a necessity. Detachment has become merely another hardship of the poor and obedience the fault of the weak. Have mercy on us and grant the people of this day the courage to see and know themselves and the light to change.

Amen


Read more:http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/stations/stat10.htm#ixzz2LpWo9ztf



Novena For Support Of Pope Benedict XVI Day 5


We will be praying another whole novena for the conclave and the election of the next Pope.


 
Today I'd still like to pray for the Pope's intentions and particularly for his prayer for the election of the next Pope. 
 
Here are the novena prayers for today:
 
Day 5 - Novena Prayers for Pope Benedict
 
Jesus, we pray for our beloved Pope and for his intentions. We pray for his personal intentions and for his recent decision to retire. That Your will be done through the election of his successor.
 
[Insert your intentions and personal petitions for the Pope here]
 
Prayer for the Pope:
 
Let us pray for Benedict, the Pope.
May the Lord preserve him,
give him a long life,
make him blessed upon the earth,
and not hand him over
to the power of his enemies.
May Your hand be upon Your holy servant.
And upon Your son, whom You have anointed.
 
Closing: The Prayer of St. Benedict
 
Gracious and holy Father,
please give to our Pope and 
to us the faithful:
intellect to understand You;
reason to discern You;
diligence to seek You;
wisdom to find You;
a spirit to know You;
a heart to meditate upon You;
ears to hear You;
eyes to see You;
a tongue to proclaim You;
a way of life pleasing to You;
patience to wait for You;
and perseverance to look for You.
 
Grant Your servant the 
Pope and us the faithful:
a perfect end,
Your holy presence.
A blessed resurrection,
And life everlasting.
 
Our Father...
Hail Mary...
Glory Be...
 
Amen.


 

Saturday, February 23, 2013

The Ninth Station: Jesus Falls For The Third Time



Station IX
JESUS FALLS THE THIRD TIME


COLLOQUY.----In many things I am too weak to follow Thee, dear Lord, but in the toilsome task of daily duty my very weakness makes me like Thee. I fall, oh, how many times! My falls bring with them soreness and dejection, the temptation to give up the struggle. But this, my dear Master, with the help of Thy grace I will never do----I will remember Thou art at hand still, the same Jesus yesterday, today, and for ever; indulgent, easily appeased, ready to forgive.

Ah, dear Lord, my God, my Jesus, Thou dost deplore far more than I do anything like estrangement between Thee and me----for Thou art my Father, and only waitest for me to turn to Thee with humble, sorrowful acknowledgment to put all right again. Tenderer far than a mother is the love of Thy Divine Heart----"I will have compassion on thee more than a mother."

This will be my consolation, dear Lord----I will think more of Thy Mercy than of Thy Justice, of having disappointed more than of having displeased Thee. Dear Jesus, by Thy weariness refresh me! Give me the trust in Thee that holds on its way, undismayed by slips and by bruises, fixed in its resolution to reach Thee at last. My Jesus!----Thou art watching, waiting, stretching out Thy arms to me. Draw me into Thy embrace when life is done, and, Jesus, my dear Master, reward me throughout eternity by possession of Thyself----a trust that has never failed. In Thee, O Lord, I have hoped, I shall never be confounded. 


8th Station

The Ninth Station:
Jesus Falls the Third Time

My Jesus, even with the help of Simon You fell a third time. Were You telling me that there may be times in my life that I will fall again and again despite the help of friends and loved ones? There are times when the crosses You permit in my life are more than I can bear. It is as if all the sufferings of a life time are suddenly compressed into the present moment and it is more than I can stand.

Though it grieves my heart to see You so weak and helpless, it is a comfort to my soul to know that you understand my sufferings from Your own experience. Your love for me made You want to experience every kind of pain just so I could have someone to look to for example and courage.

When I cry out from the depths of my soul, "This suffering is more than I can bear," do You whisper, "Yes, I understand"? When I am discouraged after many falls, do you say in my innermost being, "Keep going, I know how hard it is to rise"?
There are many people who are sorely tried in body and soul with alcohol and drug weaknesses who try and try and fall again and again. Through the humiliation of this third fall, give them the courage and perseverance to take up their cross and follow you.

Amen


Read more:http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/stations/stat9.htm#ixzz2LjLOTMKz






Novena For Support Of Pope Benedict XVI Day 4


Let's continue to pray for Pope Benedict XVI as has not only been a great moral and spiritual leader but also a great intellectual leader for the Church.

 
Here are the novena prayers for today:
 
Day 4 - Novena Prayers for Pope Benedict
 
Jesus, You gave to us a great Pope in Benedict XVI. You blessed him with wisdom, insight and intelligence to help guide Your Church on an intellectual level. We pray for his ministry as a teacher specifically through his writing. We pray that his writings about You will reach the whole world with Your saving message. We pray for a deeper understanding of our faith through the Pope's writings.
 
[Insert your intentions and personal petitions for the Pope here]
 
Prayer for the Pope:
 
Let us pray for Benedict, the Pope.
May the Lord preserve him,
give him a long life,
make him blessed upon the earth,
and not hand him over
to the power of his enemies.
May Your hand be upon Your holy servant.
And upon Your son, whom You have anointed.
 
Closing: The Prayer of St. Benedict
 
Gracious and holy Father,
please give to our Pope and 
to us the faithful:
intellect to understand You;
reason to discern You;
diligence to seek You;
wisdom to find You;
a spirit to know You;
a heart to meditate upon You;
ears to hear You;
eyes to see You;
a tongue to proclaim You;
a way of life pleasing to You;
patience to wait for You;
and perseverance to look for You.
 
Grant Your servant the 
Pope and us the faithful:
a perfect end,
Your holy presence.
A blessed resurrection,
And life everlasting.
 
Our Father...
Hail Mary...
Glory Be...
 
Amen.


Friday, February 22, 2013

Eighth Station: Jesus Speaks to the Holy Women



Station VIII
THE DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM WEEP OVER JESUS

Our Blessed Lord did not carry His Cross alone; He was accompanied by many. Indeed, all who walked with the procession to the place of execution took part in the carrying of the Cross, each in his own way.

Here, we examine the women of Jerusalem, and other good people who compassionated our Lord's fate, and participate in spirit in our Lord's carrying of the Cross.

For a great multitude followed Him, says St. Luke. They commiserated Him, and gave vent to their pity and grief in loud lamentations. This expression of their grief was right, and required great courage, since it was made in the presence and the hearing of our Lord's triumphant foes. What was imperfect about it was that they regarded our Lord's Passion as a pure misfortune, and bewailed it as such. Jesus rewards them for their compassion. He speaks to them, and in His turn offers His pity for them and their children. These women and other compassionate people are a type of the souls who feel pity for the sufferings of our Lord, but do not follow up their pity by deeds. But Jesus, the loving Lord and Master, accepts even this token of love graciously, and returns it in His Own way.



8th Station
The Eighth Station:
Jesus Speaks to the Holy Women

My Jesus, I am amazed at Your compassion for others in Your time of need. When I suffer, I have a tendency to think only of myself but You forgot Yourself completely. When You saw the holy women weeping over Your torments, You consoled them and taught them to look deeper into Your Passion. You wanted them to understand that the real evil to cry over was the rejection You suffered from the Chosen people - a people set apart from every other nation, who refused to accept God's Son.


The Act of Redemption would go on and no one would ever be able to take away Your dignity as Son of God, but the evil, greed, jealousy and ambition in the hearts of those who should have recognized You was the issue to grieve over. To be so close to God made man and miss Him completely was the real crime.

My Jesus, I fear I do the same when I strain gnats and then swallow camels - when I take out the splinter in my brother's eye and forget the beam in my own. It is such a gift - this gift of faith. It is such a sublime grace to possess Your own Spirit. Why haven't I advanced in holiness of life? I miss the many disguises you take upon Yourself and see only people, circumstances and human events, not the loving hand of the Father guiding all things. Help all those who are discouraged, sick, lonely and old to recognize Your Presence in their midst.

Amen


Read more:http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/stations/stat8.htm#ixzz2LdOa0WnQ