Prayer of Trust

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me.

I cannot know where it will end.

Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.

And I hope I have that desire in all I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.

And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road, though I may seem to be lost in the shadow of death.

I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

Source: https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/prayer-of-trust-12762

SOLEMNITY OF THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORD (Feast Day: March 25)

The Story of the Annunciation of the Lord

(Feast Day: March 25)

The feast of the Annunciation, now recognized as a solemnity, was first celebrated in the fourth or fifth century. Its central focus is the Incarnation: God has become one of us. From all eternity God had decided that the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity should become human. Now, as Luke 1:26-38 tells us, the decision is being realized. The God-Man embraces all humanity, indeed all creation, to bring it to God in one great act of love. Because human beings have rejected God, Jesus will accept a life of suffering and an agonizing death: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).



Mary has an important role to play in God’s plan. From all eternity, God destined her to be the mother of Jesus and closely related to him in the creation and redemption of the world. We could say that God’s decrees of creation and redemption are joined in the decree of Incarnation. Because Mary is God’s instrument in the Incarnation, she has a role to play with Jesus in creation and redemption. It is a God-given role. It is God’s grace from beginning to end. Mary becomes the eminent figure she is only by God’s grace. She is the empty space where God could act. Everything she is she owes to the Trinity.



Mary is the virgin-mother who fulfills Isaiah 7:14 in a way that Isaiah could not have imagined. She is united with her son in carrying out the will of God (Psalm 40:8-9; Hebrews 10:7-9; Luke 1:38).



Together with Jesus, the privileged and graced Mary is the link between heaven and earth. She is the human being who best, after Jesus, exemplifies the possibilities of human existence. She received into her lowliness the infinite love of God. She shows how an ordinary human being can reflect God in the ordinary circumstances of life. She exemplifies what the Church and every member of the Church is meant to become. She is the ultimate product of the creative and redemptive power of God. She manifests what the Incarnation is meant to accomplish for all of us.




Reflection


Sometimes spiritual writers are accused of putting Mary on a pedestal and thereby, discouraging ordinary humans from imitating her. Perhaps such an observation is misguided. God did put Mary on a pedestal and has put all human beings on a pedestal. We have scarcely begun to realize the magnificence of divine grace, the wonder of God’s freely given love. The marvel of Mary—even in the midst of her very ordinary life—is God’s shout to us to wake up to the marvelous creatures that we all are by divine design.

WHY CATHOLICS LOVE THE FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION

 

WHY CATHOLICS LOVE THE FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION

It is a day of hope

For many Christians, the Feast of the Annunciation represents the coming of hope to the world. The birth of Jesus Christ was a symbol of the restoration of the broken relationship between God and humans.

It’s divine

The Feast of the Annunciation is a holy day. The pregnancy of the Virgin Mary is one of the greatest miracles to happen in Christian history. The Feast of the Annunciation celebrates divinity and otherworldliness.

It brings people together

On the Feast of the Annunciation, millions of people around the world forget any differences and come together to celebrate the announcement of the coming of Jesus Christ. It is beautiful to imagine millions of people reciting the Hail Mary together on this special day.

Annunciation Novena

Annunciation Novena

(March 16 to 24)

I greet you,

Ever-blessed Virgin,

Mother of God,

Throne of Grace,

miracle of Almighty Power!

I greet you,

Sanctuary of the Most Holy Trinity

and Queen of the Universe,

Mother of Mercy

and refuge of sinners!

Most loving Mother,

attracted by your beauty and sweetness,

and by your tender compassion,

I confidently turn to you,

miserable as I am,

and beg of you to obtain for me

from your dear Son

the favor I request in this novena:

(mention your request here).

Obtain for me also,

Queen of heaven,

the most lively contrition for my many sins

and the grace to imitate closely

those virtues which you practiced so faithfully,

especially humility,

purity and obedience.

Above all,

I beg you to be my Mother and Protectress,

to receive me into the number of your devoted children,

and to guide me from your high throne of glory.

Do not reject my petitions,

Mother of Mercy!

Have pity on me,

and do not abandon me during life

or at the moment of my death.

Amen.

Act of Consecration to Saint Joseph

MARCH – The Month of St. Joseph


Act of Consecration to Saint Joseph


O Blessed Saint Joseph, I consecrate myself to thy honor, and give myself to thee that thou mayest always be my father, my protector, and my guide in the way of salvation. Obtain for me a great purity of heart and a fervent love of the interior life. After thy example may I do all my actions for the greater glory of God, in union with the Divine Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. And do thou, O Blessed Saint Joseph, pray for me, that I may share in the peace and joy of thy holy death. Amen.



St. Joseph model and patron of those who love the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pray for us!

Today's Gospel Reading

Gospel Reading Today

Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a

'Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.

Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.

Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.

When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,

but before they lived together,

she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.

Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,

yet unwilling to expose her to shame,

decided to divorce her quietly.

Such was his intention when, behold,

the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,

“Joseph, son of David,

do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.

For it is through the Holy Spirit

that this child has been conceived in her.

She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,

because he will save his people from their sins.”

When Joseph awoke,

he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him

and took his wife into his home.'

Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a

Prayer to Saint Joseph

HAPPY SOLEMNITY OF SAINT JOSEPH, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 💕

+In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Saint Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we humbly implore your powerful intercession to bring our urgent petitions to God. Please pray for us, that we may always follow the will of God in our lives. Please pray for our families, that it may be a cradle of joy, love, and peace. Amen.

SAINT JOSEPH Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Foster Father of Jesus March 19 - Feast

SAINT JOSEPH

Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Foster Father of Jesus

March 19 - Feast

Oh, St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God. I place in you all my interests and desires. Oh, St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession, and obtain for me from your divine Son all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So that, having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of Fathers.

Oh, St. Joseph, I never weary of contemplating you, and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine head for me and ask him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls - Pray for me.

Amen.

This prayer was found in the fifteenth year of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In 1505 it was sent from the Pope to Emperor Charles when he was going into battle. Whoever shall read this prayer or hear it or keep it about themselves, shall never die a sudden death, or be drowned, not shall poison take effect of them; neither shall they fall into the hands of the enemy; or shall be burned in any fire, or shall be overpowered in battle.

Prayer to Saint Joseph -Solemnity of Saint Joseph March 19

 Prayer to Saint Joseph

To thee, O Blessed Joseph, we have recourse in our tribulations, and while imploring the aid of thy most holy Spouse, we confidently invoke thy patronage also. By that love which united thee to the Immaculate Virgin, Mother of God, and by the fatherly affection with which thou didst embrace the Infant Jesus, we humbly beseech thee graciously to regard the inheritance which Jesus Christ purchased with His Blood and to help us in our necessities, by thy powerful intercession.

Protect, O most provident Guardian of the Holy Family, the chosen children of Jesus Christ; ward off from us, O most loving Father, all taint of error and corruption; graciously assist us from Heaven, O most powerful protector, in our struggle with the powers of darkness; and as thou didst once rescue the Child Jesus from imminent peril to His life, so now defend the Holy Church of God from the snares of her enemies and from all adversity.

Shield each one of us with thy unceasing patronage that, imitating thy example and supported by thy aid, we may be enabled to live a good life, die a holy death, and secure everlasting happiness in Heaven.

Amen.

Acts of Faith ,Hope and Love

Act of Faith ✝️

O my God!

I firmly believe all the sacred truths

which your holy Catholic Church

believes and teaches,

because you, the infallible Truth,

have revealed them.

O Jesus, increase my faith.

Act of Hope ✝️

O my God!

Relying upon your goodness

and promises,

I hope to obtain pardon of my sins,

grace to serve you in this world

and life everlasting,

through the merits of Jesus Christ,

my Lord and Redeemer.

O Jesus, strengthen my hope.

Act of ove ✝️

O my God!

I love you above all things

with my whole heart and soul,

because you are infinitely worthy of love;

I love my neighbor as myself,

for the love of you;

I forgive all who have injured me,

and ask pardon of all whom I have injured,

O Jesus, inflame my love.

Amen.

Bible Reflections for Lent

 

Acts 4:12

12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." 

Isaiah 53:3-9

3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 

4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed. 

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. 

8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 

9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. 

1 Corinthians 15:55

55 "O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?" 

1 Corinthians 15:21

21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.

Romans 10:9

9 because, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Special Prayer for End to War in Ukraine by Pope Francis

Pope Francis recites a special prayer imploring God to forgive us for war, especially the war in Ukraine.

He made his own a prayer composed by the Italian Archbishop of Naples, Domenico Battaglia, making a few minor additions.


The Pope pleads with God to forgive all of humanity for the brutality of war, which he said turns our hands—created to care and tend the earth—into instruments of death.

Below is an unofficial translation of the Pope’s prayer:


Forgive us for war, O Lord.


Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us sinners!
Lord Jesus, born in the shadows of bombs falling on Kyiv, have mercy on us!
Lord Jesus, who died in a mother’s arms in a bunker in Kharkiv, have mercy on us!
Lord Jesus, a 20-year-old sent to the frontlines, have mercy on us!
Lord Jesus, who still behold armed hands in the shadow of your Cross, have mercy on us!


Forgive us, O Lord.


Forgive us, if we are not satisfied with the nails with which we crucified Your hands, as we continue to slate our thirst with the blood of those mauled by weapons.
Forgive us, if these hands which You created to tend have been transformed into instruments of death.
Forgive us, O Lord, if we continue to kill our brother;
Forgive us, if we continue like Cain to pick up the stones of our fields to kill Abel.
Forgive us, if we continue to justify our cruelty with our labors, if we legitimize the brutality of our actions with our pain.
Forgive us for war, O Lord. Forgive us for war, O Lord.


Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, we implore You! Hold fast the hand of Cain!
Illumine our consciences;
May our will not be done;
Abandon us not to our own actions!


Stop us, O Lord, stop us!
And when you have held back the hand of Cain, care also for him. He is our brother.
O Lord, put a halt to the violence!
Stop us, O Lord!
Amen.

THE WAY OF THE CROSS ➕

The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. Source:Wikipedia

THE WAY OF THE CROSS

THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS are a fourteen-step Catholic

devotion that commemorates Jesus Christ's last day

on Earth as a man. The fourteen devotions, or stations,

focus on specific events of His last day, beginning with

His condemnation. The stations are commonly used as a

mini pilgrimage as the individual moves from station to

station. At each station, the individual recalls and

meditates on a specific event from Christ's last day.

Specific prayers are recited, then the individual moves to

the next station until all fourteen are complete.

The Stations of the Cross are commonly found in churches

as a series of fourteen small icons or images. They can also

appear in church yards arranged along paths. The stations

are most commonly prayed during Lent on Wednesdays

and Fridays, and especially on Good Friday, the day of the

year upon which the events actually occurred.

INDULGENCES

A Plenary indulgence is grated to the faithful who make the pious

exercise of the Way of the Cross. Those who are impeded can gain the

same indulgence if they spend at least one half an hour in pious

reading and meditation on the Passion and Death of our Lord Jesus

Christ.

Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, no. 63

THE WAY OF THE CROSS

BY ST. ALPHONSUS LIGUORI

PREPARATORY PRAYERS

Kneeling before the altar, make an Act of Contrition, and form the

intention of gaining the indulgences, whether for yourself or for the souls

in purgatory.

ACT OF CONTRITION

MY GOD, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I

detest all my sins because of Thy just punishments, but most

of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who art all-good and

deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy

grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen.

Following the act of contrition say:

MY LORD, JESUS CHRIST, You have made this journey to die

for me with unspeakable love; and I have so many times

ungratefully abandoned You. | But now I love You with all my

heart; and, because I love You, I am sincerely sorry for ever

having offended You. Pardon me, my God, and permit me to

accompany You on this journey. You go to die for love of me;

I want, my beloved Redeemer, to die for love of You. My Jesus,

I will live and die always united to You.

Stabat mater dolorósa

juxta Crucem lacrimósa,

dum pendébat Fílius.

At the cross her station keeping

Stood the mournful Mother weeping

Close to Jesus to the last.

THE FIRST STATION

PILATE CONDEMNS JESUS TO DIE

V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. (Genuflect)

R. Because, by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

Priest:

CONSIDER HOW JESUS CHRIST, after being scourged and

crowned with thorns, was unjustly condemned by Pilate to

die on the cross.

All say:

MY ADORABLE JESUS, it was not Pilate; no, it was my sins

that condemned You to die. I beseech You, by the merits

of this sorrowful journey, to assist my soul on its journey to

eternity. I love You, beloved Jesus; I love You more than I love

myself. With all my heart I repent of ever having offended You.

Grant that I may love You always; and then do with me as You will.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.

Cuius ánimam geméntem,

contristátam et doléntem

pertransívit gladius

Through her heart, His sorrow sharing

All His bitter anguish bearing

Now at length the sword has passed

THE SECOND STATION

JESUS ACCEPTS HIS CROSS

V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. (Genuflect)

R. Because, by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

Priest:

CONSIDER JESUS as He walked this road with the cross on His

shoulders, thinking of us, and offering to His Father in our

behalf, the death He was about to suffer.

All say:

MY MOST BELOVED JESUS, I embrace all the sufferings You

have destined for me until death. I beg You, by all You

suffered in carrying Your cross, to help me carry mine with

Your perfect peace and resignation. I love You, Jesus, my love; I

repent of ever having offended You. Never let me separate

myself from You again. Grant that I may love You always; and

then do with me as You will.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be …

O quam tristis et afflícta

fuit illa benedícta,

mater Unigéniti!

O, how sad and sore depressed

Was that Mother highly blessed

Of the sole Begotten One

THE THIRD STATION

JESUS FALLS THE FIRST TIME

V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. (Genuflect)

R. Because, by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

Priest:

CONSIDER THE FIRST FALL OF JESUS. Loss of blood from the

scourging and crowing with thorns had so weakened Him

that He could hardly walk; and yet He had to carry that great

load upon His shoulders. As the soldiers struck Him cruelly,

He fell several times under the heavy cross.

All Say:

MY BELOVED JESUS, it was not the weight of the cross but the

weight of my sins which made You suffer so much. By

the merits of this first fall, save me from falling into mortal sin. I

love You, O my Jesus, with all my heart; I am sorry that I have

offended You. May I never offend You again. Grant that I may

love You always; and then do with me as You will.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be …

Quae mœrébat et dolébat,

pia Mater, dum vidébat

nati pœnas ínclyti.

Christ above in torment hangs

She beneath beholds the pangs

THE FOURTH STATION

JESUS MEETS HIS AFFLICTED MOTHER

V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. (Genuflect)

R. Because, by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

Priest:

CONSIDER HOW THE SON met his Mother on His way to

Calvary. Jesus and Mary gazed at each other and their

looks became as so many arrows to wound those hearts which

loved each other so tenderly

All Say:

MY MOST LOVING JESUS, by the pain You suffered in this

meeting grant me the grace of being truly devoted to

Your most holy Mother. And You, my Queen, who was

overwhelmed with sorrow, obtain for me by Your prayers a tender

and a lasting remembrance of the passion of Your divine Son. I love

You, Jesus, my Love, above all things. I repent of ever having

offended You. Never allow me to offend You again. Grant that I may

love You always; and then do with me as You will.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be...

Quis est homo qui non fleret,

matrem Christi si vidéret

in tanto supplício?

Is there one who would not weep,

'whelmed in miseries so deep

Christ's dear Mother to behold.

THE FIFTH STATION

SIMON HELPS JESUS CARRY THE CROSS

V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. (Genuflect)

R. Because, by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

Priest:

CONSIDER HOW WEAK and weary Jesus was. At each step He was

at the point of expiring. Fearing that He would die on the way

when they wished Him to die the infamous death of the cross, they

forced Simon of Cyrene to help carry the cross after Our Lord.

All Say:

MY BELOVED JESUS I will not refuse the cross as Simon did: I

accept it and embrace it. I accept in particular the death that is

destined for me with all the pains that may accompany it. I unite it

to Your death and I offer it to You. You have died for love of me; I

will die for love of You and to please You. Help me by Your grace. I

love You, Jesus, my Love; I repent of ever having offended You.

Never let me offend You again. Grant that I may love You always;

and then do with me as You will.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be …

Quis non posset contristári

Christi Matrem contemplári

doléntem cum Fílio?

Can the human heart refrain

From partaking in her pain

In that Mother's pain untold?

THE SIXTH STATION

VERONICA OFFERS HER VEIL TO JESUS

V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. (Genuflect)

R. Because, by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

Priest:

CONSIDER THE COMPASSION of the holy woman, Veronica.

Seeing Jesus in such distress, His face bathed in sweat and

blood, she presented Him with her veil. Jesus wiped His face,

and left upon the cloth the image of his sacred countenance.

All Say:

MY BELOVED JESUS, Your face was beautiful before You

began this journey; but, now, it no longer appears

beautiful and is disfigured with wounds and blood. Alas, my

soul also was once beautiful when it received Your grace in

Baptism; but I have since disfigured it with my sins. You alone,

my Redeemer, can restore it to its former beauty. Do this by the

merits of Your passion; and then do with me as You will.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be…

Pro peccátis suæ gentis

vidit Iésum in torméntis,

et flagéllis súbditum.

For the sins of His own nation,

She saw Jesus wracked with torment,

All with scourges rent.

THE SEVENTH STATION

JESUS FALLS THE SECOND TIME

V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. (Genuflect)

R. Because, by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

Priest:

CONSIDER HOW the second fall of Jesus under His cross

renews the pain in all the wounds of the head and

members of our afflicted Lord.

All Say:

MY MOST GENTLE JESUS, how many times You have forgiven

me; and how many times I have fallen again and begun

again to offend You! By the merits of this second fall, give me

the grace to persevere in Your love until death. Grant, that in all

my temptations, I may always have recourse to You. I love You,

Jesus, my Love with all my heart; I am sorry that I have

offended You. Never let me offend You again. Grant that I may

love You always; and then do with me as You will.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be …

Vidit suum dulcem Natum

moriéndo desolátum,

dum emísit spíritum.

She beheld her tender Child,

Saw Him hang in desolation,

Till His spirit forth He sent.

THE EIGHTH STATION

JESUS SPEAKS TO THE WOMEN

V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. (Genuflect)

R. Because, by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

Priest:

CONSIDER HOW the women wept with compassion seeing

Jesus so distressed and dripping with blood as he walked

along. Jesus said to them, “Weep not so much for me, but rather

for Your children.”

All Say:

MY JESUS, laden with sorrows, I weep for the sins which I have

committed against You because of the punishment I deserve

for them; and, still more, because of the displeasure they have caused

You who have loved me with an infinite love. It is Your love, more

than the fear of hell, which makes me weep for my sins. My Jesus, I

love You more than myself; I am sorry that I have offended You.

Never allow me to offend You again. Grant that I may love You

always; and then do with me as You will. Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be …

Eia, Mater, fons amóris

me sentíre vim dolóris

fac, ut tecum lúgeam.

O thou Mother! fount of love!

Touch my spirit from above,

make my heart with thine accord.

THE NINTH STATION

JESUS FALLS THE THIRD TIME

V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. (Genuflect)

R. Because, by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

Priest:

CONSIDER HOW JESUS CHRIST fell for the third time. He was

extremely weak and the cruelty of His executioners was

excessive; they tried to hasten His steps though He hardly had

strength to move.

All Say:

MY OUTRAGED JESUS, by the weakness You suffered in

going to Calvary, give me enough strength to overcome

all human respect and all my evil passions which have led me

to despise Your friendship. I love You, Jesus my Love, with all

my heart; I am sorry for ever having offended You. Never

permit me to offend You again. Grant that I may love You

always; and then do with me as You will. Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be…

Fac, ut árdeat cor meum

in amándo Christum Deum

ut sibi compláceam.

Make me feel as thou hast felt;

make my soul to glow and melt

with the love of Christ my Lord.

THE TENTH STATION:

JESUS IS STRIPPED OF HIS GARMENTS

V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. (Genuflect)

R. Because, by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

Priest:

CONSIDER HOW JESUS was violently stripped of His clothes

by His executioners. The inner garments adhered to his

lacerated flesh and the soldiers tore them off so roughly that the

skin came with them. Have pity for your Savior so cruelly

treated and tell Him:

All Say:

MY INNOCENT JESUS, by the torment You suffered in being

stripped of Your garments, help me to strip myself of all

attachment for the things of earth that I may place all my love

in You who are so worthy of my love. I love You, O Jesus, with

all my heart; I am sorry for ever having offended You. Never let

me offend You again. Grant that I may love You always; and

then do with me as You will. Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be …

Sancta Mater, istud agas,

crucifíxi fige plagas

cordi meo válide.

Holy Mother! pierce me through,

in my heart each wound renew

of my Savior crucified.

THE ELEVENTH STATION

JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS

V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. (Genuflect)

R. Because, by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

Priest:

CONSIDER JESUS, thrown down upon the cross, He stretched

out His arms and offered to His eternal Father the sacrifice

of His life for our salvation. They nailed His hands and feet,

and then, raising the cross, left Him to die in anguish.

All Say:

MY DESPISED JESUS, nail my heart to the cross that it may

always remain there to love You and never leave You

again. I love You more than myself; I am sorry for ever having

offended You. Never permit me to offend You again. Grant that

I may love You always; and then do with me as You will.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be …

Tui Nati vulneráti,

tam dignáti pro me pati,

pœnas mecum dívide.

Let me share with you His pain,

Who for all our sins was slain,

Who for me in torments died.

THE TWELFTH STATION

JESUS DIES UPON THE CROSS

V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. (Genuflect)

R. Because, by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

Priest:

CONSIDER HOW YOUR JESUS, after three hours of agony on the

cross, is finally overwhelmed with suffering and, abandoning

Himself to the weight of His body, bows His head and dies.

All Say:

MY DYING JESUS, I devoutly kiss the cross on which You

would die for love of me. I deserve, because of my sins, to

die a terrible death; but Your death is my hope. By the merits of

Your death, give me the grace to die embracing Your feet and

burning with love of You. I yield my soul into Your hands. I

love You with my whole heart. I am sorry that I have offended

You. Never let me offend You again. Grant that I may love You

always; and then do with me as You will.

All kneel for a moment and pray three times the Our Father.

Fac me tecum pie flere,

crucifíxo condolére,

donec ego víxero.

Let me mingle tears with thee

Mourning Him who mourned for me,

All the days that I may live.

THE THIRTEENTH STATION

JESUS IS TAKEN DOWN FROM THE CROSS

V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. (Genuflect)

R. Because, by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

Priest:

CONSIDER HOW, after Our Lord had died, He was taken

down from the cross by two of His disciples, Joseph and

Nicodemus, and placed in the arms of His afflicted Mother. She

received Him with unutterable tenderness and pressed Him

close to her bosom.

All Say:

MOTHER OF SORROWS, for the love of Your Son, accept me

as Your servant and pray to Him for me, And You, my

Redeemer, since you have died for me, allow me to love You,

for I desire only You and nothing more. I love You, Jesus my

Love, and I am sorry that I have offended You. Never let me

offend You again. Grant that I may love You always; and then

do with me as You will. Glory be…

Juxta Crucem tecum stare,

et me tibi sociáre

in planctu desídero.

By the cross with you to stay

There with you to weep and pray

Is all I ask of you to give.

THE FOURTEENTH STATION

JESUS IS PLACED IN THE SEPULCHER

V. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. (Genuflect)

R. Because, by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

Priest:

CONSIDER HOW the disciples carried the body of Jesus to its

burial, while His holy Mother went with them and

arranged it in the sepulcher with her own hands. They then

closed the tomb and all departed.

All Say:

OH, MY BURIED JESUS, I kiss the stone that closes You in. But

You gloriously did rise again on the third day. I beg You

by Your resurrection that I may be raised gloriously on the last

day, to be united with You in heaven, to praise You and love

You forever. I love You, Jesus, and I repent of ever having

offended You. Grant that I may love You always; and then do

with me as You will.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be …

Virgo vírginum præclára,

mihi iam non sis amára,

fac me tecum plángere.

Virgin of all virgins blest!

Listen to my fond request:

Let me share your grief divine.

After the stations say the “Our Father”, the “Hail Mary,” and the

“Glory be to the Father,” five times, in honour of the Passion of Jesus

Christ, and once for the intention of the Holy Father.

PRAYER TO JESUS CHRIST CRUCIFIED

MY GOOD AND DEAR JESUS, I kneel before You, asking You

most earnestly to engrave upon my heart a deep and

lively faith, hope, and charity, with true repentance for my

sins, and a firm resolve to make amends. As I reflect upon Your

five wounds, and dwell upon them with deep compassion and

grief, I recall, good Jesus, the words the Prophet David

spoke long ago concerning Yourself: “They pierced My hands

and My feet; they have numbered all My bones.''

The faithful who, after receiving Communion, recite this prayer before

a picture of Christ Crucified may gain a plenary indulgence on any

Friday in Lent and a partial indulgence on other days of the year, with

the addition of prayers for the Holy Father's intention.

Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, no. 22