Prayer. O JESUS! falling again under the burden of our sins, and of thy sufferings for our sins, how often have we grieved thee by our repeated falls into sin! Oh, may we rather die than ever offend thee again! Act of Contrition, &c., as before. V. Pro peccatis suæ gen- Vidit Jesum in tormen- Et flagellis subditum. R. Sancta Mater, &c. Bruis'd, derided, curs'd, She beheld her tender All with bloody scourges rent. Holy Mother, &c. EIGHTH STATION. THE WOMEN OF JERUSALEM MOURN FOR OUR LORD. V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee. R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world. Priest. At the sight of the sufferings of Jesus, some holy women in the crowd were so touched with sympathy, that they openly bewailed and lamented him. Jesus, knowing the things that were to come to pass upon Jerusalem because of their rejection of him, turned to them, and said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children." 66 Prayer. O LORD Jesus, we mourn, and will mourn, both for thee and for ourselves; for thy sufferings, and for our sins which caused them. Oh, teach us so to mourn, that we may be comforted, and escape those dreadful judgments prepared for all who reject or neglect thee in this life. Act of Contrition, &c., as before. V. Vidit suum dulcem For the sins of his own Natum Moriendo desolatum, Dum emisit spiritum. R. Sancta Mater, &c. nation She saw him hang in desolation, Till his spirit forth he sent, Holy Mother, &c. | NINTH STATION. JESUS FALLS THE THIRD TIME UNDER THE CROSS. V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee. R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world. Priest. Jesus had now arrived almost at the summit of Calvary; but before he reached the spot where he was to be crucified, his strength again fails him, and he falls the third time, to be again dragged up, and goaded onward by the brutal soldiery. Prayer. O LORD Jesus! we entreat thee, by the merits of this thy third most painful fall, to pardon our frequent relapses and our long continuance in sin; and may the thought of these thy sufferings make us to hate our sins more and more. Act of Contrition, &c., as before. V. Eia Mater fons amoris, Me sentire vim doloris Fac, ut tecum lugeam. R. Sancta Mater, &c. O thou Mother, fount of love! Touch my spirit from above, Make my heart with thine accord. Holy Mother, &c. TENTH STATION. JESUS IS STRIPPED OF HIS GARMENTS. V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee. R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world. Priest. Arrived at last at the place of sacrifice, they prepare to crucify him. His garments are torn from his bleeding body, and he, the Holy of Holies, stands exposed to the vulgar gaze of the rude and scoffing multitude. Prayer. O LORD Jesus, thou didst endure this shame for our most shameful deeds. Strip us, we be seech thee, of all false shame, conceit, and pride, and make us so to humble ourselves voluntarily in this life, that we may escape everlasting ignominy in the world to come. Act of Contrition, &c., as before. V. Fac ut ardeat cor Make me feel as thou hast ELEVENTH STATION. JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS. V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee. R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world. Priest. The cross is laid upon the ground, and Jesus is stretched upon his bed of death. At one and the same time, he offers his bruised limbs to his heavenly Father in behalf of sinful man, and to his fierce executioners to be nailed by them to the disgraceful wood. The blows are struck! the blood gushes forth! Prayer. O JESUS! nailed to the cross, fasten our hearts there also, that they may be united to thee until U death shall strike us with its fatal blow, and with our last breath we shall have yielded up our souls to thee. Act of Contrition, &c., as before. V. Sancta Mater, istud Holy Mother, pierce me through; [renew In my heart each wound TWELFTH STATION. JESUS DIES UPON THE CROSS. V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee. R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world. Priest. For three hours has Jesus hung upon his transfixed hands; his blood has run in streams down his body, and bedewed the ground; and, in the midst of excruciating sufferings, he has pardoned his murderers, promised the bliss of paradise to the good thief, and committed his blessed Mother and beloved disciple to each other's care. All is now consummated; and meekly bowing down his head, he gives up the ghost. Prayer. O JESUS! we devoutly embrace that honoured cross where thou didst love us even unto death. In that death we place all our confidence. Hence + |