We’ll be praying our way through Lent two Stations of the Cross at the time, using Stations of the Cross: In Light of the Work of the Society of St Vincent de Paul. These stations, inspired by the work of SVP, uniquely help us to walk not only with Jesus in His Passion and Cross, but also alongside our suffering brothers and sisters.
If you missed the previous two Stations, you can catch up here.
11th Station: Jesus is nailed to the cross
We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
Because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world.
This was extreme brutality. To hammer large, rough nails into the body of a human being is an act of barbarism. Every hammer blow is an assault on the person of Jesus, but also on humanity itself. Such cruelty causes intense suffering. It also injures the humanity of the person who is inflicting the suffering. Cruelty is not worthy of the human condition.
Frédéric Ozanam felt that in his time there were increasing tensions between the rich and the poor. He also recognised that among the members of the St Vincent de Paul conferences there was a real feeling of happiness. This pleased him, and it also encouraged him to believe that his brothers might be the very group who could do something about the lack of harmony between the rich and poor. The teaching of the Church, to which he faithfully adhered, was that all people had been created in the image and likeness of God.
I love you Jesus
my love above all things.
I repent with my whole heart for having offended you.
Never permit me
to separate myself from you again.
Grant that I may love you always
and then do with me what you will.
Holy Mother, pierce me through,
in my heart each wound renew
of my Saviour crucified.
12th Station: Jesus dies on the cross
We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
Because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world.
Under the cross stood his mother, Mary, some other women, and St John. This was suffering with the suffering Jesus. It was sharing his pain and his anguish.
For St Teresa of Calcutta the words of Jesus on the cross, ‘I thirst’, are also the cry of the poor. It is the cry of all who are thirsting for water, but also for food, and for life itself. It is the cry of those who want to be treated with the dignity that belongs to every human person.
I love you Jesus
my love above all things.
I repent with my whole heart
for having offended you.
Never permit me
to separate myself from you again.
Grant that I may love you always
and then do with me what you will.
Holy Mother, pierce me through,
in my heart each wound renew
of my Saviour crucified.
13th Station: The body of Jesus is taken down from the cross
We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
Because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world.
Mary holds the body of the dead Jesus. When the Angel Gabriel had asked her to be the mother of the Saviour she had trusted that God’s will would be done. Even now, at this moment of sheer desolation, she trusted that God’s will would be done. She did not know how.
If Christians are going to be people who will work for the proclamation of the Gospel we need to be people of prayer. Brother Roger of Taizé writes that often young people will tell him that they do not know how to pray. His reply is that even the desire for prayer can be the start of prayer itself. It can be the beginning of a life with God which grows into our being aware of coming very close to him.10 Sometimes this will mean that the person has a sense of God’s presence, even if they are not sure how to talk about it. But it is also important to remember that God is with us whether we feel his presence or not.
I love you Jesus
my love above all things.
I repent with my whole heart for having offended you.
Never permit me
to separate myself from you again.
Grant that I may love you always
and then do with me what you will.
Holy Mother, pierce me through,
in my heart each wound renew
of my Saviour crucified.
14th Station: The body of Jesus is buried in the tomb
We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
Because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world.
The body of the dead Jesus was placed in the tomb. The stone closed the entrance. It seemed so final. But death does not have the last word. Death could not hold the Lord of Life.
Frédéric Ozanam knew that what mattered for Christians was the twofold apostolate of faith and charity: the two great commandments of Jesus to love God and our neighbour. Ozanam called upon all people to re-learn the maxims of the Gospel and to practise them in justice and charity that would permeate their lives and the social institutions around them. In his lecture hall, at his desk and in the slums, he spread the truth, followed in the footsteps of Christ, and urged his companions to give themselves generously to God and their neighbour.
I love you Jesus
my love above all things.
I repent with my whole heart
for having offended you.
Never permit me
to separate myself from you again.
Grant that I may love you always
and then do with me what you will.
Holy Mother, pierce me through,
in my heart each wound renew
of my Saviour crucified.
These Stations are extracted from our book Stations of the Cross: In Light of the Work of the Society of St Vincent de Paul. Walk alongside Jesus in his passion and Cross and be prepared to walk with compassion alongside our suffering brothers and sisters, with these meditations on the Way of the Cross in light of the work of the Society of St Vincent de Paul.
Pray these Stations at church, alone or with your parish, by ordering your copy of Stations of the Cross: In Light of the Work of the Society of St Vincent de Paul.