The Way of the Cross - Station 10

Priest: The tenth station - Jesus is stripped of His garments

Genuflect

Priest: We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee.

People: Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Stand

Priest: Consider the violence with which the executioners stripped Jesus. His inner garments adhered to His torn flesh, and they dragged them off so roughly that the skin came with them. Compassionate your Savior thus cruelly treated, and say to Him:

Kneel

People: My innocent Jesus, by the merits of the torments Thou hast felt, help me to strip myself of all affection to things of earth, in order that I may place all my love in Thee, Who art so worthy of my love. I love Thee, O Jesus, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt.

Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . .

Priest: Lord, Jesus crucified!

People: Have mercy on us!

Stand

Holy Mother, pierce me through;

In my heart each wound renew

Of my Savior crucified.

or

Sancta Mater, istud agas,

Crucifixi fige plages
Corde meo valide.

The cross bearer and acolytes proceed to the eleventh station.

The Way of the Cross - Station 9

Priest: The ninth station - Jesus falls the third time.

Genuflect

Priest: We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee.
People: Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Stand

Priest: Conside the third fall of Jesus. His weakness was extreme, and the cruelty of His executioners excessive, who tried to hasten His steps when he had scarcely strength to move.

Kneel

People: Oh, my outraged Jesus, by the merits of the weakness Thou didst suffer in going to Calvary, give me strength sufficient to conquer all human respect, and all my wicked passions, which have led me to despise Thy friendship. I love Thee, Jesus my Love, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt.

Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . .

Priest: Lord, Jesus crucified!
People: Have mercy on us!

Stand

Make me feel as thou hast felt;

Make my soul to glow and melt,

With the love of Christ my Lord.

or

Fac, ut ardeat cor meum

In amando Christum Deum

Ut sibi complaceam.

The cross bearer and acolytes proceed to the tenth station.

The Way of the Cross - Station 8

Priest: The eighth station - Jesus speaks to the Daughters of Jerusalem

Genuflect

Priest: We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee.

People: Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Stand

Priest: Consider how these women wept with compassion at seeing Jesus in such a pitiful state, streaming with Blood as He walked along. But Jesus said to them: "Weep not for Me, but for your children."

Kneel

People: My Jesus, laden with sorrows, I weep for the offenses I have committed against Thee, because of the pains they have deserved, and still more because of the displeasure they have caused Thee, Who hast loved me so much. It is Thy love, more than the fear of hell, which causes me to weep for my sins. My Jesus, I love Thee more than myself; I repent of having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt.

Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . .

Priest: Lord, Jesus crucified!

People: Have mercy on us!

Stand

O thou Mother: fount of love!

Touch my spirit from above,

Make my heart with thine accord;

or

Eia Mater, fons amoris,

Me sentire vim doloris

Fac, ut tecum lugeam.

The cross bearer and acolytes proceed to the ninth station.

The Way of the Cross - Station 7

Priest: The seventh station - Jesus falls the second time

Genuflect

Priest: We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee.

People: Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Stand

Priest: Consider the second fall of Jesus under the Cross -- a fall which renews the pain of all the wounds of the Head and members of our afflicted Lord.

Kneel

People: My most gentle Jesus, how many times hast Thou pardoned me, and how many times have I fallen again, and begun again to offend Thee! Oh, by the merits of this new fall, give me the necessary helps to persevere in Thy grace until death. Grant that in all temptations which assail me, I may always commend myself to Thee. I love Thee, Jesus, my love, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt.

Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . .

Priest: Lord, Jesus crucified!
People: Have mercy on us!

Stand

For the sins of His own nation,

Saw Him hang in desolation

Till His spirit forth He sent.

or

Vidit suum dulcem Natum

Moriendo desolatum,

Dum emisit spiritum.

The cross bearer and acolytes proceed to the eighth station.

The Way of the Cross - Station 6

Priest: The sixth station - Veronica wipes the face of Jesus

Genuflect

Priest: We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee.

People: Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Stand

Priest: Consider how the holy woman named Veronica, seeing Jesus so afflicted, and His face bathed in sweat and blood, presented Him with a towel, with which He wiped His adorable Face, leaving on it the impression of His holy Countenance.

Kneel

People: My most beloved Jesus, Thy Face was beautiful before, but in this journey it has lost all its beauty, and wounds and blood have disfigured it. Alas, my soul also was once beautiful, when it received Thy grace in Baptism; but I have disfigured it since by my sins; Thou alone, my Redeemer, canst restore it to its former beauty. Do this by Thy Passion, and then do with me what Thou wilt.

Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . .

Priest: Lord, Jesus crucified!
People: Have mercy on us!

Stand

Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled;

She beheld her tender Child,

All with bloody scourges rent:

or

Pro peccatis suae gentis

Vidit Jesus in tormentis,

Et flagelis subditum.

The cross bearer and acolytes proceed to the seventh station.

The Way of the Cross - Station 5

Priest: The fifth station - Simon the Cyrenean helps Jesus carry His Cross

Genuflect

Priest: We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee.

People: Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Stand

Priest: Consider how the Roman soldiers, seeing that at each step Jesus was on the point of expiring, and thinking He might die on the way, when they had been ordered that He die the ignominious death of the Cross, constrained Simon the Cyrenean to carry the Cross behind our Lord.

Kneel

People: My most sweet Jesus, I will not refuse the Cross, as the Cyrenean did; I accept it, I embrace it. I accept in particular the death Thou hast destined for me, with all the pains that may accompany it; I unite it to Thy death, I offer it to Thee. Thou hast died for love of me; I will die for love of Thee, and to please Thee. Help me by Thy grace. I love Thee, Jesus my Love; I repent of having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee; and then do with me what Thou wilt.

Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . .

Priest: Lord, Jesus crucified!

People: Have mercy on us!

Stand

Can the human heart refrain

From partaking in that pain,

In that Mother's pain untold?

or

Quis non posset contristari

Christi Matrem contemplari

Dolentem cum Filio?

The cross bearer and acolytes proceed to the sixth station.

The Way of the Cross - Station 4

Priest: The fourth station - Jesus meets His afflicted Mother

Genuflect

Priest: We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee.

People: Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Stand

Priest: Consider the meeting of the Son and the Mother, which took place on this journey. Jesus and Mary looked at each other, and their looks became as so many arrows to wound those hearts which loved each other so tenderly.

Kneel

People: My most loving Jesus, by the sorrow Thou didst experience in this meeting, grant me the grace of a truly devoted love for Thy most holy Mother. And Thou my Queen, who wast overwhelmed with sorrow, obtain for me by Thine intercession a continual and tender remembrance of the Passion of Thy Son. I love Thee, Jesus my Love; I repent of ever having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee; and then do with me what Thou wilt.

Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . .

Priest: Lord, Jesus crucified!

People: Have mercy on us!

Stand

Is there one who would not weep,

Whelmed in miseries so deep,

Christ's dear Mother to behold?

or

Quis est homo qui non fleret

Matrem Christi si videret

In tanto supplicio?

The cross bearer and acolytes proceed to the fifth station.