To all the faithful who at least with a contrite heart shall perform the Way of the Cross erected according to the prescriptions of the Holy See, is granted;
Plenary indulgence each time they perform this exercise. Another plenary indulgence by those who communicate on the day they perform this exercise; they may communicate within a month, but after reciting ten times the Way of the Cross. Indulgence of 10 years for every station, if they cannot perform the whole exercise, hindered therein by a lawful reason.
O JESUS,my adorable Saviour, behold me here prostrate, imploring Thy mercy for myself, and for the souls of all the faithful departed. Vouchsafe to apply to me the infinite merits of Thy Passion on which I am now about to meditate. Grant that, while I trace this path of sighs and tears, my heart may be so touched with contrition and repentance that I may be ready to embrace with joy all the sufferings and humiliations of this life and pilgrimage.
Leaving the house of Caiphas, where He had been blasphemed, and the house of Herod where He had been mocked, Jesus is dragged before Pilate, His back torn from being whipped, His head crowned with thorns; and He, who on the last day will judge the living and the dead, is Himself condemned to a disgraceful death reserved only for the lowest criminal.
V. Adorámus te, Christe, et benedícimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemísti mundum.
Pater noster, Ave Maria, Gloria Patri.
V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be .
HYMN: STABAT MATER.
Stabat Mater dolorosa
Juxta crucem lacrymosa,
Dum pendebat Filius.
At the Cross, her station keeping,
Stood the mournful mother, weeping,
When her son was crucified.
A Stanza of this hymn is repeated after each meditation ,verse and response of the XIV Stations.
A heavy cross is laid upon the bruised shoulders of Jesus. He receives it with meekness, nay, with a secret joy, for it is the instrument with which He is to redeem the world.
V. Adorámus te, Christe, et benedícimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemísti mundum.
Pater noster, Ave Maria, Gloria Patri.
V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be .
Cujus animam gememtem,
Contristatam et dolentem,
Pertransivit gladius.
Through her heart, His sorrow sharing,
All His bitter anguish bearing,
Now at length the sword has passed.
Labouring under the weight of the cross, Jesus slowly sets forth on the way to Calvary, amidst the mockeries and insults of the crowd. His agony in the garden has exausted His body; He is sore with blows and wounds; His strength fails Him; He falls to the ground under the cross.
V. Adorámus te, Christe, et benedícimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemísti mundum.
Pater noster, Ave Maria, Gloria Patri.
V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.
O quam tristis et afflicta
Fuit illa benedicta
Mater Unigeniti!
Oh, what sad and sore distressed
Was that Mother highly blessed
Of the sole begotten One!
Still burdened with the cross and wounded yet more by His fall, Jesus proceeds on His way. He is met by His mother. What a meeting it must have been! Oh, what a sword of anguish must have pierced that mother's heart!
V. Adorámus te, Christe, et benedícimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemísti mundum.
Pater noster, Ave Maria, Gloria Patri.
V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.
Quae moerebat et dolebat,
Pia Mater dum videbat
Nati poenas inclyti.
Christ above in torment hangs,
She beneath beholds the pangs
Of her dying, glorious Son.
As Jesus proceeds on the way, covered with the sweat of death, a woman-Veronica, moved with compassion, makes her way through the crowd, and wipes His face with a handkerchief. As a reward of her piety the impression of His sacred countenance is miraculously imprinted upon the cloth.
V. Adorámus te, Christe, et benedícimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemísti mundum.
Pater noster, Ave Maria, Gloria Patri.
V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.
Quis non posset contristari,
Christi Matrem contemplari
Dolentem cum Filio?
Can the human heart refrain
From partaking in her pain,
In that mother’s pain unto’d?
The pain of His wounds and the loss of His blood increasing at every step of His way, again His strength fails Him, and Jesus falls to the ground a second time.
V. Adorámus te, Christe, et benedícimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemísti mundum.
Pater noster, Ave Maria, Gloria Patri.
V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.
Pro peccatis suae gentis
Vidit Jesum in tormentis,
Et flagellis subditum.
Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled,
She beheld her tender Child,
All with bloody scourges rent.
At the sight of the sufferings of Jesus, some holy women in the crowd are so touched with sympathy that they openly bewail and lament Him. Jesus turns to them and says: “Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, but for yourselves and for your children.” (Lk. 23:28).
V. Adorámus te, Christe, et benedícimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemísti mundum.
Pater noster, Ave Maria, Gloria Patri.
V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.
Vidit suum dulcem Natum
Moriendo desolatum,
Dum emisit spiritum.
For the sins of His own nation
Saw Him hang in desolation
Till His spirit forth He sent.
Jesus has now arrived almost at the summit of Calvary; but before He reaches the spot where He is to be crucified, His strength again fails Him and He falls for the third time, to be again dragged up
and goaded onward by the brutal soldiery.
V. Adorámus te, Christe, et benedícimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemísti mundum.
Pater noster, Ave Maria, Gloria Patri.
V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.
Eia Mater, fons amoris,
Me sentire vim doloris
Fac, ut tecum lugeam.
Oh, sweet Mother! Fount of love,
Touch my spirit from above,
Make my heart with thine accord.
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.
V. Adorámus te, Christe, et benedícimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemísti mundum.
Pater noster, Ave Maria, Gloria Patri.
V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.
Fac ut ardeat cor meum
In amando Christum Deum,
Ut sibi complaceam.
Make me feel as thou hast felt;
Make my soul to glow and melt
With the love of Christ, my Lord.
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 to the disgraceful wood. The blows are struck and the blood gushes forth.
V. Adorámus te, Christe, et benedícimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemísti mundum.
Pater noster, Ave Maria, Gloria Patri.
V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.
Sancta Mater, istud agas,
Crucifixi fige plagas
Cordi meo valide.
Holy Mother, pierce me through,
In my heart each wound renew
Of my Saviour crucified.
For three hours Jesus hangs upon His transfixed hands; His blood runs in streams down His body, and bedews the ground; and in the midst of excruciating sufferings, He has pardoned His murderers, promised the bliss of paradise to Dismas the penitent thief and committed His blessed mother and beloved disciple to each other's care (Mother, behold thy son. Son, behold thy Mother). All is now consumated; and meekly bowing His head, He gives up his spirit.
V. Adorámus te, Christe, et benedícimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemísti mundum.
Pater noster, Ave Maria, Gloria Patri.
V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.
Tui Nati vulnerati,
Tam dignati pro me pati,
Poenas mecum divide.
Let me share with thee His pain,
Who for all our sins was slain,
Who for me in torments died.
The multitude have left the heights of Calvary, and none remain save the beloved disciple and the holy women, who, at the foot of the cross, are striving to stem the grief of Christ's inconsolable mother. Later Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus take the body of her divine Son from the cross, and deposit it in her arms.
V. Adorámus te, Christe, et benedícimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemísti mundum.
Pater noster, Ave Maria, Gloria Patri.
V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.
Fac me tecum pie flere,
Crucifixo condolere,
Donec ego vixero.
Let me mingle tears with thee
Mourning Him Who mourned for me.
All the days that I may live.
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