The Catholic Prayer Book and Manual of Meditations/The Way of the Cross
The Way of the Cross
A PRAYER TO DIRECT THE INTENTION.
LORD Jesus Christ, Saviour of my soul, I present myself before thee to follow the way of thy Cross and to retrace in spirit that sacred path which was watered with thy adorable blood, during thy painful journey to Mount Calvary. I offer to thee this pious exercise, with the view of gaining the indulgences which the Sovereign Pontiffs have attached to it; and I purpose to pray for all the intentions which they had in view in dispensing so rich a treasure. Grant me, O Lord, the dispositions necessary for obtaining these indulgences, as well for myself as for the souls in purgatory, and in particular for those for whom I design to pray. May I, by this holy exercise, merit thy mercy in this world, so as to secure with those suffering souls, a place in thy eternal kingdom in the life to come. Amen.
And thou, O blessed Mother of God, assist me by thy powerful intercession. Present this my feeble homage to thy divine Son, in reparation of the many injuries he daily receives from bad Christians, and from many impious men, who deny Him that redeemed them. Let me participate in that ineffable sorrow which pierced thy most tender soul during the several stages of his passion: that I may reap an abundant fruit from this holy exercise, for the advantage and the benefit of all those for whom I pray. Amen.
While moving towards each Station, a verse of the "Stabat Mater" may be sung.
Stabat mater dolorósa
juxta Crucem lacrimósa,
dum pendébat Fílius.
FIRST STATION.
Jesus is sentenced to death by Pilate.
V. We adore thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and bless thy holy name:
R. Because, by thy holy cross, thou hast redeemed the world.
THE MYSTERY.
OUR gracious Redeemer, after suffering most injurious treatment before Annas and Caiphas, a cruel scourging, and a crown of piercing thorns, is condemned to death. This iniquitous sentence your Jesus accepts with admirable humility. Innocence submits to punishment in order to free the guilty. Reflect that your sins caused his condemnation, and your stubborn impenitence extorted the bloody sentence from Pilate. Purpose now seriously to amend your life; and while you reflect on the horrid injustice of Pilate, who condemns innocence lest he should not appear a friend of Caesar, with deep conviction of your own guilt, condemn yourself for your many sins of human respect; think how often you have offended God from the fear of displeasing the world; and, turning to your Saviour, address him rather with tears of the heart than expressions of the tongue, in the following prayer:
PRAYER.
O MANGLED victim of my sins, suffering Jesus, I have deserved those bloody stripes, that cruel sentence of death; and yet thou art put to death for me, that I should live for thee ! I am convinced that if I desire to please the world, I cannot be thy servant; let me then displease the world and its vain admirers. I resign myself into thy hands. Let the love of thee take possession of my heart. Let my eyes behold with contempt everything that could alienate my affections from thee. Let my ear be still attentive to thy word. Let me accompany thee through thy painful journey, sighing and imploring mercy.
Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc.
V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us.
R. Have mercy on us: O Lord, have mercy on us.
V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
R. Amen.
Cuius ánimam geméntem,
contristátam et doléntem
pertransívit gládius.
SECOND STATION.
Jesus receives the Cross on his shoulders.
V. We adore thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and bless thy holy name.
R. Because, by thy holy cross, thou hast redeemed the world.
THE MYSTERY.
THIS station represents your amiable Redeemer clad in his usual attire, after his inhuman executioners have stripped him of the purple garment with which he had been clothed, when in mockery and derision they crowned him with platted thorns. The heavy burden of the cross .is violently placed on his mangled shoulders. Behold your Saviour, covered with wounds, disfigured with gore, a man of sorrow abandoned by all. With what wonderful patience he bears the taunts and insults of the Jews! Reflect with confusion on that proud sensibility of yours, which takes fire at the very shadow of contempt; on your discontent and murmurs at the slightest afflictions; your obstinate resistance to the will of Heaven, in the crosses of this life; although these are calculated to lead you, not to Calvary, but to the joys of eternal glory. From your heart unite in the following
PRAYER.
MEEK humble Jesus ! my iniquity and perverseness loaded thy shoulders with the heavy burden of the cross. Yet, shameful ingratitude of mine ! a vile worm of the earth, I dislike even the appearance of mortification, and shrink from everything that would check the violence of my passions; and if I suffer, it is with murmuring and reluctance. I now, O Saviour of the world, detest my past life, and by thy grace am determined no more to offend thee mortally. Let me only glory in the cross of my Lord, by which the world is crucified to me, and I to the world. Lay then on me the cross of true penance. Let me, for the love of thee, bear the adversities of this life, and cleave to thee inseparably in the bonds of charity. Amen.
Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc.
V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us.
R. Have mercy on us: O Lord have mercy on us.
V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
R. Amen.
O quam tristis et afflícta
fuit illa benedícta,
mater Unigéniti!
THIRD STATION.
Jesus falls under the Cross for the first time.
V. We adore thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and bless thy holy name:
R. Because, by thy holy cross, thou hast redeemed the world.
THE MYSTERY.
THIS station represents our Lord Jesus Christ over-powered by the weight of the cross, fainting through loss of blood, and falling to the ground. Contemplate the unwearied patience of that meek Lamb, under the violence and insults of his brutal executioners; while you, impatient in adversity and infirmity, presume to complain, nay, to insult the majesty of heaven by your blasphemies. Purpose here to suppress the sallies of an ill temper; and, beholding your amiable Jesus prostrate under the cross, excite in yourself a just hatred for sin, the cause of that insupportable weight under which your Saviour sank; and thus address your afflicted Jesus:
PRAYER.
ALAS! my Jesus, the violence of thy heartless executioners, the weight of the cross, or rather the more oppressive load of my sins, bend thee to the earth. Exhausted, panting for breath, thou dost not refuse new tortures for my sake; shall I then refuse the light burden of thy commandments ? Shall I refuse to do violence to my passions and sinful inclinations? Shall I relapse into the very crimes I have often wept over? O Jesus, stretch out thy hand to my assistance, that I may never more fall into mortal sin, but secure my salvation. Amen. Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc.
V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us.
R. Have mercy on us: O Lord have mercy on us.
V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
R. Amen.
Quae mœrébat et dolébat,
pia Mater, dum vidébat
nati pœnas ínclyti.
FOURTH STATION
Jesus carrying the Cross , meets with his most afflicted Mother.
V. We adore thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and bless thy holy name:
R. Because, by thy holy cross, thou hast redeemed the world.
THE MYSTERY.
This station presents to our contemplation the meeting of the desolate mother and her bleeding Jesus, sinking under the weight of the cross. Consider what pangs rent her soul, when she beheld him covered with blood, dragged violently to the place of execution, reviled and blasphemed by an ungrateful, outrageous rabble. Meditate on her inward feelings — the looks of silent agony exchanged between the Mother and her Son: her anguish in not being permitted to approach and embrace him. Be filled with confusion, that neither the Son’s pain, nor the Mother’s grief, have softened the hardness of your heart. Approach now, with contrition, and join in
the following PRAYER.
O MARY, I am the cause of thy sufferings: O refuge of sinners, let me share in those bitter pangs which rent thy tender soul when thou didst behold thy Son, covered with wounds and fainting under the cross. Mother of sorrows, let me feel the force of thy grief, that, together with thee, I may mingle my tears with the blood of thy Son. O suffering Jesus ! by thy bitter passion, and the deep anguish of thy afflicted Mother, grant me the grace of perseverance. Mother of Jesus, intercede for me ! Jesus, look down on me with an eye of pity; and, in the hour of my death, receive me into thy arms.
Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc.
V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us.
R. Have mercy on us; O Lord, have mercy on us.
V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
R. Amen.
Quis est homo qui non fleret,
matrem Christi si vidéret
in tanto supplício?
FIFTH STATION.
Jesus assisted by Simon the Cyrenean in carrying the Cross.
V. We adore thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and bless thy holy name:
R. Because, by thy holy cross, thou hast redeemed the world.
THE MYSTERY.
THIS station represents Christ fainting, unable to carry the cross. His sacrilegious executioners compel Simon the Cyrenean to carry it, not through compassion for Jesus, but lest he should expire before they could satiate their vengeance, by nailing him to the cross. Consider here the repugnance of Simon to carry the cross after Christ; and remember that you also reluctantly submit to the cross which Providence has placed on your shoulders. Will you continue to spurn the advice of your Jesus, who invites you to take up your cross and follow him ? Will you yet, with shameless ingratitude, refuse the cross sanctified by his sufferings ? Offer up devoutly the following
PRAYER.
O SUFFERING Jesus ! to what an excess did thy impious executioners carry their cruelty. Seeing thee faint under the cross, and apprehending thy death before they could accomplish their bloody designs, they compelled Simon to aid in bearing thy cross, that on it thou mightest expire in tortures. But why should I complain of the cruelty of the Jews, or the repugnance of Simon? Have I not again crucified him by my crimes? Have I not suffered with fretful impatience the light affliction with which thy mercy visited me? Teach me, now, my Jesus, to detest* and deplore my past impatience, and let me, with a willing heart, accompany thee to Mount Calvary; let me live in thee and die in thee. Amen.
Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc.
V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us.
R. Have mercy on us; O Lord, have mercy on us.
V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
R. Amen.
Quis non posset contristári
Christi Matrem contemplári
doléntem cum Fílio? SIXTH STATION.
Veronica presents a Towel to Christ.
V. We adore thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and bless thy holy name:
R. Because by thy holy cross thou hast redeemed the world.
THE MYSTERY.
THIS station represents the moment when the pious Veronica, moved with compassion on beholding the sacred face of our Redeemer, livid with blows and covered with blood and sweat, presents a towel with which Jesus wipes his face. Consider the heroic piety of this devout woman, who is not intimidated by the presence of the executioners, or the clamors of the Jews; and the benign acknowledgment of Jesus, who leaves the Impression of his countenance on the towel. Reflect here, that although you cannot discharge the kind offices of humanity to your Saviour, you have it in your power to discharge them towards his suffering members, the poor. You cannot wipe away the blood and sweat from the face of Jesus; but you can dry up the tears of wretchedness and misery. Examine what returns you have made for the favours your bountiful Jesus has bestowed on you; and, conscious of your ingratitude, address him in the following
PRAYER.
O JESUS, give me tears to weep for my ingratitude How often have I turned my eyes from thee and thy sufferings, to fix them on the world and its vanities! Let me henceforth be entirely thine. Stamp thy image on my soul, that it may never admit any love incompatible with that which I owe thee. Take possession of my heart on earth, that my soul may possess thee eternally in glory. Amen.
Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc.
V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us.
R. Have mercy on us: O Lord, have mercy on us.
V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
R . Amen.
Pro peccátis suæ gentis
vidit Jésum in torméntis,
et flagéllis súbditum.
SEVENTH STATION.
Jesus falls under the Cross a second time.
V. We adore thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and bless thy holy name:
R. Because by thy holy cross thou hast redeemed the world.
THE MYSTERY.
THIS station represents our Saviour at the gates of Jerusalem, falling to the ground, through pain and weakness. He is compelled by blows and blasphemies to rise. Consider your Jesus prostrate 6n the earth, bruised by his fall, and ignominiously treated by an ungrateful rabble. Reflect that your self-love and desire of preference were the cause of your Saviour’s humiliation. Implore, then, grace to detest your proud and haughty disposition. It was your repeated sins that pressed him to the ground: will you then sin again, and add to the affliction of your
gracious Saviour? PRAYER.
O MOST holy Redeemer, treated with extreme contempt, and led out to punishment, through the excess of torments and weakness of thy mangled body, thou fallest a second time to the earth. What impious hand has prostrated thee ? Alas ! my Jesus, I am that impious, that sacrilegious offender! My ambitious pride, my haughty indignation, my contempt of others, humbled thee to the earth. Banish for ever from my mind the spirit of pride; teach me humility; that detesting all vanities, 1 may be ever united with thee, my meek and humble Jesus. Amen.
Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc.
V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us.
R. Have mercy on us: O Lord, have mercy on us.
V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
R. Amen.
Vidit suum dulcem Natum
moriéndo desolátum,
dum emísit spíritum.
EIGHTH STATION.
Jesus consoles the Women of Jerusalem , who wept over him.
V. We adore thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and bless
thy holy name.
R. Because by thy holy cross, thou hast redeemed the world.
THE MYSTERY.
THIS station represents the place where several devout women, meeting Jesus, and beholding him wounded and bathed in his own blood, shed tears of compassion over him. Consider the excessive love of Jesus, who, though languishing through the multitude of his torments, is nevertheless attentive to console the women who wept over him. They heard that merciful consolation from the*mouth of Jesus: “ Weep not over me, but over yourselves and your children; weep for your sins, the sources of my afflictions.” Yes, my soul! I will obey my suffering Lord, and pour out tears of compunction. Nothing is more eloquent than the voice of the tears which flow from the horror of our sins. Let us address him in the following
PRAYER.
O JESUS ! only begotten Son of the Father ! who will give water to my head, and a fountain of tears to my eyes, that I may day and night weep and lament my sins, I humbly beseech thee, by those tears of blood thou didst shed for me, to soften my flinty bosom, that tears may plentifully flow from my eyes, and contrition rend my hardened heart. Cancel my crimes, and render me secure in the day of wrath and examination, when thou wilt come to judge the living and the dead, and to demand a rigorous account of thy blood. Amen.
Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc.
V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on ns.
R. Have mercy onus; O Lord, have mercy on us.
V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
R . Amen.
Eja, Mater, fons amóris
me sentíre vim dolóris
fac, ut tecum lúgeam.
NINTH STATION.
Jesus falls under the Cross a third time.
V. We adore thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and bless thy holy name.
R. Because by thy holy cross thou hast redeemed the world.
THE MYSTERY.
THIS station represents the foot of Mount Calvary where Jesus Christ, quite destitute of strength, falls a third time to the ground. The anguish of his wounds is renewed. Consider here the many injuries and blasphemous derisions thrown out against Christ to compel him to rise and hasten to the place of execution, that his inveterate enemies might enjoy the bloody satisfaction of beholding him expire on the cross. Consider that by your sins you daily hurry him to the place of execution. Approach then, in thought to the foot of Mount Calvary, and cry out, accursed weight of sin that prostrated my Saviour, and had long since buried me in the flames of hell, if his mercy and the merits of his passion had not preserved me !
PRAYER.
O AMIABLE Jesus, I return thee endless thanks for not permitting me, an ungrateful sinner, as thou hast permitted thousands, less criminal, to die in my sins. I have added torments to thy torments, by heaping sin on Bin. Kindle in my soul the fire of charity; maintain it with thy continual grace until, delivered from this body of death, I can enjoy the liberty of the children of God, and of thy coheirs. Amen. Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc.
V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us.
R. Have mercy on us: O Lord, have mercy on us.
V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
R. Amen.
Fac me tecum pie flere,
crucifíxo condolére,
donec ego víxero.
TENTH STATION.
Jesus is stripped of his Garments and offered Vinegar and Gall.
V. We adore thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and bless thy holy name.
R. Because by thy holy cross thou hast redeemed the world.
THE MYSTERY.
THIS station represents how our Lord Jesus Christ ascended Mount Calvary, and was stripped of his garments by his inhuman executioners, the skin and congealed blood tom off with them, and his wounds renewed. Consider the confusion of the modest Lamb, exposed to the contempt and derision of an insulting rabble. They present him with vinegar and gall. Condemn here that delicacy of taste, that sensual indulgence with which you have flattered your sinful body. Pray here for the spirit of mortification. Think how happy you would die, if, stripped of the world and its attachments, you could expire covered with the blood and partaking in the confusion of your
Redeemer. PRAYER.
O SUFFERING Jesus ! I behold thee stripped of thy garments, thy old wounds renewed, and new ones added to the old. I behold thee in the presence of thousands, exposed to the inclemency of the weather, cold, trembling from head to foot, insulted by the blasphemous derisions of the spectators. Strip, thou mangled Lamb of God, my heart of the world and its deceitful affections. Divest my soul of its habits and sensual indulgence. Imbitter the poisoned cup of pleasure, that I may dash it with contempt from my lips, and through Christian mortification arrive at thy never-fading glory. Amen.
Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc.
V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us.
R. Have mercy on us: O Lord, have mercy on us.
V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
R. Amen.
Sancta Mater, istud agas,
crucifíxi fige plagas
cordi meo válide.
ELEVENTH STATION.
Jesus is nailed to the Cross.
V. We adore thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and bless thy holy name.
R. Because by thy holy cross thou hast redeemed the world.
THE MYSTERY.
THIS station represents the place where Jesus Christ, in the presence of his afflicted mother, is stretched on the cross and nailed to it. How insufferable the torture, the nerves and sinews being rent by the nails! Consider the exceeding desolation, the anguish of the tender Mother, eye-witness to this inhuman punishment of her beloved Jesus. Generously resolve, then, to crucify your criminal desires, and nail your sins to the wood of the cross. Contemplate the suffering resignation of the Son of God to the will of his Father, while you are impatient in trifling afflictions, in trivial disappointments. Purpose henceforth to embrace your cross with ready resignation to the will of God, and address Him in the following
PRAYER.
PATIENT Jesus ! meek Lamb of God, who didst declare, “ when I shall be exalted from the earth, I will draw all things to myself ,” attract my heart to thee, and nail it to the cross. I now renounce and detest my past impatience. Let me crucify my flesh with all its concupiscences and vices; here burn, here cut, but spare me for eternity. I throw myself into the arms of thy mercy. Thy will be done in all things. Grant me resignation, grant me thy love; I desire no more. Amen.
Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc.
V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us.
R. Have mercy on us: O Lord, hare mercy on us.
V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
R. Amen.
Tui Nati vulneráti,
tam dignáti pro me pati,
pœnas mecum dívide.
TWELFTH STATION.
Jesus is exalted on the Cross and dies.
V. We adore thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and bless thy holy name.
R. Because by thy holy cross thou hast redeemed the world.
THE MYSTERY.
THIS station represents the place where Jesus Christ was publicly exalted on the cross, between two thieves, who were executed with the innocent Lamb. Consider here the confusion of your Saviour, exposed to the profane view of a blasphemous multitude. Imagine yourself at the foot of the cross. Behold that sacred body, streaming blood from every part. Contemplate the divine countenance, pale and languid, the heart throbbing in the last pangs of agony; the soul on the point of separation. Charity triumphs over his agony; his last prayer asks forgiveness for his inveterate enemies. “ Father, forgive them; they know not what they do.” His clemency is equally extended to the penitent thief: “ This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise.” He recommends in his last moments his disconsolate mother to his beloved St. John; he recommends his soul to his heavenly Father; and bowing down his head, resigns his spirit. Turn your eyes on this bloody portrait of charity. Number his wounds, wash them with tears of sympathizing love. Behold the arms extended to embrace you. Loving Jesus! thou didst die to deliver us from eternal captivity.
PRAYER.
O SUFFERING Son of God! I now behold thee in the last convulsive pangs of death; thy veins opened, thy sinews torn, thy hands and feet distilling blood. I acknowledge, most loving Jesus! that my reiterated offences have been thy merciless executioners, the cause of thy bitter sufferings and death. Yet, Godof mercy! look on my sinful soul bathed in the precious blood. Let me die to the vanity of the world, and renounce its false pleasures. Thou didst pray, my Jesus! for thy enemies; I forgive mine; I embrace them in imitation of thy charity: I bury my resentment in thy wounds. Shelter me, in the day of wrath, in the sanctuary of thy side. Let me live, let me die united to thee, my crucified Redeemer. Amen.
Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc.
V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us.
R. Have mercy on us: O Lord, have mercy on us.
V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
R. Amen.
Fac me tecum pie flere,
crucifíxo condolére,
donec ego víxero.
THIRTEENTH STATION.
Jesus is taken down from the Cross.
V. We adore thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and bless thy holy name.
R. Because by thy holy cross thou hast redeemed the world.
THE MYSTERY.
THIS station represents the moment when Christ's most sacred body is taken down from the cross by Joseph and Nicodemus, and laid in the bosom of his weeping mother. Consider the sighs and tears of the Virgin Mother; with what pangs she embraced the bleeding remains of her beloved Son. Here unite your tears with those of this disconsolate mother. Reflect that your Saviour would not descend from the cross, until he consummated the work of redemption. Hence learn constancy in your pious resolutions; cleave to the standard of the cross. Consider with what purity that soul should be adorned, which receives, in the blessed sacrament of the Eucharist, Christ’s most sacred body and blood.
PRAYER.
AT length, O blessed Virgin, Mother of sorrows, you are permitted to embrace your beloved Son. But alas! the fruit of your immaculate womb is mangled. From the crown of his head to the sole of his foot, there is no soundness in him. Yes, the infernal fury of the Jews has at length triumphed; yet we renew their barbarity, crucify him by our sins, inflicting new wounds. Most afflicted Mother of my Redeemer, I conjure you, by the pains and torments you suffered in the common cause of salvation, to obtain for me, by your powerful intercession, the pardon of my sins, and grace to deplore, with a sympathizing feeling, your and your Son’s sufferings. As often as I appear at the holy sacrifice of the Mass, let me embrace thee, O my Jesus, in the interior of my heart. May I worthily receive thee as the sacred pledge of my salvation. Amen.
Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc.
V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us.
R. Have mercy on us: O Lord, have mercy on us. V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
R. Amen.
Juxta Crucem tecum stare,
et me tibi sociáre
in planctu desídero.
FOURTEENTH STATION.
Jesus is laid in the Holy Sepulchre.
V. We adore thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and bless thy holy name.
R. Because, by thy holy cross, thou hast redeemed the world.
THE MYSTERY.
This station represents Christ’s sepulchre, where his blessed body was laid with piety and devotion. Consider the feelings of the Virgin; tears streaming from her eyes, her bosom heaving sighs. What melancholy, what wishful looks she cast on that monument, where the treasure of her soul, her Jesus, her all, lay entombed. Here lament your want of contrition for your sins, and humbly adore your deceased Lord, who, poor even in death, is buried in another’s tomb. Blush at your dependence on the world, and the eager solicitude with which you labour to grasp its perishable advantages. Despise henceforth the world, lest you perish with it.
PRAYER.
MOST loving Jesus! for my salvation thou didst perform the painful journey of the cross, I adore thee reposing in the holy sepulchre. Let me press the footsteps marked by thee, gracious Redeemer: the paths which, through the thorns of life, conduct to the heavenly Jerusalem. Would that thou wert entombed in my heart, that, being united to thee, I might rise to a new life of grace, and persevere to the, end. Grant me, in my last moments, to receive thy precious body as the pledge of immortal life. Let my last words be Jesus and Mary, my last breath be united with thy last breath on the cross; that with a lively faith, firm hope, and ardent love, I may reign with thee for ever and ever.
Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc. .
V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us.
R. Have mercy on us: O Lord, have mercy on us.
V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
R. Amen.
Virgo vírginum præclára,
mihi iam non sis amára,
fac me tecum plángere.
CONCLUSION.
COMPASSIONATE Jesus! behold with eyes of mercy this devotion I have endeavoured to perform in honour of thy passion and death, in order to obtain remission of my sins, and of the pains incurred by them. Accept of it for the salvation of the living, and the eternal repose of the faithful departed, particularly for those for whom I offer it. Do not, O Jesus, suffer the ineffable price of thy blood to be paid in vain, or my miserable soul, ransomed by it, to perish. The voice of thy blood cries louder for mercy than my crimes for vengeance. Have mercy, then, O Lord, have mercy, and spare me for thy
mercy’s sake. Amen. On returning to the Altar, recite the following prayers:
Ant. Christ became obedient for us unto death, even the death of the cross.
V. By thy holy cross deliver us, O God.
R. From all our enemies.
LET US PRAY.
LOOK down, we beseech thee, O Eternal Father, on this thy family, for which our Lord Jesus Christ was pleased to be delivered into the hands of the wicked, and to suffer the torment of the cross; who liveth and reigneth, one God, in unity with thee and the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever.
R. Amen.
Ant. O all ye that pass by the way, attend, and see if there be grief like unto my grief.
V. Pray for us, O most sorrowful Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray:
WE beseech thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, that the Blessed Virgin Mary, who, during thy bitter passion, had her most holy soul pierced with the sword of sorrow, may effectually intercede for us with thy clemency, both now and at the hour of death: who livest and reignest, one God with the Father and the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever.
R. Amen.
Then may be added for the Dead, if desired, the following:
Ant . It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins.
V. Eternal rest give imto them, O Lord.
R. And let perpetual light shine upon them. LET US PRAY.
O GOD, the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful, grant to the souls of thy servants departed the remission of all their sins, that, through pious supplications, they may obtain the pardon which they have always desired: who livest and reignest, one God, for ever and ever.
R. Amen.
Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc.
V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us.
R. Have mercy on us: O Lord, have mercy on us.
V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
R. Amen.