Prayer. O Jesus! may the contemplation of thy sufferings move us with the deepest compassion, make us to hate our sins, and kindle in our hearts more fervent love to thee. May thy image be graven on our minds, until we are transformed into thy likeness. The pain of his wound, and the loss of blood, increasing at every step of his way, again his strength fails him, and Jesus falls to the ground a second time. 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. Pater noster, &c. as before. V. Pro peccatis suæ gentis Bruis'd, derided, curs'd, defil'd, All with bloody scourges rent; 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 over me, but weep for yourselves and for your children." 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 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. Pater noster, &c. as before. 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 beseech 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 meum R. Sancta Mater, &c. Make me feel as thou hast felt; With the love of Christ my Lord. Eleventh Station. JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS. V. Adoramus te, &c. R. Quia per, &c. Priest. V. We adore thee, &c. 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 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. Pater noster, &c. as before. 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. Henceforth let us live only for thee; and in dying for thee, let us die loving thee, and in thy sacred arms. Act of Contrition, &c. as before. V. Tui Nati vulnerati, R. Sancta Mater, &c. Let me share with thee his pain, Thirteenth Station. JESUS IS LAID IN THE ARMS OF HIS BLESSED MOTHER. V. Adoramus te, &c. R. Quia per, &c. Priest. V. We adore thee, &c. 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. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus take down the body of her divine Son from the cross, and deposit it in her arms. Prayer. O thou, whose grief was boundless as an ocean that hath no limits, Mary, Mother of God, give us a share in thy most holy sorrow in the sufferings of thy Son, and have compassion on our infirmities. Accept us as thy children with the beloved disciple. Shew thyself a Mother unto us; and may he, through thee, receive our prayer, who for us vouchsafed to be thy Son. Act of Contrition, &c. as before. Pater noster, &c. as before. V. Fac me tecum pie flere, Donec ego vixero. R. Sancta Mater, &c. Let me mingle tears with thee, |