Pilgrims gather for the Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum in Rome on Good Friday, April 3, 2015. / Vatican Media.
Vatican City, Apr 15, 2022 / 07:00 am (CNA).
The Way of the Cross led by Pope Francis
The Colosseum, Rome, April 15, 2022
The Holy Father:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
R/. Amen.
Opening Prayer
The reader:
Lord Jesus,
on this day hallowed by your Passion,
we lift our voices to you,
confident that you will hear our prayer.
We bless you, for you are the source of our life.
You took upon yourself our sufferings
and by your holy Cross you redeemed the world.
We believe that by your wounds we are healed,
that you do not abandon us in times of trial,
that your Gospel is true wisdom.
We see your tortured body in so many of our brothers and sisters:
in those persecuted, the violence you endured;
in the agony of those put to death, your abandonment.
You who chose to live in a family,
look with kindness upon our families,
hear our prayers,
listen to our complaints,
bless our plans and resolves,
accompany us on our journey,
reassure us in our doubts,
console our hurt feelings,
give us the courage to love,
bestow the grace of forgiveness,
make all families open to the needs of others.
Lord Jesus,
crucified and risen from the dead,
of the hope of a new humanity,
of new heavens and a new earth,
where you will wipe away the tears from every eye,
where pain and mourning will be no more,
for the old things will have passed awa
yand we will be one great family
in your home of love and peace.
Amen.
First Station
The agony of Jesus in the garden of olives
(Meditation prepared by a young married couple)
V/. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R/. Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
They went to a place which was called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I pray.” And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch.” And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible to you; remove this chalice from me; yet not what I will, but what you will”. (Mark 14:32-36)
Here we are, married for just two years. Our marriage has not yet been through many storms. The pandemic complicated things a bit, but we are happy. Ours seems to be a long honeymoon, despite our daily bickering. Despite our differences. Yet often we are afraid. When we think of couples among our friends who did not make it. When we read in the newspapers that separations are on the rise. When they tell us that surely we will break up because that is how things are nowadays; it is a matter of statistics. When we feel alone because we do not understand each other. When we struggle to make it to the end of the month. When we feel more like strangers living under the same roof. When we wake up at night and feel in our hearts the burden and anguish of being “orphaned”. That is because we forget that we are sons and daughters. Because we think that our marriage and our family depend only on us, on our own efforts. We are coming to realize that marriage is not only a romantic adventure; it is also Gethsemane: the anguish we feel before breaking our body for the other.
Lord Jesus, you experienced fear and anguish.
R/. Dona nobis pacem.
You prayed in the hour of trial.
R/. Dona nobis pacem.
You call us to watch and pray with you.
R/. Dona nobis pacem.
All:
Our Father…
Lord Jesus,
among the peaceful olive trees
you accepted in prayer
to suffer for us even to death, death on a cross.
Hear our prayers for newly married couples.
Help them to face hardships in union with you
and grant that we may all remain with you in the hour of trial.
You who live and reign forever and ever.
R/. Amen.
Second Station
Jesus is betrayed by Judas and abandoned by his disciples
(Meditation prepared by a missionary family)
V/. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R/. Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus and kissed him; but Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of man with a kiss?” And when those who were about him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” And one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him (Luke 22:47-50). Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword…” Then all the disciples deserted him and fled. (Matthew 26:52-56)
We left on mission, Lord, almost ten years ago, because our own happiness was not enough. We wanted to offer our life together, so that others could experience that same joy. We wanted to show Christ’s love also to those who do not know him. No matter where. Life in community and our everyday activities have helped us raise our children with an open attitude towards life and the world. Yet it is not easy: we do not hide the anguish and fear of leading an uncertain family life far from our country. Added to this is the terror of war that we have felt so dramatically present in these months. It is not easy to live by faith and charity alone, for often we fail to entrust ourselves completely to God’s providence. Sometimes, faced with the pain and suffering of a mother who died while giving birth as bombs were falling, or of a family destroyed by war or hunger or injustice, the temptation is to respond with the sword, to flee, to become despondent, to give up and leave it all behind, thinking it is not worth the effort… But this would mean betraying the poorest of our brothers and sisters, who are your flesh in the world and who remind us that you are the Living One.
Lord Jesus, you were betrayed with a kiss.
R/. Dona nobis pacem.
You were abandoned by the disciples.
R/. Dona nobis pacem.
You experienced loneliness and humiliation.
R/. Dona nobis pacem.
All:
Our Father…
Lord Jesus,
you responded with love
to Judas’s kiss of betrayal.
Hear our prayers.
Grant to missionary families
the courage to bear witness to your Gospel.
Help all of us to answer evil with good,
and to be builders of peace and reconciliation.
You who live and reign forever and ever.
R/.Amen.
Third Station
Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin
(Meditation prepared by an elderly couple without children)
V/. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R/. Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
Now the chief priests and the whole council sought testimony against Jesus to put him to death; but they found none. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” And Jesus said, “I am!” And they all condemned him as deserving death. (Mark 14:55.61-62.64)
We were engaged just a few months; then life separated us for a long time, forcing us to experience the anxious longing of hearts that beat together from afar. Once reunited, we married immediately, with the haste of those who had waited impatiently for all too long. We left our parents’ homes to create a home of our own. We embarked on our journey as spouses, full of the dreams and illusions of youth. Then life showed us our limitations and changed our expectations, leading us on an uphill road until finally we had to face the fact that it would not be possible for us to become parents. Often too, we found ourselves hurt by negative comments and judgements. We were asked a thousand times, “Why don’t you have children?”, as if our marriage and our love were not enough to make us a family. How many unsympathetic glances we had to endure. Yet we continue to move ahead every day, holding hands, caring together for a community of brothers, sisters and friends that, amid moments of loneliness and consolation, has become over time a home and a family.
Lord Jesus, you suffered unjust condemnation.
R/. Dona nobis pacem.
You endured innuendos and accusations.
R/. Dona nobis pacem.
You, though innocent, experienced persecution.
R/. Dona nobis pacem.
All:
Our Father…
Lord Jesus,
you were condemned unjustly.
Hear our prayer.
Grant that childless couples
may persevere, always holding hands,
in living the sacrament of conjugal love to the full.
Help all of us to endure adversity with gentleness and strength.
You who live and reign forever and ever.
R/. Amen.
Fourth Station
Peter denies Jesus
(Meditation prepared by a large family)
V/. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R/. Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
As Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the maids of the high priest came; and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him, and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus”. But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean”. And immediately the cock crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, “Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times”. And he broke down and wept. (Mark 14:66-68.72)
When we married, we thought we would not be able to have children. Then, on our honeymoon, the first child arrived and it changed our lives. We had planned to take things slower: to find fulfilment in work, to travel, to try to live as if we were eternally dating. Yet even as we we were marvelling at the beauty of this gift, the second child came: a little girl. As we look back on it now, the others arrived the same way, almost without our noticing it. And our dreams? They were shaped by events. Our professional fulfilment? Changed by the facts of life that burst upon us. And then the fear that one day we might be tempted to give up on it all, like Peter, in the face of anxiety, discouragement before yet another unexpected expense, or worry about tensions with teenage children. Our former desires yielded to our family. It is not easy, to be sure, but it is infinitely more beautiful this way. And despite our worries and our very full days, which always seem to pass too quickly, we would never think of going back.
Lord Jesus, you dried Peter’s tears.
R/. Dona nobis pacem.
You forgive those who acknowledge that they have sinned.
R/. Dona nobis pacem.
You understand our doubts.
R/. Dona nobis pacem.
All:
Our Father…
Lord Jesus,
you open your arms to embrace all who beg forgiveness.
Hear our prayer.
Grant that large families
may overcome with joy whatever hardships they may face,
and that all of us may rise again after every fall.
You who live and reign forever and ever.
R/. Amen.
Fifth Station
Jesus is judged by Pilate
(Meditation prepared by a family with a disabled child)
V/. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R/. Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man whom you call the King of the Jews?”. And they cried out again, “Crucify him!”. And Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?”. But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him!”. So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas; and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. (Mark 15:12-15)
Our son was already judged before he came into the world. We met doctors who cared for his life in the womb, and doctors who clearly communicated that it was better that he not be born. When we chose life, we also were judged. We were told: “He will be a burden to you and to society”. “Crucify him”. Yet he had done no wrong. How often the world’s judgement is hasty and superficial, and can hurt us even by a glance. We bear the shame of being different; often we elicit more sympathy than real understanding. Disability is not a badge or a label; instead it is the garb of a soul that frequently prefers to be silent in the face of unjust judgments, not out of shame but out of mercy towards those who do the judging. We are not immune from the cross of doubt or from the temptation to wonder how it would be if things had gone differently. Disability is a condition; it does not define us. And the soul, thanks be to God, knows no barriers.
Lord Jesus, you looked with love upon your enemies.
R/. Dona nobis pacem.
You did not fear those who can kill the body but not life.
R/. Dona nobis pacem.
You judge with merciful love.
R/. Dona nobis pacem.
All:
Our Father…
Lord Jesus,
you were judged in the eyes of the world.
Hear our prayers
for families with suffering children.
Grant them consolation in their struggles.
May all of us choose, cherish and love life,
always and in every situation.
You who live and reign forever and ever.
R/. Amen.
Sixth Station
Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns
(Meditation prepared by a family managing a home for families)
V/. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R/. Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
Pilate, after having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified. And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and plaiting a crown of thorns they put it on him. And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!”. And they struck his head with a reed, and spat upon him, and they knelt down in homage to him. (Mark 15:15.17-19)
Our house is large, not only in terms of space, but above all for the wealth of humanity it contains. From the beginning of our marriage, it was never just the two of us. Our vocation to accept suffering was, and still is, anything but sad – even after forty-two years of marriage, three biological children, nine grandchildren and five adopted children who are not self-sufficient and have serious mental health issues. We do not deserve a life so full of blessings. Those who are convinced that it is inhumane to abandon a suffering person find themselves moved by the Holy Spirit to act and not to remain indifferent and aloof. Suffering changed us. Suffering brings us back to what is essential; it sets life’s priorities in order and it makes us appreciate the dignity of every man and woman. Along the way of the cross experienced by those who are scourged and crucified in our world, we discovered at their side and beneath the weight of their cross, that the true King is the one who gives of himself and is given as food, body and soul.
Lord Jesus, you were scourged in body and spirit.
R/. Dona nobis pacem.
Though innocent, you experienced suffering.
R/. Dona nobis pacem.
You were humiliated, insulted and crowned with thorns.
R/. Dona nobis pacem.
All:
Our Father…
Lord Jesus,
you endured suffering and contempt.
Hear our prayer.
Grant that our families
may learn to welcome those who are suffering,
and that all of us may accept our responsibility
to care for those experiencing pain and sorrow.
You who live and reign forever and ever.
R/. Amen.
Seventh Station
Jesus carries his cross
(Meditation prepared by a family with an ill parent)
V/. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R/. Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
When they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him. (Mark 15:20)
One morning, like many others, my wife passed out twice. We rushed to the hospital and discovered a disease in her brain that was already spreading. Then, the operation, rehabilitation, and continuing care. Today our daily life is completely changed. The Lord speaks to us through events we do not always understand, takes us by the hand and guides us to develop our better selves. My wife had a job, a position, a “garment” to wear, and she suddenly found herself completely changed. Naked, defenceless, crucified. And I with her. As a result of this disease, this cross, we became a pillar on which our children know they can lean. It was not like that before. I could almost say that now, with her eyes beholding their raw pain, she is fully a mother and wife. Without frills, in the simplicity of a new and more difficult life. Feeling helpless, pinned down by incessant worry, has also forced me, who was so stubbornly proud, to discover in other families the wonderful gift that they are: those who try to make you laugh, who help you with the cooking, who take your children to catechism, who listen to you, who give you an understanding look and who, despite equally if not more complicated situations, are constantly concerned for you.
Lord Jesus, you did not seek worldly honors.
R/. Dona nobis pacem.
You bore the burdens of all men and women.
R/. Dona nobis pacem.
You embraced the heavy wood of the Cross.
R/. Dona nobis pacem.
All:
Our Father…
Lord Jesus,
you made the instrument of death
an inexhaustible fountain of life.
Hear our prayers.
Grant that children may care for their parents,
watching over them with gratitude,
and that all of us may learn from you
the joy of loving and of generous self-giving.
You who live and reign forever and ever.
R/. Amen.
Eighth Station
Simon the Cyrenean helps Jesus to carry the cross
(Meditation prepared by a couple of grandparents)
V/. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R/. Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus. (Luke 23:26)
We retired two years ago, and just as we began to think about how we could use our newfound energy, we learned that our son-in-law had lost his job. During the pandemic, we watched helplessly as our eldest daughter’s marriage went through a crisis. Then our grandchildren began to fill our home with liveliness and chaos — and not just on Sundays — in a way that had not happened since our own three children were small. We put a child seat in the car, and bought a blackboard in order to write down our five grandchildren’s appointments in case we forgot something. While we don’t have the strength we used to, our wealth of experience makes us approach life more calmly than when we had the energy to be rushing about. We feel the weight of the cross of insecurity about the future of family and work. At this time of life, when we would naturally worry about our own flagging strength and the undeniable fear of death, an unexpected cross has been placed upon our shoulders. We are slowing down and in the evenings, we laugh but we also find ourselves weeping with compassion. Yet being “oxygen” for our children’s families is a gift that brings back the feelings we had when they were little. You never stop being a mother and a father.
Lord Jesus, you endured the weight of the cross.
R/. Dona nobis pacem.
You place us under the judgement of your cross.
R/. Dona nobis pacem.
You ask us to take up our cross and follow you.
R/. Dona nobis pacem.
All:
Our Father…
Lord Jesus,
you call us to carry each other’s burdens.
Listen to our prayers.
Grant that our families may learn
to share their joys and their fears,
so that all of us can practise genuine fraternity.
You who live and reign forever and ever.
R/. Amen.
Ninth Station
Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
(Meditation prepared by an adoptive family)
V/. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R/. Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him. Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children”. (Luke 23:27-28)
Now there are four of us. For many years there were two of us, and we faced the cross of loneliness and the realization that we would become parents in a way far different from what we had always imagined. Adoption is the story of a life marked by the pain of loss healed by acceptance. But the pain never fully heals. Adoption is a cross that parents and children carry together on their shoulders, bearing it, trying to alleviate the pain but also embracing it as part of the child’s life. S
