Sixth Station of the Cross

Saturday, fifth week in Lent:

Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus

The relic of St. Veronica's veil is traditinally displayed on the fifth Sunday of Lent at the altar of St. Peter's Basilica.  Though there has been much speculation about the truth of the story of St. Veronica, fact or fiction, there is no dispute that a most remarkable representation of the face of Our Lord exists upon the cloth kept safe at the basilica of St. Peter in Rome.  It has been proven scientifically that the image was not rendered with paint and the representation is identical on both sides of the cloth -- both features impossible to produce in medieval times.  There are striking similarities with the image of the face on the Shroud of Turin, but, contrary to speculation that the veil of Veronica was in former times the shroud only folded, this relic is entirely separate and distinct from the relic in Turin.  An unusual and unexplainable feature of the image is that it disappears when viewed from certain angles.  It is unique and has not been explained by modern science.

Talking with the children about the sixth Station of the Cross

Again, in the sixth Station we get to witness love and compassion shown to Jesus during His ordeal on the way to the cross.  And what a woman was St. Veronica! Imagine the incredible courage and love it must have taken for her to defy the Roman soldiers in order to come to the aid of a condemned man!  We know almost nothing of Veronica's life, though -- whether she was a stranger to Christ and acting only out of compassion and perhaps some interior compunction of the Holy Ghost, or whether she had seen Christ previously, heard his sermons, and knew Who He was.  Regardless, it was a tremendous act of courage, faith and love which prompted her to wipe the sweat and blood from Our Lord's adorable face with her own veil.  But it was an act rewarded tangibly-- as few have been rewarded: We can still see the veil of Veronica today with the miraculous image of Christ's face visible upon it.

And what a Face.  Think about the condition that Christ was in on that fateful Friday.  He looked horrible.  The crown of thorns had pierced his skull and blood had  run down from the wounds into his hair and eyes.  His face was beaten, bloody, swollen and bruised.  The beauty of his manhood had been destroyed.  But, Veronica, whether she knew Him already or not, knew there was something to be loved in Him.  Easy for us to imagine, who know Who He was and what He did for us, but we might wonder if Veronica really understood at the time Who's face she was tenderly blotting. 

Of the many lessons we can glean from this incident of the Passion -- like the virtues of compassion, charity, and courage -- we might also bring to the children's attention the understanding of vanity and personal judgments.  Jesus' looks were not important to Veronica; she did not judge Him by them.  She came to His aid because He was in need -- and possibly because she suspected His innocence or knew of His holiness.  Jesus' appearance didn't enter into her thoughts at all, except that it made it obvious to Veronica that He needed compassion. In one of the most courageous acts in history, this woman defied brutal Roman soldiers, crossed their barriers, and helped when noone else dared. And God blessed her selflessness.  We can go to Rome today on the fifth Sunday of Lent and see the material reward she was given for her kindness.

Remembering the sixth station of the cross, we must ask ourselves and the children: How much store do we set on the outward appearance of things?  Do we judge others by their clothing, by the bookbag they carry, by the car they drive?  Do we believe that we can tell all about a person by how they look?  By how they speak?  By how they spell?  Do we make judgments based upon the neighborhood a person lives in?  The casual observer would have thought the worst of Our Lord on the Friday He was crucified.  Would we be guilty of jumping to the same kinds of conclusions about others?  It says in the Bible, "By their fruits ye shall know them,"  (Matthew 7:16) not "by their namebrand sneakers ye shall know them."    We can find this right after "Judge not lest ye be judged." (Matthew 7:1)

The Sixth Station (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) 
Veronica Offers Her Veil to Jesus


V: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. (Genuflect)

R: Because, by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world. (Rise)
V: Consider the compassion of the holy woman, Veronica. Seeing Jesus in such distress, His face bathed in sweat and blood, she presented Him with her veil. Jesus wiped His face, and left upon the cloth the image of his sacred countenance. (Kneel)
R: My beloved Jesus, / Your face was beautiful before You began this journey; / but, now, it no longer appears beautiful / and is disfigured with wounds and blood. / Alas, my soul also was once beautiful / when it received Your grace in Baptism; / but I have since disfigured it with my sins. / You alone, my Redeemer, can restore it to its former beauty. / Do this by the merits of Your passion; and then do with me as You will.
(Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.)

Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled

She beheld her tender Child

All with bloody scourges rent.

Sixth Station (St. Francis of Asissi)
Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus
V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee. R. Because by Thy holy Cross, Thou hast redeemed the world.
Moved by compassion, Veronica presents her veil to Jesus, to wipe His disfigured face. He imprints on it His holy countenance, and returns it to her as a recompense. Shall Christ reward you in like manner? Then you too must do Him a service. But you do a service to Christ every time you perform a work of mercy towards your neighbor: for He says: "What you have done to the least of My brethren, you have done to Me."

Dearest Jesus, * what return shall I make Thee for all Thy benefits? * Behold, I consecrate myself entirely to Thy service. * My whole heart I give to Thee; * stamp on it Thy holy image, * that I may never forget Thee. Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.

Stational Lenten Churches in Rome
Friday, Fifth Week in Lent, The Basilica di Santo Stefano Rotondo al Celio

Find a great description of this round church here and the history  and pictures here.

The Fifth Station

Friday, Fifth Week in Lent

Simon the Cyrenean helps Jesus Carry His Cross

"As they led Him away, they laid hold of one Simon the Cyrenean who was coming in from the fields. They put a crossbeam on Simon's shoulder for him to carry along behind Jesus." —Luke 23:26

Talking with the children about the fifth Station of the Cross

Isn't it a comfort to know that in the midst of all the horror and agony of the passion and crucifixion,  Our Lord did receive some moments of love and compassion? The first such instance recorded in the Stations is His meeting with His mother  (in the fourth Station); the second is His meeting up with Simon of Cyrene; the third we will pray about tomorrow when Veronica aids Him, and before He reaches Calvary, at the eighth Station, Jesus meets the sorrowing women of Jerusalem.   Every one of these examples shows us that all the world was not filled with hate that terrible day, but there's a difference about the comfort given by Simon the Cyrenian in the fifth Station: it was not voluntary.

Simon, a Jew from Cyrene, Lybia, is thought to have been a black man.  He was likely visiting from his home in northern Africa and was in Jerusalem for the Passover, though these details are not definitely known.  What we do know is that on the day of Our Lord's crucifixion, Simon was plucked randomly from the crowd and set to work.  He had no choice in the matter; one did not argue with the orders of the Roman army.  Most likely, at the moment he was pressed into service, Simon would rather have been anywhere else in the world than right there. In other words, his charity was not voluntary.  But, as it turns out, when he picked up the cross, this stranger from Africa became one of the most famous and important figures in the history of the world.  Involuntarily.  Or was it?

It's believed by many that by the time he reached Calvary with the Jesus and His cross, Simon was a changed man, well on his way to being a Christian.  Proof of this is St. Mark's identification (Mark 15:21) of Simon's sons, Rufus and  Alexander, who are believed to have been well-known in Christian circles later on.  It's logical to assume that their father's conversion preceded their own.  And, seriously, how could Simon have looked into the eyes of his Saviour and not been converted?

But what are the lessons here?  First of all, it's always interesting to see how conversions can come in the most unlikely ways for the most unlikely people!    It's a wonderful study reading about remarkable conversions.  There is a website devoted to these tales that is fascinating to read with the children. 

Second is the obvious example for us to help one another as Simon helped Jesus -- and as Jesus helped Simon. The world is full of poor and needy crying out for our help.

But there is also a good moral in the way in which Simon's charity came about. You see, it's just that Simon was forced to help Jesus.  He didn't choose his act of charity, God chose it for him.  God often does that to us, too, but we don't recognize that the mandate comes from Him.  It's a wonderful, important thing to give to our favorite charities, and it's a delightfully easy and satisfying thing to do because we choose the time, the place, and the gift.  But, how well do we handle the calls to help that we don't control?  The ones that are sent by God? 

Do we really understand the old platitude: Charity begins at home?  It's gratifying for the children to save their dimes and quarters for the poor box or to add canned food to the food bank to help distant strangers, but how well do they answer the call to help when their littler siblings can't get their pajamas turned right side out?  How quick are they to help with the chores? Do they put them off or whine about them?  If the garbage can tips over in the driveway, do they run to pick up the trash -- without complaining? How well do we parents teach our children by our example of charity and generosity toward our spouses, our extended family members, the poor and needy on our own doorsteps?  Do we stop to help the man with the sign at the highway on-ramp or do we just talk about it as we pass him by?  Do we aid our elderly parents and grandparens in any way we can?   Do we stop what we're doing and immediately help a family member who needs us, or do we say: "Just a minute"?  How seriously do we take our mission of charity to those closest to us?

By the time Simon got Jesus and his Cross to the top of Calvary, he probably wished he'd been there to help at the start of the journey instead of just the last leg of it. No doubt he was sorry he'd been so reluctant to take up the cross in the first place, but there is little doubt that in the end he was glad he'd been given the job.  He lost a few hours of a Friday morning, but he gained his immortal soul.  We can learn and merit like Simon did.  Our daily calls to help -- we often call them "chores" -- are the duties of our station in life also given to us by God.  If we choose to think of them that way we are taking the part of Simon, ascending Calvary with Christ.  And at the end of the road is Paradise.

The Fifth Station (St. Alphonsus de Liguori):

Simon Helps Jesus Carry the Cross


V: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. (Genuflect)


R: Because, by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world. (Rise)


V: Consider how weak and weary Jesus was. At each step He was at the point of expiring. Fearing that He would die on the way when they wished Him to die the infamous death of the cross, they forced Simon of Cyrene to help carry the cross after Our Lord. (Kneel)


R: My beloved Jesus / I will not refuse the cross as Simon did: / I accept it and embrace it. / I accept in particular the death that is destined for me / with all the pains that may accompany it. / I unite it to Your death / and I offer it to You. / You have died for love of me; / I will die for love of You and to please You. / Help me by Your grace. / I love You, Jesus, my Love; / I repent of ever having offended You. / Never let me offend You again. / Grant that I may love You always; and then do with me as You will.


(Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.)


Can the human heart refrain
From partaking in her pain
In that Mother's pain untold?

Fifth Station (St. Francis of Asissi)
 Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus Carry His Cross



V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy Cross, Thou hast redeemed the world.

Simon of Cyrene was forced to help our exhausted Savior carry His Cross. How pleased would Jesus have been, had Simon offered his services of his own accord. However, Simon was not invited by Christ as you are. He says: "Take up your cross and follow Me." Nevertheless you recoil, and carry it grudgingly.

O Jesus, * whosoever does not take up his cross and follow Thee, * is not worthy of Thee. * Behold, I cheerfully join Thee on the way of the cross. * I desire to carry it with all patience until death, * that I may prove worthy of Thee.


Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.


Lenten Stational Church in Rome
Thursday, fifth week in Lent, S. Apollinare in Campo Marzio.

The inscription on the lintel of the main door of St. Apollinare in Latin tells the faithful: Currite Christicolae templum Ingred cuncta. Intrante Sit pax, redeunt sancti gratia,  which, translated, essentially means:  Hurry on in!  Enter in peace; leave with the blessing of the saints.

You can find a great little history of this church here.  And, for more information, pictures and an aerial map of St. Apollinare's location in Rome, you can go here.

The Fourth Station

Thursday, Fifth Week in Lent

Jesus Meets His Mother on the Way to Calvary

 Where  Exactly did Jesus meet His Mother on the Way to Calvary?

From the Catholic Encyclopedia:  Since the Passion of Jesus Christ occurred during the paschal week, we naturally expect to find Mary at Jerusalem. Simeon's prophecy found its fulfilment principally during the time of Our Lord's suffering. According to a tradition, His Blessed Mother met Jesus as He was carrying His cross to Golgotha. The Itinerarium of the Pilgrim of Bordeaux describes the memorable sites which the writer visited A.D. 333, but it does not mention any locality sacred to this meeting of Mary and her Divine Son. The same silence prevails in the so-called Peregrinatio Silviæ which used to be assigned to A.D. 385, but has lately been placed in A.D. 533-540. But a plan of Jerusalem, dating from the year 1308, shows a Church of St. John the Baptist with the inscription "Pasm. Vgis.", Spasmus Virginis, the swoon of the Virgin. During the course of the fourteenth century Christians began to locate the spots consecrated by the Passion of Christ, and among these was the place was the place where Mary is said to have fainted at the sight of her suffering Son .  Since the fifteenth century one finds always "Sancta Maria de Spasmo" among the Stations of the Way of the Cross, erected in various parts of Europe in imitation of the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem. That Our Blessed Lady should have fainted at the sight of her Son's sufferings, hardly agrees with her heroic behaviour under the cross; still, we may consider her woman and mother in her meeting with her Son on the way to Golgotha, while she is the Mother of God at the foot of the cross. (For reasons of length, the footnotes have been removed from this quotation, but can be found at the above website.)

Talking with the children about the Fourth Station of the Cross

Ad Jesum Per Mariam

It is a long-held and cherished tradition to place the Blessed Mother on the road to Calvary with her beloved Son.  You won't find a verse in the Bible to prove the meeting of the fourth Station of the Cross took place, but we don't need to read about it to know it had to have happened.  How do we know? It's simple: where He is, she is; where she is, He is.  The Blessed Virgin Mary is an integral character in the life of Christ and so has to be an integral character in our lives, as well.  She was chosen before time for her role in our eternity.  It's through her, the mother of our Saviour, the Mediatrix of all Grace, that we can receive the grace to save our souls.  And it's through her that we can best fill our homes with the light of grace. The greatest insurance we  can have that our children will gain heaven is to impress upon their hearts from the first moments of their life a deep and abiding love for the Mother of God.  Because her greatest pleasure is to lead them to her Divine Son. 

Last week we celebrated the Feast of St. Gabriel, whose day apropriately preceded the great feast of the Annunciation on Monday this year.  These are the "Hail Mary" days.  It would be good to pronounce slowly the words of the Angelic Salutation with our children today, to listen carefully to the words, and savor their meaning.  Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee...  The dear holy Child, the Holy of Holies, the fruit of Blessed Mary's womb, Jesus, grew up to divine manhood to carry the weight of our sins on the cross He bore to Calvary.  And on the way, He met His beloved mother.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the our of our death.  Amen.

To Jesus Through Mary
In the Words of the Saints:

+ St. Therese of Lisieux: “In trial or difficulty I have recourse to Mother Mary, whose glance alone is enough to dissipate every fear.”

+  St. Alphonsus de Liguori: "Such is the will of God that we should have everything through Mary."

+ St. Jerome: “Even while living in the world, the heart of Mary was so filled with motherly tenderness and compassion for men that no-one ever suffered so much for their own pains, as Mary suffered for the pains of her children.”

+ St. Thomas Aquinas:  “As mariners are guided into port by the shining of a star, so Christians are guided to heaven by Mary"

+ St. Philip Neri: “Believe me, there is no more powerful means to obtain God’s grace than to employ the intercessions of the Holy Virgin.”

+ St. Louis de Montfort:  "We never give more honour to Jesus than when we honour his Mother, and we honour her simply and solely to honour him all the more perfectly. We go to her only as a way leading to the goal we seek - Jesus, her Son."

+ St. Maximilian Kolbe: “Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did.”

+ Pope St. Pius X:  “Let the storm rage and the sky darken - not for that shall we be dismayed. If we trust as we should in Mary, we shall recognize in her, the Virgin Most Powerful ‘who with virginal foot did crush the head of the serpent’.”

+ St. Francis de Sales: “Let us run to her, and, as her little children, cast ourselves into her arms with a perfect confidence.”

* Quotes gleaned from Catholic Quotations-- a new go-to site in my favorites.

The Fourth Station (St. Alphonsus de Liguori):


Jesus Meets His Afflicted Mother

V: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. (Genuflect)
R: Because, by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world. (Rise)

V: Consider how the Son met his Mother on His way to Calvary. Jesus and Mary gazed at each other and their looks became as so many arrows to wound those hearts which loved each other so tenderly (Kneel)


R: My most loving Jesus, / by the pain You suffered in this meeting / grant me the grace of being truly devoted to Your most holy Mother. / And You, my Queen, who was overwhelmed with sorrow, / obtain for me by Your prayers / a tender and a lasting remembrance of the passion of Your divine Son. / I love You, Jesus, my Love, above all things. / I repent of ever having offended You. / Never allow me to offend You again. / Grant that I may love You always; and then do with me as You will.


(Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.)

Is there one who would not weep,

'whelmed in miseries so deep

Christ's dear Mother to behold.

Fourth Station (St. Francis of Asissi)

Jesus Meets His Blessed Mother

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy Cross, Thou hast redeemed the world.
How sad and how painful must it have been for Mary to behold her beloved Son laden with the Cross, covered with wounds and blood, and driven through the streets by savage executioners! What unspeakable pangs her most tender heart must have experienced! How earnestly did she desire to die instead of Jesus, or at least with Him!
O Jesus, * O Mary, * I am the cause of the pains that pierced your hearts. * Would that my heart might experience some of your sufferings. * O Mother, * let me share in thy sufferings and those of they Son, * that I may obtain the grace of a happy death.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.

Stational Church in Rome

 Wednesday, Fifth Week in Lent, San Marcello al Corso

Some of the history of the church can be found here, and some pictures here along with some Panoramio views of exactly where this church is found in Rome.

The Third Station

Wednesday, Fifth Week of Lent

Jesus Falls the First Time

From The Mystical City of God by Mary of Agreda:

The executioners, bare of all human compassion and kindness, dragged our Savior Jesus along with incredible cruelty and insults. Some of them jerked Him forward by the ropes in order to accelerate his passage, while others pulled from behind in order to retard it. On account of this jerking and the weight of the Cross they caused Him to sway to and fro and often to fall to the ground. By the hard knocks He thus received on the rough stones great wounds were opened, especially on the two knees and they were widened at each repeated fall. The heavy Cross also inflicted a wound on the shoulder on which it was carried. The unsteadiness caused the Cross sometimes to knock against his sacred head, and sometimes the head against the Cross; thus the thorns of his crown penetrated deeper and wounded the parts, which they had not yet reached. To these torments of the body the ministers of evil added many insulting words and execrable affronts, ejecting their impure spittle and throwing the dirt of the pavement into his face so mercilessly, that they blinded the eyes that looked upon them with such divine mercy. Thus they of their own account condemned themselves to the loss of the graces, with which his very looks were fraught. By the haste with which they dragged Him along in their eagerness to see Him die, they did not allow Him to catch his breath; for his most innocent body, having been in so few hours overwhelmed with such a storm of torments, was so weakened and bruised that to all appearances He was ready to yield up life under his pains and sorrows.

Talking with the children about the 3rd Station of the Cross:

Persistence in Our Spiritual Lives

This is the first of three falls counted in the Stations.  Our Lord was already suffering terribly from exhaustion and loss of blood, and He knew the road he traveled carrying the heavy burden of the Cross led only to more agony...  Nevertheless, each time Jesus fell, He got back up. He kept going. 

What does this make us think of?  Love?  Persistence?  How can the children apply the lessons here in the context of their own lives?   

It's important for children to understand that the spiritual life, like anything else they try to achieve, requires hard work and patience.  Almost noone learns to do something well the first time they attempt it. It takes years for a Little League baseball player to master the skills to make it into the Major Leagues, and even then, he has to constantly hone his skills and train his body to keep his place there.  And, boy, does he have to want it.  A concert pianist isn't born overnight either, but perfects her musical mastery with hours and hours of practice throughout her career.  She has to love what she's doing or she'd never keep up with it.  Mathmeticians start out struggling through the multiplication tables just like the rest of us, until they work their way up to real expertise.  But it's worth it to them.  In order to be good at anything we have to want it enough to work for it tirelessly. 

It's a long, hard road to mastery in any field. (The children can surely give a lot of examples.) And we're bound to make a lot of mistakes along the way.  When I was learning gymnastics as a child, I fell on my head many a time before I learned to do aerial somersaults.  (Those bumps on the head may explain some things, huh?)  But I kept trying until I had it down pat.  I didn't give up because it was important to me to master.  (Again, the children can contribute from their own experiences here...)  But that's what practice means -- making mistakes and working to fix them until we get the hang of doing the thing right. Practice makes perfect.

Our spiritual lives are the same way. It's not easy to perfect ourselves.  In fact, it's probably the hardest thing we'll ever try to do.  It seems everything is against it: our own bad inclinations and stubborn temperaments, the temptations of the world, the snares of the devil...  But, just like anything else we want to accomplish, we can do it if we want it enough and if we work hard at it.  And if we never give up.  We can count on falling many times, just like Our Lord did on the way to Calvary, but dragging ourselves back up won't seem to have the same heroic quality that you see in Passion Plays. We rarely hear the heavenly applause for our spiritual accomplishments, unfortunately, and on earth spiritual perfection  ranks under perfect teeth for most people.  It's a pretty thankless business the spiritual life; there's rarely fanfare for the successes but everyone seems to notice the failures. And then, when we think we may have conquered a fault or perfected a virtue, there's something else that rises to the surface that needs to be worked on.  And, of course, all the spiritual muscles we do succeed in developing need to be constantly exercised, too.  The work never ends. There's no sense in sugar coating it; it's hard! 

So why do it?

There's one real reason and you know what it is: Love.  We must work to save our souls because the alternative is horrifying -- but most of  all we do it for love of Christ -- Who loves us enough that He willingly carried the Cross up Mount Calvary, fell repeatedly under its weight, and stubbornly got up over and over again to be crucified and die -- so He could save us from that horrifying alternative.  To give us the chance to work hard to save our souls  for Love of Him.

And the prize, the reward, the paycheck for all our work and trouble is at the end of  the rocky road,  the road to Calvary, which leads to Paradise.

The Third Station (St. Alphonsus de Liguori):
Jesus Falls the First Time
V: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. (Genuflect)

R: Because, by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world. (Rise)

V: Consider the first fall of Jesus. Loss of blood from the scourging and crowing with thorns had so weakened Him that He could hardly walk; and yet He had to carry that great load upon His shoulders. As the soldiers struck Him cruelly, He fell several times under the heavy cross. (Kneel)
R: My beloved Jesus, / it was not the weight of the cross / but the weight of my sins which made You suffer so much. / By the merits of this first fall, / save me from falling into mortal sin. / I love You, O my Jesus, with all my heart; / I am sorry that I have offended You. / May I never offend You again. / Grant that I may love You always; and then do with me as You will.

 (Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.)

 

Christ above in torment hangs

She beneath beholds the pangs

Of her dying, glorious Son

Third Station (St. Francis of Asissi):

 Jesus Falls the First Time
V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy Cross, Thou hast redeemed the world.
Carrying the Cross, our dear Savior was so weakened with its heavy weight that He fell exhausted to the ground. The Cross was light and sweet to Him, but our sins made it so heavy and hard to carry.

Beloved Jesus, * Thou didst carry the burden and the heavy weight of my sins. * Should I then not bear in union with Thee * my light burden of suffering, * and accept the sweet yoke of Thy commandments? * Thy yoke is sweet and Thy burden is light. * I willingly accept it. * I will take up my cross and follow Thee.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.

Stational Church in Rome

Tuesday, Fifth Week in Lent, S. Ciriaco (S. Maria in via Lata al Corso)

Go here for the history and a picture tour.

Second Station of the Cross

Tuesday, Fifth Week of Lent

Jesus Takes Up His Cross

"Jesus said to all: 'Whoever wishes to be My follower must deny his very self, take up his cross each day, and follow in My steps." —Luke 9:23

"It is your privilege to take Christ's part — not only to believe in Him but also to suffer for Him." —Philippians 1:19

Talking with the children about the 2nd Station of the Cross:

Bearing Our Own Crosses

 It's easy sometimes to think of "crosses" as meaning only the big, bad things that happen to us -- for instance, when you hear about someone who has contracted cancer or whose house has burned down.  And, these types of calamity are, indeed, great crosses that some people bear.  But, it's a funny thing among faithful Catholics: we generally bear the big crosses extraordinarily well, when all is said and done, but find ourselves falling a dozen times a day tripping up on the little crosses.  It's easy to do.  First of all, there are so many durn little inconveniences and irritations that they're easy to take for granted.  We know that the supports of our Faith -- the grace of the sacraments, the intercession of the saints, understanding the value of penance -- can sustain us in the worst of times, but we forget to use them for all the hundred and one little crosses of our daily lives.  We forget that working to bear the little troubles well also merit us grace.  Too often we allow little irritations to wear us down, instead of remembering to pick them up and weightlift them in bundles for spiritual exercise.

St. Alphonsus prays in the second station: "I embrace all the sufferings You have destined for me until death.  I beg you, by all You suffered in carrying Your cross, to help me carry mine with Your perfect peace and resignation..."  You see, children, when St. Alphonsus has us to promise to carry our crosses in union with Christ in "perfect peace and resignation," he's not just talking about hurricanes, poverty, and death.  He also means stubbed toes, ornery siblings, hard math problems, clogged drains, and bad nights' sleep. (Have the children add to this list -- and include good and bad ways of dealing with small crosses)

Always remember: The value of offering all the small crosses over a lifetime is just as important as offering the big crosses -- more important, perhaps, because they are always around -- scads of them.  And they're so easily overlooked as potential graces.

And remember, too, that the dropping of these little crosses, in impatient words, grumpy attitudes, and whining, are not just missed opportunities, but can lead to habitual bad attitudes, which lead to sin.  We'll be able to bear our big crosses with greater strength and grace if we practice by bearing our little crosses well.

And everyone around us is likely to be happier, too.

Sebastiano del Piombo, Jesus Carrying the Cross

The Second Station (St. Alphonsus de Liguori):
Jesus Accepts His Cross
V: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. (Genuflect)R: Because, by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world. (Rise)

V: Consider Jesus as He walked this road with the cross on His shoulders, thinking of us, and offering to His Father in our behalf, the death He was about to suffer. (Kneel)

R: My most beloved Jesus, / I embrace all the sufferings You have destined for me until death. / I beg You, by all You suffered in carrying Your cross, / to help me carry mine with Your perfect peace and resignation. / I love You, Jesus, my love; / I repent of ever having offended You. / Never let me separate myself from You again. / Grant that I may love You always; and then do with me as You will.


(Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.)

O, how sad and sore depressed
Was that Mother highly blessed
Of the sole Begotten One

The Second Station  (St. Francis of Asissi)
Jesus Carries His Cross
 V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy Cross, Thou hast redeemed the world.

When our divine Redeemer beheld the Cross, He most willingly reached out to it with His bleeding arms. He embraced it lovingly, kissed it tenderly, took it on His bruised shoulders, and, exhausted as He was, He carried it joyfully.
 O my Jesus, * I can not be Thy friend and follower * if I refuse to carry my cross. * O beloved cross, * I embrace Thee, * I kiss Thee, * I joyfully accept Thee from the hand of my God. * Far be it from me to glory in anything * save in the Cross of my Lord and Redeemer. * By it the world shall be crucified to me, * and I to the world, * that I may be Thine forever.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.
 V. Lord Jesus, crucified.
R. Have mercy on us. O, how sad and sore distressed Was that Mother, highly blest, Of the sole begotten One!

Stational Church in Rome

Monday, Fifth Week in Lent: St. Crisogono in Trastevere

From Wikipedia:

The church of St. Crisogono was one of the tituli, the first parish churches of Rome. It was probably built in the 4th century under Pope Silvester I (314–335), rebuilt in the 12th century by John of Crema, and again by Giovanni Battista Soria, funded by Scipione Borghese, in the early 17th century.

Go here and here for more pictures of this beautiful Church. 

First Station of the Cross

Thirteen Days Until Easter!

As of yesterday, there were just the right number of days to go through the Stations of the Cross before Easter. 

So... as a little end-of-Lent project, the children and I will be going through each of the Stations, one per day,  for the next two weeks ending on Holy Saturday.  In the spirit of Lenten recollection, then, instead of posting as usual, I thought I'd share the stations each day and some links along with some discussions we'll have to go along with each station. 

Monday, Fifth Week of Lent:

The First Station:

Pilate Condemns Jesus to Die

...and having scourged Jesus, delivered him unto them to be crucified.

-Matthew 27:26

And so Pilate being willing to satisfy the people, ...delivered up Jesus, when he had scourged him,to be crucified.

-Mark 15:15

And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. ...Jesus he delivered up to their will.

-Luke 23:24-25

Then therefore he delivered him to them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him forth.

-John 19:16

Things to talk about with the children for the first station:
This point made in St. Francis of Asissi's Stations (below): In order to remain a friend of Caesar, Pilate delivers Jesus into the hands of His enemies. O fearful crime, to condemn Innocence to death and to displease God in order to please men.

This dovetails into a discussion of the dangers of human respect
What are the dangers of "human respect"?  Human respect sounds like a good thing, doesn't it?  Everyone wants the respect of others -- but even the popes warn us of its dangers.  Pope Leo XIII (Vi è ben noto, 1887), for instance, encourages thus:    "We ardently exhort you, venerable brethren, devote all your care and zeal to kindle among those committed to your charge a strong, living and active faith, and to call on all to return by penance to grace and to the faithful fulfillment of all their duties. Among such duties, considering the state of the times, must be reckoned as paramount an open and sincere profession of the faith and teaching of Jesus Christ, casting aside all human respect, and considering before all thing the interest of religion and the salvation of souls."

So, what exactly does human respect mean in this context?  In a nutshell, it refers to our concern of what others think of us.  And, just like there's good and bad pride, there are good kinds and proper degrees of human respect. For instance, we should always  try to maintain a common dignity before our fellow man; we should try to preserve our good name as examples of Christianity, by living the Commandments, the precepts, and the beatitudes.  And in this way, we're respectable before man, but more importantly, we're pleasing before God, too.  But there can be a problem with "human respect" when degree and priority are askew.  The children can understand the bad side of human respect if we call it  "peer pressure."

 Think about peer pressure in the context of Christ's passion.  Would Pontius Pilate have condemned Jesus if he weren't afraid of what the crowds would do or of what the Roman authorities would think if he didn't?  Was he guided by human respect instead of by his own conscience?  He knew he was doing the wrong thing and even tried to was his hands of the whole matter.  Think about St. Peter's caving in to peer pressure when he denied Christ three times.  Think about the Apostles' fear from Our Lord's arrest in the Garden of Olives until the time of the Pentecost.  How would they have acted differently if they hadn't been affected by peer pressure -- human respect?

What historical or literary figures can the children think of who had a bad end because of peer pressure?  How do we see it in Animal Farm, for instance?  How about peer pressure in Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer tales?  How were people influenced by peer pressure during the Nazi takeovers in Europe?   Or during the French Revolution?  The Protestant Revolt?    How has our society caved in to bad trends -- like alcoholism,  smoking, the belief in evolution -- because "every one does it" or "everyone thinks it's so?"

Now, let's bring the topic home. How do (we and) our children suffer from the ill-effects of human respect?  When my teenage daughter chooses an outfit, does she sacrifice modesty in order to "fit in" -- in order to look cool?  When my athletic older sons play basketball, do they imitate the foul language sometimes used by their oponents in order to live up to some worldly "macho" standard?  Do my grown children see movies they know they shouldn't so they won't be left out of the conversation when 'hot' movies are the talk among the FB set?  When my preteen daughters  meet up with their little girlfriends, do they go against their Mommy's instructions and try to set up impromptu playdates?  Do I  choose what to blog about according to what I really think is important or what I think people want to see, what will secure readership?

When does our moral integrity suffer due to human respect?

All good food for thought. 

Ecce Homo, by Caravaggio

The Stations of the Cross by St. Alphonsus de Liguori:

V: We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee. (Genuflect)

R: Because, by Thy holy cross, Thou hast redeemed the world. (Rise)

V: Consider how Jesus

 Christ, after being scourged and crowned with thorns, was unjustly condemned by Pilate to die on the cross. (Kneel)
R: My adorable Jesus, / it was not Pilate; / no, it was my sins that condemned Thee to die. / I beseech Thee, by the merits of this sorrowful journey, / to assist my soul on its journey to eternity./ I love Thee, beloved Jesus; / I love Thee more than I love myself. / With al my heart I repent of ever having offended Thee. / Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me as Thou wilt.

(Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.)

Through her heart, His sorrow sharing

All His bitter anguish bearing

Now at length the sword has passed

The Stations of the Cross by St. Francis of Asissi:

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee.

 R. Because by Thy holy Cross, Thou hast redeemed the world.

 Jesus, the most innocent of beings, is condemned to death, yes, to the shameful death of the cross. In order to remain a friend of Caesar, Pilate delivers Jesus into the hands of His enemies. O fearful crime, to condemn Innocence to death and to displease God in order to please men.
 O innocent Jesus, * I have sinned and I am guilty of eternal death; * but that I may Live, * Thou dost gladly accept the unjust sentence of death. * For whom then shall I henceforth live * if not for Thee, my Lord? * If I desire to please men, * I can not be Thy servant. * Let me, therefore, rather displease the whole world * than not please Thee, O Jesus!

 Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.

The Stational Churches of Rome

(A fun study to do with the children and just cool to check out.)

An explanation and list of the traditional Stational Churches For Lent can be found here, as well as links for a virtual tour of each church.  Here is the short explanation given on this site:

  Countless parish churches around the world have Stations of the Cross during Lent. Rome has its station churches. Visiting these station churches has been a central feature of Christian life for at least 15 centuries.
The faithful make their way to a different church each of the 40 days of Lent for Mass and the singing of the Litany of the Saints. The pilgrimage to the shrines of the apostles and martyrs is an opportunity to pray for the Church through the intercession of the saints.
The practice of visiting the particular station churches dates back to the pontificate of Pope St. Gregory the Great (590-604). Pope St. Gregory standardized the churches throughout Rome that would be used for the "statio," or stations, during the liturgical year. With time, the stations were moved to the Lenten season, but the list of churches has mostly remained the same since the time of Gregory.
The practice of the Lenten stations declined in the late Middle Ages and was revived after the Council of Trent in the 16th century. They became popular again in the past century, even though the Popes have ceased to preside over the daily stations.

Sunday's Stational Church in Rome was St. Peter's in the Vatican!  For virtual tours of the basilica, you can go here. 

Other Activities to Acompany the Stations of the Cross

* Go here to find links and pictures of the Stations of the Cross where they actually took place in Jerusalem!

* The history and practice of the Stations of the Cross may be found at the Fish Eaters website.

* You can download a free Stations of the Cross coloring booklet from CatholicMom here.  Or find black and white engravings of the fourteen stations here.

* To purchase a pocket-sized children's stations of the Cross (in color or in B&W to be colored), run over to Catholicartworks.com.

St. Isidore the Farmer

Life of St. Isidore the Farmer here.

Hymn for the Novena to St. Isidore

O Lord, as You have made the earth,

To man and beast have given birth

Have given sun and rain that thence

The soil might give them sustenance:

We beg You make us willing to

Perform the law we get from You,

That work of ours and grace of Yours

May bring the increase that endures.

Through Jesus Christ let this be done

Who lives and reigns, our Lord, Your Son,

Whom with the Spirit we adore,

One God with You forevermore.


The beautiful holy card is one I saved from Holy Cards For Your Inspiration some time back.  What a wonderful resource! Thank-you, Micki!

(Re-post from 3-22-10)

The Feast of St. Benedict

Like a star in the darkness of night, Benedict of Nursia brilliantly shines, a glory not only to Italy but of the whole Church.

~ Pope Pius XII from  Fulgiens Radiatur (on St. Benedict)

                                                   
                                             Saint Benedict: lived from 480-547A.D.

He is the twin brother of St. Scholastica, Abbess of Plumbariola, and Foundress of the "sister" Order of Benedictines.

St. Benedict is the Patron of:

*  Monks

* against fever

* against gall stones

* against inflammatory diseases

* against kidney disease

St Benedict at Prayer (Master of Messkirch, 1538)

* against nettle rash

* against poison

* against temptations

* against witchcraft

* agricultural workers

* bee keepers
* cavers

* civil engineers

* coppersmiths

* dying people

* Europe

* farm workers

* farmers

* Italian architects

The Founder of the Benedictine Order, St. Benedict is known as the father of Western Monasticism as most monks today still follow his rule. In his time he founded twelve small monastaries, the most famous of which is Monte Cassino, the "cradle of the Benedictine Order, which housed at one time or another such great saints as:

•Saint Apollinaris of Monte Cassino

•Saint Bernard Valeara of Teramo

•Saint Bonitus of Monte Cassino
                                                
 •Saint Clinius of Pontecorvo
                                                      
•Saint Constantine of Monte Cassino
                                                      
•Saint Deusdedit of Montecassino
                                                
 •Saint Maurus
                                                
 •Saint Petronax of Monte Cassino
                                                
 •Saint Placid

(Source: Saint's SQPN)

There are a bazillion other saints hailing from the Benedictine Order!  You can find an exhaustive list here.

* In St. Benedict's  iconography he is often shown with an abbot's staff and a raven, since it was a raven that brought him his daily bread while he lived as a hermit in the desert. Jealous monks one (at least) tried to poinson St. Benedict's wine, but at the sign of the cross over the goblet, it shattered, saving the abbot from the poison.  This is the meaning of the snake within the goblet. Known for his gift of prophesy, St. Benedict is also shown with a closed book, indicating the mystery of his knowlege.

Things to do for the feast:

* Order your own copy of the original Rule of St. Benedict, or read it here.

* Get a copy of Louis de Wohl's novel of St. Benedict, Citadel of God, to add to your Lenten reading list.
Or, for the kids, pull out your copy of St. Benedict: Hero of the Hills by Mary Fabian Windeatt, or order one here.

* Since St. Benedict is the patron of beekeepers, you could read up today on bees and bee keeping.  (I've always wanted to keep bees!)  In some parts of France's still customary for bee-keepers to have a medal of St. Benedict affixed to their hives.  Here is the prayer for the Benedictine Blessing of Bees prayed on this day:

O Lord, God almighty, who hast created heaven and earth and every animal existing over them and in them for the use of men, and who hast commanded through the ministers of holy Church that candles made from the products of bees be lit in church during the carrying out of the sacred office in which the most holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ thy Son is made present and is received; may thy holy blessing descend upon these bees and these hives, so that they may multiply, be fruitful and be preserved from all ills and that the fruits coming forth from them may be distributed for thy praise and that of thy Son and the holy Spirit and of the most blessed Virgin Mary.

* Learn about the medal of St. Benedict here.  There are few sacramentals more powerful against the devil than the St. Benedict medal!  Here is an exerpt from An Exorcist Tells His Story that illustrates this fact:

"One of the most famous instances of diabolical possession, which many books report, thanks to the accuracy of the historical documentation, concerns two brothers, the Burners, in Illfur, Alsatia. The two brothers were freed in 1869, following a series of exorcisms. It is reported that among the many, extremely vicious, actions of the demon was a plan to overturn the coach that transported the exorcist, a monsignor, and a nun. The devil was foiled in his intent only because the coach driver, at the last minute, was given a medal of Saint Benedict to protect him on the journey, and the good man devoutly put it in his pocket."

(H/T:  Annie at Under Her Starry Mantle)

* Appropriate cuisine for today would be to cook with honey, in light of St. Benedict's connection with bees.  Since it's Lent, we won't be making desserts, but you can find a very cool beehive cake here, with a recipe from Martha Stewart, that uses a mold, which you could order here, if you had the time.  Or you can go over to Catholic Cuisine for a no-mold-required beehive cake with adorable bee cookies (originally planned there for the Feast of St. Ambrose, but perfectly good for St. Benedict's feast, as well!)  Cathy and I are going to experiment this aftenoon, though, with making a beehive-shaped loaf of bread.  We'll let you know if it turns out!


*  For a coloring page, you can click and print the above black and white image of St. Benedict, above.  Or you can find a page here.

* But, the best thing to do on the Feast of St. Benedict is follow his motto: Ora et Labora ~
 Work and Pray.

Praying:  Dan and I got to start off the day with Mass -- and I --  (not that I'd brag, mind you -- but it was a special blessing!) -- got to attend Mass offered by a Benedictine priest!  We're praying today for blessings on all the Benedictine Religious throughout the world, but especially for our Father Bernard and for the repose of the soul of good Fr. Abbot Leonard who passed away near the first of the year. 

We're also praying for the repose of the soul of my husband's grandfather, Lee Spratt, who died yesterday at the age of 94.  May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace!  Also praying for the suffering people in Japan.

And working:  Heaven knows, there's no end to that!  I have laundry to catch up on.  And papers to grade.  And floors to sweep. And sheets and blankets to wash.   And spinach to plant.  And a pantry to organize.  Etc., etc., etc.  A list that never ends....  So, I'd better get off of here and get after it...

For insights and meditations on Praying While You Work, run over to the online reprint in progress.  Here's a recent quote:

Let it be said straightaway that for anyone to attempt at the beginning of her spiritual course the practice of attending to the presence of God every two or three minutes is to prepare for a nervous breakdown.  The strain of recalling the mind at frequent intervals can only lead to disgust and a great longing to be free of the whole business of the spiritual life.  So for most people a more gradual introduction to the practice of the presence of God -- even a quite different way into it -- must be found.

~ Dom Hubert Van Zeller

NOVENA TO SAINT BENEDICT

Glorious St. Benedict who taught us the way to religious perfection by the practice of self-conquest, mortification, humility, obedience, prayer, silence, retirement and detachment from the world, I kneel at your feet and humbly beg you to take my present need under your special protection (mention here). Vouchsafe to recommend it to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and lay it before the throne of Jesus. Cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted. Above all, obtain for me the grace to one day meet God face to face, and with you and Mary and all the angels and saints to praise Him through all eternity. O most powerful Saint Benedict, do not let me lose my soul, but obtain for me the grace of winning my way to heaven, there to worship and enjoy the most holy and adorable Trinity forever and ever. Amen.

Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, and 1 Glory Be.

(Reprinted from 3-21-11)