Prayers
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Everyone's Way of the Cross
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Introduction
Christ Speaks:
These fourteen steps
that you are now about to walk
you do not take alone.
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I walk with you.
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Though you are you,
and I am I,
yet we are truly one --
one Christ.
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And therefore
my way of the cross
two thousand years ago
and your "way" now
are also one.
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But note this difference.
My life was incomplete
until I crowned it by
my death.
Your fourteen steps
will only be complete
when you have crowned them
by your life.
111. fa
1. Jesus is Condemned
Christ Speaks:
In Pilate's hands,
my other self,
I see my Father's will.
Though Pilate is unjust,
he is the lawful governor
and he has power over me.
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And so the Son of God obeys.
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If I can bow to Pilate's rule
because this
is my Father's will,
can you refuse obedience
to those whom
I place over you?
I reply
My Jesus, Lord,
obedience cost you your life.
For me
it costs an act of will ---
no more ---
and yet how hard it is
for me to bend.
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Remove the blinders
from my eyes
that I may see
that it is you whom I obey
in all who govern me.
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Lord, it is you.
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2. Jesus Takes His Cross
Christ Speaks:
This cross
this chunk of tree,
is what my Father
chose for me.
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The crosses you must bear
Are largely products
of your daily life.
And yet my Father chose them,
too, for you.
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Receive them from his hands.
Take heart, my other self,
I will not let your
burdens grow
one ounce too heavy
for your strength.
I reply
My Jesus, Lord,
I take my daily cross.
I welcome the monotony
that often marks my day,
discomforts of all kinds,
the summer's heat,
the winter's cold,
my disappointments, tensions,
setbacks, cares.
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Remind me often that
In carrying my cross,
I carry yours with you.
And though I bear a sliver only
of your cross,
You carry all of mine,
except a sliver, in return.
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3. Jesus Falls
Christ Speaks:
The God who made the universe,
and holds it in existence
by his will alone,
becomes a man, too weak to bear
a piece of timber's weight.
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How human in his weakness is the Son
of God.
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My father willed it thus.
I could not be your model otherwise.
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If you would be my other self,
you also must accept without complaint
your human frailties.
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I reply
Lord Jesus, how can I refuse?
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I willingly accept my weaknesses,
my irritations and my moods,
my headaches and fatigue,
all my defects of body, mind, and soul.
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Because they are your will for me,
these "handicaps" of my humanity,
I gladly suffer them.
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Make me content with all my discontents,
but give me strength to struggle after you.
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4. Jesus Meets His Mother
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Christ Speaks:
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My mother sees me whipped.
She sees me kicked and driven like a
beast.
She counts my every wound.
But though her soul cries out in agony,
no protest or complaint
escapes her lips
or even enters her thoughts.
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She shares my martyrdom --
and I share hers.
We hide no pain,
no sorrow,
from each other's eyes.
This is my Father's will.
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I reply
My Jesus, Lord,
I know what you are telling me.
To watch the pain of those we love
is harder than to bear our own.
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To carry my cross after you,
I, too, must stand and watch
the sufferings of my dear ones --
the heartaches, sicknesses and grief
of those I love.
And I must let them watch mine, too.
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I do believe --
for those who love you
all things work together unto good.
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5. Simon Helps Jesus
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Christ Speaks:
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My strength is gone;
I can no longer bear the cross alone.
And so the legionnaires
make Simon give me aid.
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This Simon is like you, my other self.
Give me your strength.
Each time you lift some burden from
another's back,
you lift as with your very hand
the cross' awful weight
that crushes me.
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I reply
Lord, make me realize
that every time I wipe a dish,
pick up an object off the floor,
assist a child in some small task,
or give another preference
in traffic or in the store;
each time I feed the hungry,
clothe the naked,
teach the ignorant,
or lend my hand in any way -
it matters not to whom -
my name is Simon.
And the kindness I extend to them
I really give to you.
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6. Veronica Helps Jesus
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Christ Speaks:
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Can you be brave enough, my other self,
to wipe my bloody face?
Where is my face, you ask?
At home whenever eyes fill up with tears,
at work when tensions rise,
on playgrounds, in the slums,
the courts, the hospitals, the jails --
wherever suffering exists --
my face is there.
And there I look for you
to wipe away my blood and tears.
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I reply
Lord, what you ask is hard.
It calls for courage and self-sacrifice,
And I am weak.
Please give me strength.
Don’t let me run away because of fear.
Lord, live in me
and act in me
and love in me.
And not in me alone – in all of us --
so that we may reveal
no more your bloody but your glorious
face on earth.
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7. Jesus Falls Again
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Christ Speaks:
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This seventh step, my other self,
is one that tests your will.
From this fall learn to persevere
in doing good.
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The time will come
when all your efforts seem to fail
and you will think,
"I can't go on."
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Then turn to me,
my heavy-laden one,
and I will not give you rest.
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Trust me
and carry on.
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I reply
Give me your courage, Lord,
When failure presses heavily on me
and I am desolate,
stretch out your hand
to lift me up.
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I know I must not cease,
but persevere
in doing good.
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But help me, Lord,
Alone there's nothing I can do.
With you, I can do anything you ask,
I will.
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8. Jesus Consoles the Women
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Christ Speaks:
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How often had I longed to take
the children of Jerusalem
and gather them to me.
But they refused.
But now these women weep for me
and my heart mourns for them --
mourns for their sorrows that will come.
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I comfort those who seek to solace me.
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How gentle can you be, my other self?
How kind?
I reply
My Jesus,
your compassion
in your passion
is beyond compare.
Lord, teach me,
help me learn.
When I would snap at those
who hurt me with their ridicule,
those who misunderstand,
or hinder me with some misguided
helpfulness,
those who intrude upon my privacy --
then help me curb my tongue.
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May gentleness become my cloak.
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Lord, make me kind like you.
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