V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy Holy Cross, Thou hast redeemed the world.
Tradition has it that when Our Lady was living
in Jerusalem, she had never failed, ever since
Our Lord's death, to follow His path to Calvary
with tears of compassion. She had paced out and
measured all the distances between the Stations of
that Via Crucis, and her love for her Son made her
unable to live without this constant contemplation of
His sufferings. At each Station, she sat down and
renewed the mystery of its significance in her heart,
praising the Lord for His love with tears of compassion.
The purpose of the Stations of the Cross is to remind us of the effects of sin and the
salvation won for us through the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus. As
we meditate on the Stations, we are moved to renounce sin and to accept Jesus as
our Savior.
AN ACT OF CONTRITION
Oh my God I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and
I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the
pains of hell; but most of all because they offend Thee, my God,
who art all-good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve,
with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance,
and to amend my life. Amen.
My Lord Jesus Christ, You have made this journey to die for me
with love unutterable, and I have so many times unworthily abandoned
You; but now I love You with my whole heart, and because I love
You, I repent sincerely for having ever offended You. Pardon
me, my God, and permit me to accompany You on this journey. You
go to die for love of me; I wish also, my beloved Redeemer, to
die for love of You. My Jesus, I will live and die always united
to You.
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