The Way of the Cross with the Saints. John Collins

(Edith Stein)

      – Introduction –

      Walking with the Saints in the Footsteps of Christ

      “Out of darkness is born the light,” writes St. Catherine of Siena. And in those few words she offers us a gift: a perfect way to begin our meditation on the Way of the Cross. Yet the birth of light is rarely on our minds as we follow Jesus’ slow and painful climb to Golgotha’s heights, for the darkness is too apparent, the gathering gloom too great. The light that Catherine perceives hides from us. We know it will come on Easter morning, but on Good Friday doesn’t darkness reign supreme?

      Catherine and the other saints are emphatic in their answer: No it does not! How could it, for the Way of the Cross is the way to the Resurrection, the way of redemption? The saints tell us that this dark journey contains within itself a great and powerful light that is present from the beginning but is not apparent until the end. Long before Jesus stands in front of Pilate the light of a new dawn has become real. It shines within Him and from His every act. It shines forth from the divine will that gives us a Savior and allows Him to live and die as one of us. It is a light powerfully present in every step Jesus takes as He makes His way through a darkness that becomes light, to a death that becomes life.

      – The First Station –

      Jesus Is Condemned to Death

       St. John Paul II

      The future Pope John Paul II was born Karol Jόsef Wojtyla in Poland during the spring of 1920. In 1978, Cardinal Wojtyla was elected the first non-Italian pope in four centuries, embarking on a papacy that lasted nearly twenty-seven years. Perhaps the greatest of modern popes, St. John Paul II died in 2005 and was canonized in 2014. His feast day is October 22.

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

      R. Because by Your holy Cross You have redeemed the world

      “And Pilate … 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” (Mk 15:12-14).

      The Son of God will be put to death by those He has come to save. What greater decision for death — for nothingness — can there be than Pilate’s? St. John Paul II knows this verdict to be a judgment on us all. Yet he also knows it to be the unavoidable first step on a path that leads not just to death but through it to life and the salvation for which we all yearn:

      This is the definitive meaning of Good Friday: Man, you who judge God, who order Him to justify himself before your tribunal, think about yourself, [think whether] you are not responsible for the death of this condemned man, [whether] the judgment of God is not actually a judgment upon yourself. Consider if this judgment and its result — the Cross and then the Resurrection — are not your only way to salvation. (Crossing the Threshold of Hope)

       Prayer

      My Jesus, You are the innocent lamb, the One in whom no wrong can be found. Grant me the grace to trust in Your ways. Lord Jesus, never permit me to condemn You as Pilate did … as so many still do. Amen.

      – The Second Station –

      Jesus Carries His Cross

       St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio)

      In 1918, Padre Pio underwent various mystical experiences, which were to continue for the rest of his life. These included the stigmata (the wounds of Christ), which he bore for five decades. An extraordinary priest, he heard confessions for up to twelve hours a day. In 1968, his stigmata mysteriously healed itself — one month before his death. Padre Pio was canonized in 2002, and his feast day is September 23.

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

      R. Because by Your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.