We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed
the world.
I love you, Lord Jesus, my love, above all things. I repent with my whole heart for having
offended you. Never permit me to separate myself from you again. Grant that I may love
you always and then do with me as you will.
VII Jesus falls a second time
We remember the cross of Jesus
Stretched to breaking point by his awful scourging, bowed under the weight of the cross and worn out by the abandonment of all his friends, Jesus stumbles again. We adore you …
We name the crosses of today: All around us people are overburdened by the crosses they carry; they struggle and sometimes fall. There are those who have lost their jobs and feel that they have little hope of finding another; those who live with the prospect of unemployment; those who struggle to keep others in work; those who know only loneliness because of the pandemic. There are those who suffer because of failures in our financial, health and political systems. Jesus is with each one of us however we fall and there he chooses to love and save us.
We Pray: Jesus, from deep within yourself you found the courage and strength to get up once again and continue the journey. Give us your strength to keep going even when hope is dim. I love you, Lord Jesus ….
VIII Jesus meets the Women of Jerusalem
We remember the cross of Jesus
Only the greatest and the best among us can set aside our own sufferings and sorrows when we meet with the distress and anguish of others. The women of Jerusalem wept when they saw how Jesus suffered. Jesus recognised their distress; he does not just accept their compassion, he comforts them and challenges them by his firm words of tenderness and love. We adore you …
We name the crosses of today: Jesus broke his silence for the first time, spoke and said, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem do not weep for me. Weep for yourselves and for your children’. Weep for the children who are abused. Weep for the women who are victimised and trafficked. Weep for men and women who suffer from the tyranny of today’s body image that controls their lives and prevents them from feeling lovable. Weep for the young who cannot find a job or a way in life. Weep for the old who are forgotten. Weep for people who starve in the shadow of abundance. Weep for people who are homeless, in exile or seeking refuge. Do not weep for me, weep for them.
We Pray: Lord, open our hearts to the suffering of all people in our world. Give us the generosity of spirit to help us recognise their pain, the courage to challenge the systems that place intolerable burdens on them and the compassion to support them. I love you, Lord Jesus…
7. Gill carving, Westminster Cathedral 8. St Mary of All Angels, Bisley