SIGN OF THE CROSS
OPENING PRAYER: Almighty ever-living God, who gave us the Paschal Mystery in the covenant you established for reconciling the human race, so dispose our minds, we pray, that what we celebrate by professing the faith we may express in deeds. / May your people exult forever, O God, in renewed youthfulness of spirit, so that, rejoicing now in the restored glory of our adoption, we may look forward in confident hope to the rejoicing of the day of resurrection. / Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, putting off our old self with all its ways, we may live as Christ did, for through the healing paschal remedies you have conformed us to his nature. Amen.
(Fri., Easter Octave / 3rd Sun. of Easter / Mon., Easter Week 3)
READING: For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection…. If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over him. As to his death, he died to sin once and for all; as to his life, he lives for God. Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as being dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:5, 8-11)
REFLECTION: We are pilgrims, first through the Stations of the Cross and finally with the Stations of the Resurrection. We move from the darkness into the light. As witnesses of the Lord and his saving works, let us meditate upon the mystery of Christ’s victory over death. His resurrection is the source of our hope. We are promised life— and to the full. May we always follow Jesus on the Way, he who is the Light of the World.
(O Filii et Filiae)
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Ye sons and daughters of the Lord!
The King of glory, King adored,
This day Himself from death restored. Alleluia!
First Station
The Earthquake & Resurrection
Matthew 28:2-6
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, as the Light of the World!
All: For whoever follows you will not walk in darkness but will have the Light of Life.
READING: And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing was white as snow. The guards were shaken with fear of him and became like dead men. Then the angel said to the women in reply, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said.”
REFLECTION: A new day has dawned. The promise of old has been fulfilled. The breach is healed. The salvific work of Christ has redeemed us from the devil. While the primordial trespass brought suffering and death into the world— Christ’s fidelity ushers forth healing and life. Nothing will ever be the same again. Death is conquered if not entirely undone. We no longer need fear the specter of death. The grave will not consume us. No one need live in vain. Like the apostles we are called as witnesses to the saving truth. Christ becomes the pattern of our discipleship: we must die with Christ if we hope to live with him.
PRAYER: O God, author of our freedom and of our salvation, listen to the voice of our pleading and grant that those you have redeemed by the shedding of your Son’s Blood may have life through you and, under your protection, rejoice forever unharmed. Amen. (Friday, Easter Week 4)
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
All in the early morning grey
Went holy women on their way,
To see the tomb where Jesus lay. Alleluia!
Second Station
The Women at the Tomb
Mark 16:1-8
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, as the Light of the World!
All: For whoever follows you will not walk in darkness but will have the Light of Life.
READING: When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go and anoint him. Very early when the sun had risen, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb. They were saying to one another, “Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back; it was very large. On entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed. He said to them, “Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.’” Then they went out and fled from the tomb, seized with trembling and bewilderment. They said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
REFLECTION: The empty tomb is a silent witness to Christ’s power over life and death. Just as he could heal bodies, forgive sins and exorcise demons; he could raise the dead. Of course, his resurrection went far beyond the earlier expressions of his power as with the son of a widowed mother or a little girl or his friend Lazarus. Jesus would never suffer or die again. His victory is complete. While not seen in the tomb, the Risen Lord made brand new would appear to his friends. He wants to fill the caverns of our hearts with his loving presence. His return to life is no fiction. The resurrection is the greatest of all realities. It changes human history. Love makes possible life and in Jesus is the greatest love of all. Love is stronger than the grave. Love is forever because life is forever.
PRAYER: O God, by whose grace, though sinners, we are made just and, though pitiable, made blessed, stand, we pray, by your works, stand by your gifts, that those justified by faith may not lack the courage of perseverance. Amen. (Thursday, Easter Week 5)
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
This told they Peter, told they John,
Who forthwith to the tomb are gone;
But Peter is by John outrun. Alleluia!
Third Station
Peter & the Beloved Disciple at the Tomb
John 20:2-10
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, as the Light of the World!
All: For whoever follows you will not walk in darkness but will have the Light of Life.
READING: So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned home.
REFLECTION: When Jesus asked the question, “Who do they say I am?” there were many answers but it was Peter who saw deeper than the rest and acclaimed him as the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus in response makes Peter the ROCK of his Church. Of course, when Jesus prophesied his rejection and passion, Peter objected and Jesus rebuked him for becoming a stumbling block. Now another type of rock has been rolled aside to reveal the mystery of Christ and his resurrection. The apostle John reaches the tomb first but he waits for Peter. He knows full well that it is Peter that Jesus established as their visible head, even if he has stumbled in his fear and weakness. Peter enters the tomb but all he can see are the trappings of death. Next, John enters and we are told that “he saw and believed.” Peter must be healed from his three-fold denial of Christ. That is why his vision is blurred. But John traveled with the women to the hill where our Lord was crucified. He has remained faithful with eyes wide open. Jesus has done as he said he would do.
PRAYER: Graciously hear our supplications, O Lord, so that we, who believe that the Savior of the human race is with you in your glory, may experience, as he promised, until the end of the world, his abiding presence among us. Amen. (Seventh Sunday of Easter)
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
An angel clad in white they see,
Who sat and spoke unto the three:
“Your Lord has gone to Galilee,” Alleluia!
Fourth Station
Mary Magdalene Encounters the Risen Lord
John 20:11-18
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, as the Light of the World!
All: For whoever follows you will not walk in darkness but will have the Light of Life.
READING: But Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the body of Jesus had been. And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” She thought it was the gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,” which means Teacher. Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and what he told her.
REFLECTION: Mary Magdalene came to anoint the dead body of Christ. Her sorrow seemed inconsolable. Her pain was felt on many levels. Her tears reflected her deep love, but also something more. She appreciated that Jesus came to forgive and heal. His works were good and he gave hope. Nevertheless, he was betrayed by his own and treated like a common criminal. I suspect an element of her pain was the injustice against one who exemplified everything about goodness and innocence. She expected to find a sealed tomb. But it was open and the soldiers had fled. She grieved and questioned. Had someone stolen his body? Would his enemies even refuse him a decent funeral and the rites of his people? How much could they hate one man? But just as angels once announced to shepherds his joyous birth in the cave used as a stable; now they proclaim that he is risen from the cave of the tomb. He is born to eternal life. It is too much to believe. But then the one she takes for the gardener calls her name and she knows the impossible has come true.
PRAYER: O God, whose Only Begotten Son entrusted Mary Magdalene before all others with announcing the great joy of the Resurrection, grant, we pray, that through her intercession and example we may proclaim the living Christ and come to see him reigning in your glory. Amen. (Collect for Mary Magdalene)
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Two on the road encounter a third
Who tells a story that seems absurd;
But they are moved by all they heard. Alleluia!
Fifth Station
On the Road to Emmaus
Luke 24:13-27
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, as the Light of the World!
All: For whoever follows you will not walk in darkness but will have the Light of Life.
READING: Now that very day two of them were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” They stopped, looking downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?” And he replied to them, “What sort of things?” They said to him, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place. Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see.” And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures.
REFLECTION: The pattern of Emmaus is followed in our lives and in the movement of the Mass. We are all pilgrims on a journey. We often feel defeated and abandoned. Many are afraid. There is no path to new life that does not pass through the Cross. Arguably we might interpret a catechesis for the liturgy in the story. The men are traveling and the Mass begins with a procession. The saving works of Jesus and the Scriptures are discussed and explained as in the Liturgy of the Word with its readings and homily. Each of us is called to know and to walk with the Lord. Our true home is heaven but that in no way invalidates the presence of Jesus that we encounter along the Way.
PRAYER: O God, who willed that through the paschal mysteries the gates of mercy should stand open for your faithful, look upon us and have mercy, that as we follow, by your gift, the way you desire for us, so may we never stray from the paths of life. Amen. (Saturday, Easter Week 2)
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
They urged him stay so they might be fed
He vanished with the breaking of bread
Tis then they knew him in all that he said. Alleluia!
Sixth Station
In the Breaking of the Bread
Luke 24:28-35
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, as the Light of the World!
All: For whoever follows you will not walk in darkness but will have the Light of Life.
READING: As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?” So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
REFLECTION: Returning to the parallel with the Eucharist, after our Lord explained the Scriptures to them, the travelers begged that he might remain with them. Jesus revealed himself to them in the “Breaking of the Bread,” an expression used in the early Church for the Mass. We encounter the REAL PRESENCE of Jesus in the Eucharist. Just as he disappeared from their sight; Christ is hidden from ours behind the accidents of bread and wine. Nevertheless, we participate in the sacrifice of Calvary at Mass. We receive Jesus, whole and complete, risen from the dead, in the sacrament of the altar. After this miraculous event, the men race back to Jerusalem to proclaim what they have seen. This is representative of the commission that comes at every Mass. We are to take what we have been given and to proclaim it to the world. We are sent on mission.
PRAYER: O God, who for the salvation of the world brought about the paschal sacrifice, be favorable to the supplications of your people, so that Christ our High Priest, interceding on our behalf, may by his likeness to ourselves bring us reconciliation, and by his equality with you free us from our sins. Amen. (Thursday, Easter Week 2)
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
That selfsame night, while out of fear
The doors were shut, their lord most dear
To His Apostles did appear. Alleluia!
Seventh Station
The Upper Room
John 20:19-23
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, as the Light of the World!
All: For whoever follows you will not walk in darkness but will have the Light of Life.
READING: On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
REFLECTION: The Risen Jesus appears in the locked upper room. He is the same but very different. He is not restrained by locks and doors even though he must still be made welcome at the door to the human heart. We are called to repent and to believe. He extends his peace to the apostles and tells them not to be afraid. He will breathe upon them and empower them to do his works. Never in the history of the world had God given such authority or power to men. His new priests will be able to forgive sins and to summon his presence as food for our souls. The apostles ran and hid themselves but God has found them out. None of us can hide from God. He has done so much for us but the question remains. Will we say YES or NO to God?
PRAYER: O God, who restore us to eternal life in the Resurrection of Christ, grant your people constancy in faith and hope, that we may never doubt the promises of which we have learned from you. Amen. (Tuesday, Easter Week 5)
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
When Thomas saw that wounded Side.
The truth no longer he denied;
“Thou art my Lord and God,” he cried. Alleluia!
Eighth Station
Doubting Thomas
John 20:24-29
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, as the Light of the World!
All: For whoever follows you will not walk in darkness but will have the Light of Life.
READING: Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
REFLECTION: While we might call him Doubting Thomas, when challenged to examine the marks of Christ’s victory in the flesh of our Lord, he shows himself as Believing Thomas. Our Lord refers to us when he says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” We come to know the Risen Lord through the testimony of the Church, the Word proclaimed and the sacraments. We do not simply know ABOUT Jesus but KNOW Jesus through a saving relationship of faith. Our faith might also be tested, but by God’s grace it can grow stronger still. Thomas is the great patron saint of our age where too many people fail to believe. Some of the faithful recite Thomas’ words when the Eucharist is elevated at Mass, “My Lord and my God!”
PRAYER: O God, restorer and lover of innocence, direct the hearts of your servants towards yourself, that those you have set free from the darkness of unbelief may never stray from the light of your truth. Amen. (Wednesday, Easter Week 5)
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
“Throw out your nets,” said a voice from the shore
They caught so many yet not a net tore;
“Bring fish for breakfast,” the Lord did implore. Alleluia!
Ninth Station
By the Sea of Tiberias
John 21:1-14
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, as the Light of the World!
All: For whoever follows you will not walk in darkness but will have the Light of Life.
READING: After this, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way. Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.” So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish. So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards, dragging the net with the fish. When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.” So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.” And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they realized it was the Lord. Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish. This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead.
REFLECTION: It seems as if the apostles tried to return to life as normal, but life would never again be the same. Locked in an upper room or out fishing, there was no running away from Christ. As professional fishermen, they were both frustrated and surprised by their failure to catch even one fish. The Lord calls to them from along the shore and guides them in setting their nets. Everything changes. Suddenly their nets are filled to the breaking point. This reminds us that without Christ, we can do nothing. With Christ, there is everything to gain. He cooks fish by a fire and invites them to breakfast. Jesus will continue to feed his people. He will make the apostles into fishers of men. As such they will draw others to the banquet of the Lord.
PRAYER: O God, who by the abundance of your grace give increase to the peoples who believe in you, look with favor on those you have chosen and clothe with blessed immortality those reborn through the Sacrament of Baptism. Amen. (Saturday, Easter Octave)
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Peter’s denial was crowed by the cock
But love forgave him to feed our Lord’s flock;
He is restored and made once more Rock. Alleluia!
Tenth Station
Jesus Forgives Peter
John 21:15-19
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, as the Light of the World!
All: For whoever follows you will not walk in darkness but will have the Light of Life.
READING: When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He then said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”
REFLECTION: The Risen Lord addresses Peter who is still wounded by his three-fold denial. Jesus heals and reconciles Peter to himself by asking three times, do you love me? With each affirmation, Peter is commissioned anew to tend and feed his sheep. Peter is again the ROCK of his Church. Peter and Judas give us contrasting stories. Both betray Christ and yet one finds mercy and hope while the other despairs and dies. We are not always perfect saints, but Peter reminds us that even the weakest instruments can be made strong and valuable in Christ. There is no sin or failure that God’s grace cannot heal. We may not be the Christians we are supposed to be, but God is not finished with us yet.
PRAYER: O God, who open wide the gates of the heavenly Kingdom to those reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, pour out on your servants an increase of the grace you have bestowed, that, having been purged of all sins, they may lack nothing that in your kindness you have promised. Amen. (Tuesday, Easter Week 3)
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Our Savior tells us, “Come follow me!”
Baptize the world in Godhead three
So that believers might all be free. Alleluia!
Eleventh Station
The Great Commission
Matthew 28:16-20
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, as the Light of the World!
All: For whoever follows you will not walk in darkness but will have the Light of Life.
READING: The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
REFLECTION: Jesus founded a Church and we are summoned to both a personal and a corporate faith in Christ. The initiation of old was circumcision, but now the rite that accompanies faith is baptism. It is in this new rite that there is neither Jew nor Gentile, free nor slave, male nor female. We know equality in grace even as we are given different ministries within the great call to holiness. We are a people sent on mission to proclaim the Good News— that God so loved us that he sent his only-begotten Son— the Christ who laid down his life and then took it back up again for you and me. We usher souls into the kingdom. We are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. We die with Christ so that we might rise with him. We are born again and made temples of the Holy Spirit. Our sins are washed away and we are made adopted sons and daughters to the Father, kin to Christ.
PRAYER: O God, who have united the many nations in confessing your name, grant that those reborn in the font of Baptism may be one in the faith of their hearts and the homage of their deeds. Amen. (Thursday, Easter Octave)
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
And we with Holy Church unite,
As evermore is just and right,
in glory to the King of light. Alleluia!
Twelfth Station
Ascension of Jesus
Acts 1:6-12
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, as the Light of the World!
All: For whoever follows you will not walk in darkness but will have the Light of Life.
READING: When they had gathered together they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority. But you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”
REFLECTION: Jesus ascends into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father. However, the Ascension is not an occasion of abandonment or loss. Jesus leaves that he might be made more present. No longer will the Lord be limited to the hundred or so miles he traveled in his earthly lifetime. His ascension and the sending of the Spirit will insure his abiding presence among his people. He has promised to be with us when we gather to pray; indeed, he has given assurance that he will be us to the very consummation of the world. We will never be orphaned. He hears our prayers and is our wondrous Mediator. He goes ahead of us so that he might prepare a place for us in his house of many rooms. The event of the Ascension is not a story of sadness. While we might not see him with our mortal eyes, we worship with a living remembrance, not nostalgia for one who is gone but making present that which is remembered. Jesus is made present in his person and in his activity. It is this Risen Lord that we receive in Holy Communion.
PRAYER: Gladden us with holy joys, almighty God, and make us rejoice with devout thanksgiving, for the Ascension of Christ your Son is our exaltation, and, where the Head has gone before in glory, the Body is called to follow in hope. Amen. (Feast of Ascension)
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Our humble thanks to God let’s show
And fitting praise on Him bestow
For Paschal blessings here below. Alleluia!
Thirteenth Station
Mary & the Disciples Wait in Prayer
Acts 1:12-13
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, as the Light of the World!
All: For whoever follows you will not walk in darkness but will have the Light of Life.
READING: Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. When they entered the city they went to the upper room where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
REFLECTION: Our Lord gave Mary as Mother to our emissary John. As Mother of the Church, she is cherished by the early faith community. She is gathered with the apostles in the Upper Room. They are waiting. The Holy Spirit will come upon them. Mary saw her Son die; it is fitting that she should witness the Risen Lord. Catholics still gather with Mary as they await her Son. How many rosaries have been said, especially before Mass? The Mother of the Redeemer is now the Mother of all the redeemed.
PRAYER: God of everlasting mercy, who in the very recurrence of the paschal feast kindle the faith of the people you have made your own, increase, we pray, the grace you have bestowed, that all may grasp and rightly understand in what font they have been washed, by whose Spirit they have been reborn, by whose Blood they have been redeemed. Amen. (Divine Mercy Sunday)
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Now let us praise the Lord most high,
And strive His Name to magnify
On this great day through earth and sky: Alleluia!
Fourteenth Station
The Holy Spirit & Pentecost
Acts 2:1-14
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, as the Light of the World!
All: For whoever follows you will not walk in darkness but will have the Light of Life.
READER: When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, “Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in his own native language? We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.” They were all astounded and bewildered, and said to one another, “What does this mean?” But others said, scoffing, “They have had too much new wine.” Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, “You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem. Let this be known to you, and listen to my words.”
REFLECTION: The floodgates of heaven will open and literally rain upon them. The Spirit of God will live in the Church just as the soul animates the body. The apostles will be enlightened and strengthened by abundant graces. The Spirit of God will lead them to all saving truth and give efficacy to the work of their hands. The division of Babel is reversed. The language of the Spirit will make us one people, united in Christ. The apostles will perpetuate the saving ministry and insure the transmission of the deposit of faith. The Holy Spirit will come upon the Church and never leave her.
PRAYER: O God, who by the mystery of [Pentecost] sanctify your whole Church in every people and nation, pour out, we pray, the gifts of the Holy Spirit across the face of the earth and, with the divine grace that was at work when the Gospel was first proclaimed, fill now once more the hearts of believers. Amen. (Feast of Pentecost)
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
O sons and daughters of the Lord,
The King of glory, King adored,
From death to life has been restored. Alleluia!
Concluding Rite
REFLECTION: We have celebrated the public witness of our Lord’s resurrection but we must each have our own meeting and relationship with the Risen Lord. Most encounters with the living Jesus go unrecorded, even that which must have privately occurred between our Lord and his Blessed Mother. Without a record, we can only presume that it was a joyful reunion of a Mother and Son who collaborated in the Greatest Story Ever Told— the story of our redemption. Like St. Paul, we have never seen the earthly Jesus face-to-face, and yet he calls us each by name and would have us put aside our blindness so that we might know him with eyes of faith. What he tells Paul, he says to us:
READING: “Get up now, and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness of what you have seen of me and what you will be shown. I shall deliver you from this people and from the Gentiles to whom I send you, to open their eyes that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may obtain forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been consecrated by faith in me.’” (Acts 26:16-18)
Through the Via Lucis, we have shared our pilgrim journey with the Risen Lord. As servants and witnesses of Christ, let us now pray in the way our Savior taught us:
OUR FATHER
CLOSING PRAYER: O God, who in the celebration of Easter graciously give to the world the healing of heavenly remedies, show benevolence to your Church, that our present observance may benefit us for eternal life. (Saturday, Easter Week 5) / As we recall year by year the mysteries by which, through the restoration of its original dignity, human nature has received the hope of rising again, we earnestly beseech your mercy, Lord, that what we celebrate in faith we may possess in unending love. (Wednesday, Easter Week 2)
We ask this through Christ, our Risen Lord. Amen.
BLESSING: Lord, may everything we do, begin with your inspiration, continue with your help, and reach perfection under your guidance. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Fr. Michael C. Kidd Council 14455 