Stations of the Cross with Elisabeth
1. Jesus is condemned to death |
|
 |
Pilate put to him this question, “Are you the king of the Jews?” He replied, “It is you who say it.” And the chief priests brought many accusations against him. Pilate questioned him again, “Have you no reply at all? See how many accusations they are bringing against you!” But, to Pilate's surprise, Jesus made no further reply. So Pilate, anxious to placate the crowd, released Barabbas for them and, after having Jesus scourged, he handed him over to be crucified. Mark 15, 2-5 +15
Then, when her hour of humiliation, of annihilation comes, she will recall this little phrase “Jesus was silent” and she will be silent, “keeping all her strength for the Lord”, this strength which “we draw from silence. Last Retreat 39 |
2. Jesus carries His cross |
|
 |
They then took charge of Jesus and he went out carrying his own cross. John 19, 16-17Yet it was our pain that he bore, our sufferings he endured.Isaiah 53,4
To strip off self, to die to self, to lose sight of self. It seems to me that the Master meant this when He said: “If anyone wants to follow Me, let him take up his cross and deny himself”...This is the death that God asks for and which it is said: “O death”, says the Lord, “I will be your death”; that is: O soul, my adopted daughter, look at Me and you will forget yourself; flow entirely into My being, come die in Me that I may live in you! Last Retreat 24 |
3. Jesus falls the first time |
|
 |
Save me, God, for the waters have reached my neck. I have sunk into the mire of the deep, where there is no foothold. I have gone down to the watery depths; the flood overwhelms me... Do not hide your face from your servant; hasten to answer me, for I am in distress. Psalm 68, 2-3 +18
You tell me to pray that you may be granted humility and the spirit of sacrifice. In the evening, while making the Way of the Cross before Matins, at every outpouring of the Precious Blood I used to ask for this grace for my own soul; from now on it will also be for yours...So let us be sacrificial souls, which is to say, true in our love: “ He loved me, He gave Himself up for me! Letter 214 |
4. Jesus meets his mother |
|
 |
Come, all who pass by the way, pay attention and see: Is there any pain like my pain with which the Lord has tormented me... What example can I give in order to comfort you, virgin daughter of Zion? For your breach is vast as the sea; who could heal you? Lamentations 1,12 + 2,13
This Queen of virgins is also Queen of martyrs; but again it was in her heart that the sword pierced, for with her everything took place within...Oh! How beautiful she is to contemplate during her long martyrdom, so serene, enveloped in a kind of majesty that radiates both strength and gentleness...She learned from the Word Himself how those must suffer whom the Father has chosen as victims, those whom He has decided to associate with Himself in the great work of redemption... Last Retreat 41 |
5. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry his cross |
|
 |
As they were leading him away they seized on a man, Simon from Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and made him shoulder the cross and carry it behind Jesus. Luke 23, 26
It seems to me that the happy ones of this world are those who have enough contempt and forgetfulness of self to choose the Cross as their lot! What delightful peace we experience when we place our joy in suffering! Greatness of Our Vocation 6 et 7 |
6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus |
|
 |
ELord, hear my voice as I cry! Pity me! Answer me! Of You my heart has said: “Seek His face”. Your face, Lord, I seek; Do not turn away from me Psalm 26, 7-9
Let us live in the secret of his Face, Poem 97 |
7. Jesus falls a second time |
|
 |
In your faithful love answer me, in the constancy of your saving power. Rescue me from the mire before I sink in; so I shall be saved from those who hate me, from the watery depths. Let not the waves wash over me, nor the deep swallow up, nor the pit close its mouth on me. Psalm 68, 14-16
Every soul crushed by suffering, in whatever form it may occur, can tell itself: I dwell with Jesus Christ, we are living in intimacy, the same dwelling shelter us! The sign by which we recognize that God is in us and His love possesses us is that we receive not only patiently but gratefully whatever wounds us and makes us suffer. To reach that state, we must contemplate the God crucified by love, and that contemplation, if it is true, never fails to end in the love of suffering. Letter 314 |
8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem |
|
 |
Large numbers of people followed him, and women too, who mourned and lamented for him. But Jesus turned to them and said: “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep rather for yourselves and for your childrenLuke 23, 27-28
I hear the voice of my Beloved in the depths of my heart: Diary 124 |
9. Jesus falls the third time |
|
 |
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? The words of my groaning do nothing to save me. My strength is trickling away, my bones are all disjointed, my heart has turned to wax, melting inside me. My mouth is dry as earthenware, my tongue sticks to my jaw. Psalm 21, 2 + 15-16
When you find yourself faltering, go take refuge in the prayer of your Master; yes, on His Cross He saw you and prayed for you, and that prayer is eternally living and present before His Father; that prayer will save you from your miseries.The more you feel your weakness, the more your confidence must grow, for you must depend on Him alone. Letter 324 |
10. Jesus is stripped of his garments |
|
 |
Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2, 6-8
Let us always go down to the last seat Poem 120 |
11. Jesus is nailed to the cross |
|
 |
Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten; instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.1 Peter 2, 21-24
I will tell you what I do when I feel a little tired: I look at the Crucified, and when I see how He delivered Himself up for me, it seems to me that I can do no less for Him than spend myself, wear myself out in order to repay Him a little of what He has given me! Letter 156 |
12. Jesus dies on the cross |
|
 |
After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst”. There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit. John 19, 28-30
A Carmelite is a soul who has gazed on the Crucified, who has seen Him offering Himself to His Father as a Victim for souls, and recollecting herself in this great vision of the charity of Christ, has understood the passionate love of His soul, and has wanted to give herself as He did! Letter 133 |
13. Jesus is taken down from the cross |
|
 |
After this, Joseph of Arimathea, secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. And Pilate permitted it. So he came and took his body. John 19, 38
Now that He has returned to the Father and has substituted me for Himself on the Cross so that “I may suffer in my body what is lacking in His passion for the sake of His body, which is the Church”, the Blessed Virgin is again there to teach me to suffer as He did, to tell me, to make me hear those last songs of His soul which no one else but she, His mother could overhear. When I shall have said my “consummatum est”, it is again she, “Juana coeli”, who will lead me into the heavenly courts. Last Retreat 41 |
14. Jesus is laid in the tomb |
|
 |
Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit...And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” John 12, 24 + 32
No one has penetrated the depths of the mystery of Christ except the Blessed Virgin...This is the unspeakable “secret” that she kept in mind and pondered in her heart which no tongue can tell or pen describe! Last Retreat 2 |