Stations of the Cross of Lourdes

Rude is the route which leads to the summit of this Station of the Cross in the sanctuary of Lourdes. But the pain of the walk is nothing compared to the reality assumed by Jesus on Golgotha.

“Who believed what we heard? », asks the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah describes the man of sorrows, rejected and despised, and he continues: “The punishment that gives us peace is upon him, and in his wounds we find healing” (Isaiah 53:5). This prophecy prefigures Jesus, man of sorrows, despised and crucified.

Who can believe that this dying man can give us life? Who can believe that the crucified people of our world can give us life?

Jesus takes the path of abasement. He descends into darkness and human weakness to take on everything but it is to return, with all his brothers and sisters in humanity, to his beloved Father. Jesus invites us all to follow him on this downward path to ascend with him into the glory of the Father.

Station 1: Jesus is condemned to death

Jesus is disturbing. He disrupts the established order. It upsets those in power. He disturbs the Pharisees and the scribes.

Jesus does not bother us with his demands for love, through his choice of the little ones. Too often we want to get rid of it.

Pray

Jesus, you who came to disturb us in our security to reveal to us a new order, a new love: give us the strength to welcome you and follow you to the end.

Station 2: Jesus is loaded with his cross

Jesus, exhausted, humiliated, receives the heavy wooden beam on his shoulders. He welcomes the trial, he remains in communion with his Father. “I am not alone, since the Father is always with me” (John 16, 32). Each of us is called to welcome and experience trials and mourning. But we are not the only ones wearing them. Jesus is with us.

Pray

Jesus, so that your kingdom of love may come, give us the strength of your Holy Spirit. You who purify our lives, be our strength to go through trials with you.

Station 3: Jesus falls under the weight of the cross

Jesus falls from exhaustion. He falls under the weight of the cross and the cruelty of men. He is no longer the standing master who speaks with authority and performs miracles. There he is, weak, a man of sorrows, lying on the ground. Who will take it up? Today, so many people sink into depression, feeling crushed by sadness, loneliness, overwhelmed by feelings of guilt. Their friends abandon them, not knowing what to do. Who will take them up?

Pray

Jesus, help us to lift up our brothers and sisters when they fall under the weight of suffering.

Station 4: Jesus meets his mother

The mother of Jesus does not hide her face. She knows who he is, the Father's beloved son, his beloved son, his only one.

Jesus meets Mary's gaze, a look of love, gentleness, welcome and tenderness, a look that comforts him and helps him to reach the end of the gift.

Pray

Jesus, may each of us be able, one day, to meet this look of Mary, in order to find the consolation and the strength necessary to continue the journey.

Station 5: Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry his cross

Simon, a peasant returning from the fields, is requisitioned by the soldiers to help Jesus (Mk 15:21). They are afraid that Jesus will become exhausted and will not be able to go to Golgotha. Simon looks at Jesus; he is moved by her sufferings and the painful peace of her gaze. He helps him carry his cross, without knowing that it is he, Jesus, who bears our suffering.

Pray

Jesus, make us available to walk with those who are crushed by suffering, and help them carry their cross.

Station 6: Veronica wipes Jesus’ face

A woman comes out of the crowd and gently wipes Jesus' face. Jesus looks at her, moved by her audacious love. Veronica loves Jesus. She dares to step out of the indifferent and fearful crowd to wipe her face. Jesus looks at her with tenderness and gratitude. Her face, both so beautiful and so disfigured, is now forever inscribed in the memory of her heart.

Pray

Jesus, give us the audacity and the strength of love to come out of ourselves, of our comfort, of our indifference sometimes: give us to wipe your face in the faces of the poor.

Station 7: Jesus falls for the second time

Jesus takes a downhill path.

He descends into darkness and human weaknesses, to be with us, in our poverty and our weaknesses.

Pray

Jesus, you invite us to follow you on this path of descent, to be with our brothers and sisters, small and weak.

Station 8: Jesus consoles the women

Jesus seeing the women crying over him, sees the anguish and isolation of those who are rejected, excluded from society.

So many men and women today wander our cities, lost, without reference or guide.

Pray

Jesus, bring forth in your Church and in society good shepherds, guides and witnesses who awaken our hope and show the way to unity and peace.

Station 9: Jesus falls for the third time

Jesus takes our faults upon himself. He is crushed by violence and beatings. He, the gentle one, loves each of us. He came to lead us to communion of hearts. His heart is torn by the blockages of fear, hatred and refusal of forgiveness that inhabit us, preventing us from welcoming love.

Pray

Jesus, turn away our tears, break our hearts of stone, open our hearts of flesh to your love and your presence.

Station 10: Jesus is stripped of his clothes

Jesus is stripped. He no longer has any energy or freedom of movement. He has no more friends, his disciples have fled. He no longer has either honor or dignity, he is stripped of his clothes. He is naked, exposed to the sight and mockery of men. Radical poverty. The smallness of God mocked by the powerful of this world.

Pray

Jesus, show us how to clothe our brothers and sisters with respect when they are stripped of their dignity.

Station 11: Jesus is nailed to the cross

At the beginning of his public life, Jesus stands, the good shepherd, who teaches, who shows the way and who guides his sheep to green pastures. Later, he kneels to wash the feet of his disciples and raise them up. Now, Jesus, king of love, is tied up, lying on the cross; he doesn't open his mouth.

He gives his life by offering himself as the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He transforms the hatred and violence that overwhelm him into forgiveness and tenderness.

On this day the creator of the world is crucified; he is crowned with thorns, he, the king of heaven; he hangs on the wood, the bridegroom of the Church. We adore your sufferings, O Christ our God.

Pray

Jesus, give your light to all those who are nailed by illness and suffering.

Station 12: Jesus dies on the cross

For three hours, Jesus hung on the cross. He can barely breathe. He has lost everything, but he remains in communion with his mother. Mary is there, standing near the cross. His presence tells him: “I trust you. I offer myself to the Father with you. » His heart is pierced by a sword. She is a woman of compassion.

Pray

Jesus, teach us, today, to stay with Mary near the cross of so many men and women.

Station 13: Jesus came down from the cross

Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus and John take down the body of Jesus from the cross. They place his martyred body on Mary's knees. Who can believe that this dead man can give us life? Who can believe that the crucified people of the world can give us life? Mary remains there. Silent, broken, crushed.

…She thinks.

Pray

Jesus, give us faith in the impossible: to believe that God can bring life out of death.

Station 14: Jesus is placed in the tomb

The stone seals the tomb: everything is finished. Peter and the apostles are in disarray and confusion. Mary Magdalene cries. Mary, the mother of Jesus, keeps in her heart the words and promises of her son. She enters the great silence of Holy Saturday, the day of waiting, the day of trust.