AN OBLATE WAY OF THE CROSSThere is a long tradition in the church of praying the "Stations of the Cross" during Lent. There is no ONE way of praying the Stations of the Cross and many versions of the prayers and meditations have been written over the centuries. The following method was written by an Oblate and is based on Scripture and the Oblate Constitutions and Rules. Perhaps you or your youth group might find it a helpful way of praying the Stations, giving them an "Oblate flavor."
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INTRODUCTORY PRAYERLord Jesus, your cross is at the heart of what it means to be
an Oblate. Once again we need to contemplate your cross and suffering. Grant us
the gift of living more profoundly in common the mystery of your salvation.
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1st Station - Jesus is condemned to death.- "Crucify him! Crucify him" was the cry of the crowd. - Oblates are called to be "ready to sacrifice goods, talents. ease, self, even their life, for the love of Jesus Christ, the service of the Church and the sanctification of their brethren." (Preface to the Constitutions and Rules) - Oblates "hear and make heard the clamor of the voiceless". (Constitution 9) |
2nd Station - Jesus takes up His cross.- "But it was for this that I came to this hour." (John 12:27) - "Called to follow Jesus, we too listen attentively for the Father's voice so that we may spend ourselves without reserve to accomplish his plan of salvation." (Const. 24) - "The Church, that glorious inheritance purchased by Christ the Savior at the cost of his own blood, has in our days been cruelly ravaged. " (Preface) |
3rd Station - Jesus falls the first time- "My heart is filled with sorrow to the point of death." (Mark 14:34) "He fell prostrate in prayer." (Matthew 26:29) - "We come before (the Lord) bearing with us the daily pressures of our anxiety for those to whom he sends us." (Const. 32) - We Oblates "accept for love of the crucified Lord our personal sufferings, the various trials of the ministry and the daily demands of community life." (Const. 34) |
4th Station - Jesus meets His mother- "Near the cross of Jesus there stood his mother... `Woman, behold your son... Behold your mother'." (John 19:25-27) - Mary "received Christ in order to share him with all the world whose hope he is. In her we recognize the model of the Church's faith and of our own." (Const. 10) - "We shall always look on her as our mother. In the joys and sorrows of our missionary life we feel close to her who is the Mother of Mercy." (Const. 10) |
5th Station - Simon helps Jesus carry the cross- "As they led him away, they laid hold of one Simon the Cyrenean who was coming in from the field. They put a cross-beam on Simon's shoulder for him to carry along behind Jesus." (Luke 23:26) - "In my own flesh I fill up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of his body, the Church." (Colossians 1:24) - "Cooperating with the Savior and imitating his example, we commit ourselves principally to evangelizing the poor." (Const. 1) - "Our choice of poverty compels us to enter into a closer communion with Jesus and with the poor .... to proclaim the coming of a new world ... open to sharing." (Const. 20) - "The Oblate cross received at perpetual profession is a constant reminder of the love of the Savior who... sends us out as his co-workers." (Const. 63) - Oblate Brothers "will seek (to) encounter him in the lives of those who toil, especially among the working poor." (Rule 65) |
6th Station - Veronica wipes the face of Jesus- "The soldiers dressed him in royal purple, then wove a crown of thorns and put it on him... continually striking Jesus on the head with a reed and spitting at him..." (Mark 15:16-19) - "The sight of these evils has so touched the hearts of certain priests, zealous for the glory of God, men with an ardent love for the Church, that they are willing to give their lives, if need be, for the salvation of souls." (Preface) - "The desire to cooperate with (Christ the Savior) draws us to know him more deeply, to identify with him, to let him live in us. We strive to reproduce in ourselves the pattern of his life. (Const. 2) - "Through the eyes of our crucified Savior we see the world which he redeemed with his blood... those in whom he continues to suffer." (Const. 4) |
7th Station - Jesus falls the 2nd time- "Pilate delivered Jesus up to their wishes." (Luke 23:25) - "They led him out to crucify him." (Mark 15:20) - "Whatever their work, Oblates will collaborate... in changing all that is a cause of oppression and poverty. They thereby help to create a society based on the dignity of the human person created in the image of God." (Rule 8) - "When faced with the demands of our mission and the needs to be met, we may feel weak and helpless. It is then that we can learn from the poor, especially making our own their patience, hope and solidarity." (Const. 20) |
8th Station - Jesus speaks to the women- "A great crowd of people followed him, including women who beat their breasts and lamented over him... `Do not weep for me. Weep for yourselves and for your children... If they do these things in the green wood, what will happen in the dry?" (Luke 23:27-31) - "The beloved spouse of God's only-begotten Son is torn with anguish as she mourns the shameful defection of the children she herself bore." (Preface) - "Our mission is especially to those people whose condition cries out for the salvation and for the hope which only Jesus Christ can fully bring. These are the poor with their many faces..." (Const. 5) - "To present Gospel demands in all clarity should never intimidate us." (Const. 8) - We Oblates welcome God's Word with "a listening heart so that we may come to a deeper knowledge of the Savior... (and) to understand better the events of history in the light of faith." (Const. 33) |
9th Station - Jesus falls the third time- "Come, all you who pass by the way, look and see whether there is any suffering like my suffering..." (Lamentations 1:12) - "He was spurned and avoided by men, a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity, one of those from whom men hide their faces, spurned, and we held him in no esteem." (Isaiah 53:3) - "Our principal service in the Church is to proclaim Christ and his Kingdom to the most abandoned." (Const. 5) - Oblates walk "with Jesus in faith, hope and love." (Const. 31) - "Faith moves us to accept for love of the crucified Lord our personal sufferings, the various trials of our ministry..." (Const. 34) |
10th Station - Jesus is stripped of his garments- "But I am a worm, not a man; the scorn of men, despised by the people. All who see me scoff at me." (Psalm 21:7-8) Oblates "leave everything to be disciples of Jesus." (Const. 2) - "We strive to bring all people - especially the poor -to full consciousness of their dignity as human beings and as sons and daughters of God. " (Const. 8) |
11th Station - Jesus is nailed to the cross- "There they crucified him, and two others with him..." (John 18:18) - "Father, forgive them: they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34) - "The leaders kept jeering at him... The soldiers also made fun of him." (Luke 23:35) - "We will spare no effort... to help them discover `who Christ is'." (Const. 7) - "Through the eyes of our crucified Savior, we see the world... those in whom he continues to suffer..." (Const. 4) - "By obedience we become the servants of all... Our work makes us dependent on others in many ways..." (Const. 25) - "In all our ministry, but especially that of reconciliation, we will reflect the understanding, patience and compassion of the Savior." (Rule 7) |
12th Station - Jesus dies on the cross- "Jesus... showed his love for them to the end." (John 13:1) - "This day you will be with me in Paradise." (Luke 23:43) - "Jesus said, `Now it is finished.' Then he bowed his head and delivered over his spirit." (John 19:30) - "We strive to reproduce in ourselves the pattern of his life. Thus we give ourselves to the Father in obedience even unto death..." (Const. 2) - "In all our ministries, prophetic voices must not be stifled." (Rule 10) - "We dedicate ourselves to God's people in unselfish love." (Const. 2) - "We will hear and make heard the clamor of the voiceless, which is a cry to God..." (Const. 9) |
13th Station - Jesus is taken down- "Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus took the body of Jesus... They laid and buried him in a new tomb... women were there, looking on from a distance." (Mark 15:42 ff and John 19:38 ff ) - "The centurion declared: `Clearly this man was the Son of God'." (Mark 15:39) - "In our hope for the coming of God's reign, we are united with all those who, without acknowledging Christ as Lord, nevertheless love what he loves." (Const. 6) - "We will let our lives be enriched by the poor and the marginalized as we work with them, for they can make us hear in new ways the Gospel we proclaim." (Rule 8) |
14th Station - Jesus is laid in the tomb- "What little sense you have! How slow you are to believe... Did not the Messiah have to undergo all this so as to enter into his glory?" (Luke 24:25-26). - "If we bear in our body the death of Jesus, it is with the hope that the life of Jesus, too, may be seen in our body." (Const. 4) - "Through the eyes of our crucified Savior we see the world which he redeemed with his blood, desiring that those in whom he continues to suffer will know also the power of the resurrection. " (Const. 4) - "We announce the liberating presence of Jesus Christ and the new world born in his resurrection." (Const. 9) - Mary "received Christ in order to share him with all the world whose hope he is. In her we recognize the model of the Church's faith and of our own." (Const. 10) |
Concluding PrayerLord Jesus, Christ and Savior, we have enriched our Oblate charism through contemplating your paschal mystery; We thank you for having united us so closely to yourself. We beseech you, with the very force of our weakness and our fear, fill us with the power of your love so that we may be strong witnesses of this new world which you have revealed through your success in failure. Open us more and more to your Spirit so that we may be truly present to your Body which is today suffering and dying before our eyes. Give us also a strong awareness of the resurrection made possible through the daily work we do in hope. Amen. |
Questions for Personal / Group Reflection
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