FYI~Assisted Suicide

The legislative hearing on the two bills proposing physician assisted suicide in Maine are set for Wednesday, April 5th at 9:30 in Augusta.  FOUR ways to help: 1. Are you a doctor, nurse, veteran or member of the disability committee? Or do you know of someone who is who would be willing to testify in opposition to the TWO bills OR submit written testimony? If the answer is yes, email me at suzanne.lafreniere@portlanddiocese.org and I will work with you directly to facilitate your legislative testimony. 2. Are you a constitutent of a member of the Joint Select Committee on Health and Human Services? List is below. If so, please email me at suzanne.lafreniere@portlanddiocese.org and we can discuss the best messaging for your particular legislator. Senator Eric L. Brakey (R-Androscoggin), Chair Senator James M. Hamper (R-Oxford) Senator Benjamin M. Chipman (D-Cumberland) Representative Patricia Hymanson (D-York), Chair Representative Anne C. Perry (D-Calais) Representative Scott M. Hamann (D-South Portland) Representative Colleen M. Madigan (D-Waterville) Representative Dale J. Denno (D-Cumberland) Representative Jennifer Ellen Parker (D-South Berwick) Representative Deborah J. Sanderson (R-Chelsea)* Representative Richard S. Malaby (R-Hancock) Representative Frances M. Head (R-Bethel) Representative Paul B. Chace (R-Durham) 3. Would you be willing to submit an op - ed in your local paper (weekly) to voice your opposition to these dangerous bills? If so, please email me at suzanne.lafreniere@portlanddiocese.org and we can discuss submissions. I am more than willing to help you write/draft/submit etc. 4. PRAY.  For wise counsel for our legislators and for those vulnerable people who would be negatively affected by passage of this bill. I will be asking for more help after the public hearing and work session/committee vote on April 12th. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interesting article about the legislative process in Maine: http://bangordailynews.com/2017/03/26/the-point/why-maine-lawmakers-spend-so-much-time-on-bills-that-have-no-chance/?ref=The%20PointBox ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Consider yourself invited: (Gentlemen, invite your wives, daughters, sisters.  Better yet, gift them with a day spent with other faithful women by paying for the registration fee!  It will be $ well spent.) 6th Annual Women's Conference on Saturday, April 29th.   The conference features Leah Darrow.  As a former professional model, Leah now teaches other women an appreciation of the true meaning of beauty and God's design. She reflects on the virtue of modesty with inspiration with Sacred Scripture. http://portlanddiocese.org/olff/womensconference ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A good video about the "Prodigal son"~ Failing Lent? Can a person fail at lent?

Another snowstorm is on the way. we are expected to get 6 to 10 inches, ( 15.24-25.4cm).

The snow was melting from all the past storms and the crocuses  were starting to show! I think this is a lesson in patience.

The warrior's cry: OFFER IT UP!

I have been feeling like the "lost son" [daughter] AND the "older brother" from the the Prodigal son, (and feeling that I "failed" Lent~ writing how I feel helps me. I now feel better and not so much a failure....I think I am just tired, it was a long week at work :)

Thank-you for reading.

Luke 15 : 11~32

The Parable of the Lost [daughter] Son.

11Then he said, “A man had two sons,12and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them.13After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.^g14When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need.15So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine.16And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any.17Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger.18I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.19I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’20So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.21His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’22But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.23Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast,24because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began.25Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing.26He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean.27The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’28He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him.29He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends.30But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’31He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours.32But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9hW6LtmwVs

"Whatever you do, do from the heart, as for the Lord and not for others," Colossians 3:23

We are just more than 1/2 through lent....how are you doing? "Thus says the LORD: Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; The things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind. Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create;" Is 65: 7-21 I really like the idea that we are new creations in Christ Jesus. The things I did in the past shall not be remembered, they are forgive by the Sacrament of Reconciliation and because of this Grace of God  I  can rejoice  in the new creation I become...AND SO CAN YOU! You are loved:) Another great teaching by Bishop Barron "Bishop Robert Barron" <wof@wordonfire.org> Friends, our Gospel today tells of Jesus healing a royal official's son. The official asked him to heal his son, who was near death. Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe." But the royal official persisted. And Jesus told him his son would live. The man believed Jesus and his son recovered. Theologian Paul Tillich said that "faith" is the most misunderstood word in the religious vocabulary. And this is a tragedy, for faith stands at the very heart of the program; it is the sine qua non of the Christian thing. What is it? The opening line of Hebrews 11 has the right definition: "Faith is confident assurance concerning what we hope for, and conviction about things we do not see." Faith is a straining ahead toward those things that are, at best, dimly glimpsed. But notice, please, it is not a craven, hand-wringing, unsure business. It is "confident" and full of "conviction." Think of the great figures of faith, from Abraham to John Paul II: they are anything but shaky, indefinite, questioning people. Like the royal official, they are clear, focused, assured. Homestead Thought: "They shall live in the houses they build, and eat the fruit of the vineyards they plant. Is 65: 21 JMJ Pray for us! ~Tina

Homesteading....sharing a dream with you.

"...aspire to live a tranquil life, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your [own] hands, as we instructed you," 1 Thessalonians 4:11

I have been thinking a lot about "homesteading".  It has an appeal to me. I think it is the idea of independence, having my own land and freedom, (from electric the company, the water district, banks, etc). And I like to idea of growing, harvesting, preserving, raising, my own food, food that has not been altered in any way.  Also having some kind of water: a pond/lake/brook as a source for producing electricity and food. Land for harvesting wood and a few Sugar Maple trees for tapping, as well as a Yurt or two for people who need a retreat... would be wonderful too! But as always there are a few glitches.  Tim does not want to live off grid and of course MONEY!

"He is like a tree

planted near streams of water,

that yields its fruit in season;

Its leaves never wither;

whatever he does prospers. "    psalm 1:3

I do have a name for my Homestead:

 Grace of God Homestead 56 and Retreat Center.

home·stead

noun

noun: homestead; plural noun: homesteads

1. 1.

   a house, especially a farmhouse, and outbuildings.
2. 2.

   LAW

   a person's or family's residence, which comprises the land, house, and outbuildings, and in most states is exempt from forced sale for collection of debt.
3. 3.

   NORTH AMERICANhistorical

   (as provided by the federal Homestead Act of 1862) an area of public land in the West (usually 160 acres) granted to any US citizen willing to settle on and farm the land for at least five years.
4. 4.

   (in southern Africa) a hut or cluster of huts occupied by one family or clan, standing alone or as part of a traditional African village.

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=what+is+a+homestead?&*

http://www.motherearthnews.com/-/media/Images/MEN/Editorial/Articles/Magazine-Articles/2011/08-01/Start-a-1Acre-SelfSufficient-Homestead/Homestead-Plan.jpg

"For we are God’s co-workers; you are God’s field, God’s building." 1 Corinthaians 3:9


The Following is from the site:  The Catholic Gentleman

http://www.catholicgentleman.net/2015/01/praise-catholic-homesteading/

IN PRAISE OF CATHOLIC HOMESTEADING 

•  JASON CRAIG
•   JANUARY 30, 2015
•  FARMING, HOMESTEADING, OUTDOORS
•  25

When the Papacy is vacant the whole Church looks longingly for a puff of smoke from a little chimney – the household of the Church feels lonely without Papa.   When it comes we rejoice, because our father has come home. When I see puffs of smoke from little homesteads in the countryside I feel the same – a father has come home to be with his family by living together on the land.

There’s a movement in the hearts of men, especially young fathers. They want to farm. I can’t count the calls I’ve received that begin: “I think God is calling us to homestead.” I can only describe it with that word: a movement. There’s no need for big organizations to promote it – its just happening. Call it another “back to the land” fad or what have you, but something is happening. Pope Benedict XVI recognized it too when he said:

“More than a few young people have already chosen this path; also many professionals are returning to dedicate themselves to the agricultural enterprise, feeling that they are responding not only to a personal and family need, but also to a ‘sign of the times,’ to a concrete sensibility for the ‘common good.”

I can’t say it any better. Men are moving back to the land for their families and as a response to the “signs of the times”. And you can put that negatively, bringing up the need to flee the horrors in cities or the vapid banality of the suburb, or positively by bringing up the need for family farms providing quality food to their neighbors. Whatever the motivation, something is happening. I’m here to encourage those of you that feel this movement: pursue it!

You’re not alone either. G.K. Chesterton dedicated the end of his career to writing about recovering an agrarian and craft-based culture through what came to be called “The Catholic Land Movement”, a movement he would sum up simply as: “Three acres and a cow.” He was joined by other brilliant men like Hellar Belloc and Fr. Vincent McNabb, author of The Church and the Land. The rise and fall of thise movement is fascinating, but the point is that you are not the first Catholic to look around and have that guttural reaction: this is not how man ought to live!

Some people will roll their eyes and scoff at the idea that we need more young farming families, seeing it as silly idealism, but I can’t see a need more real than food and family – can humanity go on without the two?

Yes, you’ll be accused of “turning back the clock”. And? “The question is not whether you can set back the clock,” pointed out John Senior. “Of course you can. Clocks are instruments…” We farmers and homesteaders aren’t reactionaries or extremists, we simply want to live as men have lived since the dawn of time and still do the world over. We feel like Joseph and Mary wandering in Egypt longing to return to the Promised Land.

The scriptures, especially the Psalms, paint the happy man as a man blessed by his family and the land: “Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table” (Ps. 128). Pope Pius XII, echoing the long tradition of the Church, praises farming thus: “God gave man the earth for his cultivation as the most beautiful and honorable occupation in the natural order” (emphasis added).

One of the greatest blessings of homesteading and farming life is the intimacy with nature. God speaks through nature – they sing his praises: “Through all the earth their voice resounds, their words, to the ends of the earth” (Ps. 18). Its not that we find “symbols” in nature of divine things, but that nature itself points beyond itself to the divine, and by living contemplatively on the land we learn to read the meaning of nature. In the book The Color of Blue: Recovering the Spirit of Contemplation, Benedictine monk Luke Bell says nature “is not something whose import we have decided upon: it is something given to us so that by contemplating it we may go beyond it to what it expresses.”

“Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made” (CCC 32, Rom. 1:19-20). God speaks through things He has made, and it seems that the more we are surrounded by things we have made the harder it is to hear Him. For the many that are not called to live on the land, they are still called to find ways to listen to God through nature, because “[the natural world] expresses a design of love and truth. It is prior to us, and it has been given to us by God as the setting for our life” (Benedict XVI). The farm is where almost all of life – work, leisure, prayer, meals – takes place in that very setting

Today we are not only utilitarian of each other, but also of the land, forgetting how to wonder and enjoy. We confuse knowing about a thing with knowing a thing. Our use of each other and nature mingled with our prideful spirits of doing and building make us forgetful of the spirit of reception, which is essential to wisdom and salvation.

Sweet is the lore which nature brings;

Our meddling intellect

Misshapes the beauteous forms of things:-

We murder to dissect.

Enough of science and of art;

Close up the barren leaves;

Come forth, and bring with you a heart

That watches and receives. (The Tables Turned, Wordsworth)

But it’s not just the intimacy with the land that brings the homestead to life, but intimacy with your family. I think the witness of fathers bringing their families to the farm is important for the broader agrarian movement, not only because family-less farms have a short economic shelf life (who keeps it going?), but it’s the full flourishing of the human person not just in nature but in a family. “You can’t have family farms without families,” Chesterton pointed out. This land and family affair is just plain good for men. Pope Pius XII, having already witnessed the effects of industrialization, which separated fathers from nature and family, said that farming is “so close to nature and based so substantially on the family,” that it is known to “produce altogether different men.” In my experience so far, that’s very true.

Here’s an example of nature, family, work, contemplation, and prayer coming together on the homestead: We decided that this winter we’re only using wood to heat our home. We have natural gas, but, well, I don’t like it. Yes, the gas is cheap and easy, but that thing drudged up from the darkness under us doesn’t compare to the gift of kindling which falls as a gift from above and is literally stored sunshine (that’s what a tree really is). The cutting, chopping, stacking, and drying that my family and I have to do constantly (and it is a chore!) bring us together around a unified work, filling our time with an activity that is both deep in meaning and fulfilling, and cultivates a spirit of gratitude for the earth’s abundance. As the Psalmist said, we are blessed “by the labor of [our] hands”. (And not one part of it is taxable!) This direct contact with the world and each other cannot be recreated anywhere else, without artificiality akin to a petting zoo.

We homestead together. We all watch for signs of spring – swelling buds on the dogwood out front and new grass in the pasture that the chickens, cows, and pigs will turn into eggs, milk, and meat. We know what seed on rocky soil does. We know that grapes only fruit well when pruned. Christ’s words are all around us.

When we first got out to the country the kids were bored. In the city we had basically lived a life of entertainment – how to we keep the kids occupied? Questions like that never come up now – there’s always work and simple fascination right outside. And we work and are fascinated together. We don’t have a TV but I can promise you a thunderstorm crawling over the hills can’t be recreated with computer graphics. Have you ever seen a child chase a firefly in a pasture? Oh it’s good. And it’s obviously something that has to be re-learned because when friends and family come to visit they always want to go somewhere – an attraction up the road or a neat store in the next town up. This home-centrism is odd to them.

And we homestead with neighbors. There is no spirit of competition out here. Excellence comes from communion with your neighbor not out-smarting them. Farmers give away secrets, and will stop in to tell you the latest piece of wisdom gained. Men help men because it’s right, not just when it benefits them or helps their profits. That’s love. It’s more than systems and economics out here. “Rats and roaches live by competition under the laws of supply and demand,” said Wendell Berry, “it is the privilege of human beings to live under the laws of justice and mercy.” And for those that think you can’t evangelize or witness to the Gospel in a rural setting I say: “Huh?” People with souls live out here too, and I have found that the deep spirit of community lends very well to witnessing to our Faith.

And as a father the great blessing is to be able to spend time with kids without simply being at the house. In the city, when I took time off to “just be with the family” it was actually kind of awkward. I basically just did stuff that my wife normally had to do alone, and as fun as it was it was a sort of disruption of the order that would need to be rebuilt when I left again for work. Helping your wife is good and necessary, but on the farm there is a sort of domain that I get to bring them in to which integrates seamlessly with the world inside.   The homestead is an extension of the house into a household, with levels of activity and work suited to different ages, etc. Its more than just “being home more”.

Now, I might be accused of being romantic, but the reason farming sounds so romantic is because it is. Sure, the reality of it involves blood, dirt, and manure, and its really hard, and sometimes that’s the case just with kids long before you step in the barnyard. There are neighbors here that will steal as fast as anyone in the city, and the beloved agrarian culture you read about in Wendell Berry novels is long gone, replaced by Dollar Generals, monoculture farming, and empty mills. And I also recommend that you give up the grandeur parts of your ideal: big colonial farmhouses and endless pastures.

The reality will be much humbler. But, like I said, I think we are in a movement of recovery and rediscovery. Men are remembering that “husband” means “house-bound” and that the word is also used to describe caring for the farm – “husbandry”. Farming and fatherhood just go together. I think the coals left from a more vibrantly burning culture of community, land, and God are being blown. And it’s getting warmer out here. I know some who have made it in a farming enterprise and others that have failed; I know those that stopped at the backyard gardening and others who homestead and live in a tiny house off-grid. I know some who left the city and returned jaded by the whole thing. It’s not for everyone. But it is for some, and those that try don’t regret it. And I think some of it – like the integration family, land, and God- is good for all. My point here is to say this: your dream is good, that desire is there for good reasons, and I encourage you to get your hands dirty. If the world seems too cold and lonely, maybe you just need to warm it up with a good tall compost pile.

—

Jason Craig is the Executive Director of Fraternus, which trains and equips men to mentor the boys into virtuous, Catholic men. Jason holds a Masters in Theology from the Augustine Institute and writes for TCM from his homestead in Western NC, where he milks cows and tends to a variety of plants and animals with his wife Katie and four kids (and counting).

JMJ~Tina

Another wonderful reflection from Bishop Barron and Word on Fire!!!!

wof@wordonfire.org Your daily Lenten Gospel reflection! Thursday, March 23, 2017 LENT DAY 23 LUKE 11:14-23 Friends, in today's Gospel we learn of a person possessed by a demon. Jesus meets the man and drives out the demon, but then is immediately accused of being in league with Satan. Some of the witnesses said, "By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons." Jesus' response is wonderful in its logic and laconicism: "Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?" The demonic power is always one of scattering. It breaks up communion. But Jesus, as always, is the voice of communio, of one bringing things back together. Think back to Jesus' feeding of the five thousand. Facing a large, hungry crowd, his disciples beg him to "dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves." But Jesus answers, "There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves." Whatever drives the Church apart is an echo of this "dismiss the crowds," and a reminder of the demonic tendency to divide. In times of trial and threat, this is a very common instinct. We blame, attack, break up, and disperse. But Jesus is right: "There is no need for them to go away."

I love St. Joesph...Monday was his Feast Day and I missed posting about it:( It was also Justin 25th Birthday! Thank-you God for all your blessing. Bless Justin in a specail way.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEj1IPkd16GJ4Qo5Fb2FgEtIy2BO-9kGEscm6sHRbWbWcCZlrpCweId1YY-hJ35-ZvT2TFIXed7GtPDVf7ZA2ckuZcDR5N0r69fEc3Mr0yRgpVkXKSM7JtIItdzuXVp2yZA0EuheUzb6S2/s1600/St+Joseph+Church04.JPG

St Joseph has been my "go to" guy, (as well as St Andre Bissetette), when I am feeling low and down...which has been a lot lately.

I always find comfort, and always feel he hears me, Praise be to God.

This was found at: http://www.mangiabenepasta.com/stjoseph.html

St. Joseph's Day

March 19

St. Joseph, who is the patron saint of the family, is celebrated at the Spring equinox and his day is a feast of bread.  At one time, 
the Feast of San Giuseppe, as he is called in Italy, was an Italian national holiday.  St. Joseph's feast day is still celebrated with 
families gathering together to create enormous buffets for neighbors and friends.  The table is said to overflow with an abundance 
of food that the Father of the Holy Family provides.  The centerpiece of St. Joseph's Day festivities is an alter laid with fine linens 
and decorated with flowers and decorative breads.  In America, the festival is like a giant potluck dinner, but the dishes served are 
similar to those eaten in Italy and are always meatless - from fried croquettes of fish, sardines, calamari, and shrimp to pasta with 
anchovies and breadcrumbs, stuffed artichokes, spring vegetable frittatas, fava bean soup or minestrone.  But in America, as in 
Italy, a highlight of the meal is the special sweets that are prepared.  Although the names and shapes of these hot delicate fritters 
differ from region to region, they are as much associated with St. Joseph's Day as turkey is to Thanksgiving.  They are usually 
called zeppole or frittelle; other names are cassatedde, sfinci, or bigne.   The pastries may be fried or baked and are sometimes 
filled with a sweetened ricotta, pastry cream,  or custard.   In some areas the zeppole are made of rice while in others they are 
based on flour.  

Zeppole di San Giuseppe

(Makes about 12 (2-1/2-inch) zeppoles

Ingredients:

Pastry:
1 cup water
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Pinch of salt
1 cup flour
4 eggs

Filling:
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup whole milk
2 egg yolks
1/2 tablespoon dark rum
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup heavy cream, whipped

Confectioners' sugar for dusting
Maraschino cherries

Directions:

To make the pastry:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium saucepan, combine water, butter, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil.  Remove from heat.  With a wooden spoon, beat in flour all at once.
Return to low heat.  Continue beating until mixture forms a ball and leaves side of pan.  Remove from heat.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating hard after each addition until smooth.  Continue beating until dough is satiny and breaks in strands.  Allow the mixture to cool.

Transfer the dough to a pastry bag with a large star tip.  For each pastry, pipe a 2-1/2 -inch spiral with a raised outer wall on the baking sheet.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown.  Remove and allow to cool before filling.

To make the filling:
Combine sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan.  In a bowl, whisk together milk and egg yolks  Whisk milk mixture into sugar mixture.  Place the saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly.  Boil for 1 minute; remove from heat.  Stir in rum, orange zest, and vanilla.  Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface. Allow to cool for 30 minutes and then refrigerate until cold.  Fold in the whipped cream.

To assemble the zeppole:
Cut the pastries in half horizontally.  Transfer the filling mixture to a pastry bag with a star tip.  Pipe some of the filling onto the cut side of the bottom half of each pastry.  Place the top half of the pastry on the filling.
Pipe a small amount of the filling into the hole in the center of each pastry.
Place a maraschino cherry in the middle.  Dust the pastries with confectioners' sugar.

A great Homily....Daily Catholic Mass - 2017-03-18 - Fr. Joseph

This is a long post, but it is a good one:)

What are the Stations of the Cross?

The Stations of the Cross is a Lenten devotion that offers witness to Jesus’ Passion and Death. At each station we use our senses and our imagination to reflect prayerfully upon Jesus’ suffering, Death, and Resurrection, and to simply experience the visual images to reflect on Christ’s love for us.

The Stations of the Cross every Friday, during Lent and throughout the year.

Scriptural Stations Of The Cross

 

The following stations of the cross are based on those celebrated by Pope John Paul II on Good Friday 1991. They are presented here as an alternative to the traditional stations and as a way of reflecting more deeply on the Scriptural accounts of Christ's passion.

The presiding minister may be a priest, deacon, or layperson. This minister prays the opening and closing prayers, leads the acclamation, announces the stations, and says the prayer that concludes each station. One or more readers may read the Scriptural reflections. A period of silence should be observed between the Scripture reading and the prayer. A crossbearer accompanied by two candlebearers may stand in front of each station as it is announced. As the cross- and candlebearers move between the stations, all may sing a verse of the Stabat Mater (At the Cross Her Station Keeping - traditional) or an appropriate antiphon, such as Parce Domine (traditional, various settings) orCrucem Tuam (Berthier, GIA),

Before each station:

Minister:
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.

All:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

After each station:

All:
Lord Jesus, help us walk in your steps.

Opening Prayer:

Minister:
God of power and mercy,
in love you sent your Son
that we might be cleansed of sin
and live with you forever.
Bless us as we gather to reflect
on his suffering and death
that we may learn from his example
the way we should go.

We ask this through that same Christ, our Lord.

All:
Amen.

First Station: Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane

Reader:
Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He took along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to feel sorrow and distress. Then he said to them, "My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch with me." He advanced a little and fell prostrate in prayer, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will." When he returned to his disciples he found them asleep. He said to Peter, "So you could not keep watch with me for one hour? Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."
(Matthew 26:36-41)

Minister:
Lord,
grant us your strength and wisdom,
that we may seek to follow your will in all things

Second Station: Jesus, Betrayed by Judas, is Arrested

Reader: Then, while [Jesus] was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived, accompanied by a crowd with swords and clubs, who had come from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. His betrayer had arranged a signal with them, saying, "the man I shall kiss is the one; arrest him and lead him away securely." He came and immediately went over to him and said, "Rabbi." And he kissed him. At this they laid hands on him and arrested him.
(Mark 14: 43-46)

Minister:
Lord,
grant us the courage of our convictions
that our lives may faithfully reflect the good news you bring.

Third Station: Jesus is Condemned by the Sanhedrin

Reader: When day came the council of elders of the people met, both chief priests and scribes, and they brought him before their Sanhedrin. They said, "If you are the Messiah, tell us," but he replied to them, "If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I question, you will not respond. But from this time on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God." They all asked, "Are you then the Son of God?" He replied to them, "You say that I am." Then they said, "What further need have we for testimony? We have heard it from his own mouth."
(Luke 22: 66-71)

Minister:
Lord,
grant us your sense of righteousness
that we may never cease to work
to bring about the justice of the kingdom that you promised.

Fourth Station: Jesus is Denied by Peter

Reader: Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. One of the maids came over to him and said, "You too were with Jesus the Galilean." But he denied it in front of everyone, saying, "I do not know what you are talking about!" As he went out to the gate, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, "This man was with Jesus the Nazorean." Again he denied it with an oath, "I do not know the man!" A little later the bystanders came over and said to Peter, "Surely you too are one of them; even your speech gives you away." At that he began to curse and to swear, "I do not know the man." And immediately a cock crowed. Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken: "Before the cock crows you will deny me three times." He went out and began to weep bitterly.
(Matthew 26: 69-75)

Minister:
Lord,
grant us the gift of honesty
that we may not fear to speak the truth even when difficult.

Fifth Station: Jesus is Judged by Pilate

Reader: The chief priests with the elders and the scribes, that is, the whole Sanhedrin, held a council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. Pilate questioned him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" He said to him in reply, "You say so." The chief priests accused him of many things. Again Pilate questioned him, "Have you no answer? See how many things they accuse you of." Jesus gave him no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.... Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barrabas... [and] handed [Jesus] over to be crucified.
(Mark 15: 1-5, 15)

Minister:
Lord,
grant us discernment
that we may see as you see, not as the world sees.

Sixth Station: Jesus is Scourged and Crowned with Thorns

Reader:
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged. And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head, and clothed him in a purple cloak, and they came to him and said,"Hail, King of the Jews!" And they struck him repeatedly.
(John 19: 1-3)

Minister:
Lord,
grant us patience in times of suffering
that we may offer our lives as a sacrifice of praise.

Seventh Station: Jesus Bears the Cross

Reader: When the chief priests and the guards saw [Jesus] they cried out, "Crucify him, crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and crucify him. I find no guilt in him." ... They cried out, "Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your king?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar." Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, and carrying the cross himself he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha.
(John 19: 6, 15-17)

Minister:
Lord,
grant us strength of purpose
that we may faithfully bear our crosses each day.

Eighth Station: Jesus is Helped by Simon the Cyrenian to Carry the Cross

Reader: They pressed into service a passer-by, Simon, a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.
(Mark 15: 21)

Minister:
Lord,
grant us willing spirits
that we may be your instruments on earth.

Ninth Station: Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem

Reader: A large crowd of people followed Jesus, including many women who mourned and lamented him. Jesus turned to them and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children, for indeed, the days are coming when people will say, 'Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.' At that time, people will say to the mountains, 'Fall upon us!' and to the hills, 'Cover us!' for if these things are done when the wood is green what will happen when it is dry?"
(Luke 23: 27-31)

Minister:
Lord,
grant us gentle spirits
that we may comfort those who mourn.

Tenth Station: Jesus is Crucified

Reader: When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him and the criminals there, one on his right, the other on his left. [Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do."]
(Luke 23: 33-34)

Minister:
Lord,
grant us merciful hearts
that we may bring your reconciliation and forgiveness to all.

Eleventh Station: Jesus Promises His Kingdom to the Good Thief

Reader: Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us." The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, "Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
(Luke 23: 39-43)

Minister:
Lord,
grant us perseverance
that we may never stop seeking you.

Twelfth Station: Jesus Speaks to His Mother and the Disciple

Reader: Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son." Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
John 19: 25-27

Minister:
Lord,
grant us constancy
that we may be willing to stand by those in need.

Thirteenth Station: Jesus Dies on the Cross

Reader: It was now about noon and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon because of an eclipse of the sun. Then the veil of the temple was torn down the middle. Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit"; and when he had said this he breathed his last.
(Luke 23: 44-46)

Minister:
Lord,
grant us trust in you
that when our time on earth in ended
our spirits may come to you without delay.

Fourteenth Station: Jesus is Placed in the Tomb

Reader:
When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who was himself a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be handed over. Taking the body, Joseph wrapped it [in] clean linen and laid it in his new tomb that he had hewn in the rock. Then he rolled a huge stone across the entrance to the tomb and departed.
(Matthew 27: 57-60)

Minister:
Lord,
grant us your compassion
that we may always provide for those in need.

Closing Prayer:

Minister:
Lord Jesus Christ,
your passion and death is the sacrifice that unites earth and heaven
and reconciles all people to you.
May we who have faithfully reflected on these mysteries
follow in your steps and so come to share your glory in heaven
where you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit
one God, for ever and ever.

All:
Amen.

OFFICE FOR THE LITURGICAL CELEBRATIONS OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF THE WAY OF THE CROSS PRESENTATION In the Christian West few pious practices are as loved as the Way of the Cross, a devotion which recalls with mindful affection the last stage of the journey that Jesus walked in his earthly life: from when he and his disciples, « after psalms had been sung, left for the Mount of Olives» (Mk 14, 26), until the Lord was taken to the « place called Golgotha, The Skull » (Mk 15, 22), to be crucified and then buried in a garden nearby, in a new tomb hewn out of the rock. A way traced by the Spirit The life of Jesus is a journey traced by the Spirit: at the beginning of the mission the Spirit leads him into the desert (cf. Lk 4, 1); and then, as a divine fire burning in his breast, drives him to walk the way to Calvary (cf. Lk 12, 49-50). The last stage of the journey is unspeakably hard and painful. The evangelists lingered, although with moderation, over the description of the Way of the Cross which the Son of God and Son of man walked out of love for the Father and for humanity. Each step of Jesus is one step closer to the accomplishment of the plan of salvation: to the hour of universal forgiveness (cf. Lk 23, 34), the pierced Heart – the opening of an inextinguishable fountain of grace - (cf. Jn 19, 34), the immolation of the true Paschal Lamb, of whom not one bone will be broken (cf. Jn 19, 36), the gift of the Mother (cf. Jn 19, 26-27) and of the Spirit (cf. Mt 27, 50). Every new suffering of Jesus is a seed of future joy for humanity, every jeer, a premise of glory. Along that way of suffering Jesus' every meeting - with friends, with enemies, with the indifferent - is a chance for one final lesson, one last look, one supreme offer of reconciliation and peace. A Way loved by the Church The Church has always kept alive the memory of the words and the events of the last days of her Spouse and Lord, a loving although painful memory of the path Jesus walked from the Mount of Olives to the Mount of Calvary. The Church knows in fact that in every episode which happened on that Way lies hidden a mystery of grace, a gesture of his love for her. The Church is aware that in the Eucharist her Lord left her the objective, sacramental memory of the Body broken and the Blood shed on the hill of Golgotha. However she also loves the historical memory of the places where Christ suffered, the streets and the stones bathed in his sweat and in his blood. The Church in Jerusalem showed her love for the « holy places » very early on. Archaeological findings prove the existence of expressions of Christian worship in the burial grounds where the tomb used for Christ had been hewn out of the rock, as early as the second century. At the end of the fourth century a pilgrim woman named Aetheria tells us of three holy buildings on the hill of Golgotha: the Anastasis, the little church ad Crucem, and the great church – the Martyrium (cf. Peregrinatio Etheriae 30). And she describes a procession from the Anastasis to the Martyrium which took place on certain days. This was certainly not a Way of the Cross or a Via Dolorosa, nor was the via sacra, a sort of walking tour of the shrines in Jerusalem, alluded to in various chronicles written by pilgrims of the fifth and sixth centuries. However that procession, with its chanting of psalms and close connection with the places of the Passion, is considered by some scholars an embryonic form of the future Way of the Cross. Jerusalem is the city of the historical Way of the Cross. It is the only city with this great, tragic privilege. In the Middle Ages the attraction of the « holy places » gave rise to a desire to reproduce them locally: some pilgrims on returning from Jerusalem reproduced them in their own city. The Seven Churches of the Santo Stefano complex in Bologna are considered the most remarkable example of these « reproductions ». A medieval devotion The Way of the Cross, as we understand the term today, dates to the late Middle Ages. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (+ 1153), Saint Francis of Assisi (+ 1226) and Saint Bonaventure of Bagnoregio (+ 1274), with their loving, contemplative devotion, prepared the ground on which the devout practice was to develop. To a spirit of compassionate devotion for the mystery of the Passion we must add the enthusiasm aroused by the Crusades launched to regain possession of the Holy Sepulchre, a new flourishing of pilgrimages from the twelfth century onwards, and, from 1233, the stable presence of the Franciscan Friars minor in the Holy Places. Towards the end of the thirteenth century we find mention of the Stations of the Cross, not yet as a pious practice, but as the path which Jesus walked on his way up to Mount Calvary marked by a series of « stations ». Around 1294 the Dominican friar Rinaldo de Monte Crucis, in his Liber peregrinationis, tells how he went up to the Holy Sepulchre «per viam, per quam ascendit Christus, baiulans sibi crucem », describing the different stations: Herod's Palace, the Lithostratos, where Jesus was condemned to death, the place where Jesus met the women of Jerusalem, the place where Simon of Cyrene shouldered the Lord's cross, and so forth. Against the a background of devotion to the Passion of Christ, and recalling the path Jesus walked on his ascent to Mount Calvary, The Stations of the Cross as a pious practice was born directly from a sort of fusion of three devotions which spread mainly in Germany and in the Netherlands from the fifteenth century onwards: - devotion to «Christ's falls » beneath the cross; as many as seven were numbered; - devotion to « Christ's way of sorrow», which involved making a procession from one church to the next in memory of the way of sorrow - seven, nine and even more -, which Christ walked during his passion: from Gethsemane to the house of Annas (cf. Jn 18, 13), from the latter to the house of Caiaphas (cf. Jn 18, 24; Mt 26, 56), then on to the Praetorium of Pilate (cf. Jn 18, 28; Mt 27, 2), to the palace of King Herod (cf. Lk 23, 7) ...; - devotion to the «the stations of Christ», to the moments when Jesus stops on his journey to the hill of Calvary either because he is forced to do so by his executioners or because he is exhausted from fatigue, or because, moved by love, he is still anxious to establish a dialogue with the men and the women who participate in his passion; often « sorrowful ways » and « stations » correspond in number and subject (each « way » concludes with a « station ») and the latter are marked with a column or a cross on which the scene, the subject of meditation, is at times depicted. Variety of the Stations In the long formation process of The Way of the Cross two elements should be noted: the fluctuation of the « First Station » and the variety of Stations. With regard to the earliest Stations of the Cross, historians record at least four episodes chosen as the «First Station »: - Jesus takes leave of his Mother; this « First Station » would appear to have been less popular, probably due to its difficult biblical grounding; - The Washing of the Feet; this « First Station », set in the event of the Last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist, is found in some Stations of the Cross of the second half of the seventeenth century, which were very popular; - The Agony in Gethsemane, the Garden of Olives, where in last loving obedience to the Father Jesus chooses to drink the chalice of his Passion to the last drop, was the initial Station of a brief seventeenth century set of Stations of the Cross - consisting of only seven -, noteworthy for its biblical rigour, and popularised principally by members of the Society of Jesus; - The condemnation of Jesus in the Praetorium of Pilate, a rather early « First Station » which effectively marks the beginning of the final stage of Jesus' sorrowful way: from the Praetorium to the Hill of Calvary. The subject of the stations also varied. In the fifteenth century great diversity in the choice, number and order of stations still prevailed. Some schemas of Way of the Cross include stations such as the capture of Jesus, Peter's denial, the scourging at the pillar, the defamatory accusations at the house of Caiaphas, the mockery of the white robe at Herod's palace, none of which are found in what was to become the textus receptus of the pious practice. The traditional form The Way of the Cross or Via Crucis, in its present form, with the same fourteen stations placed in the same order, is recorded in Spain in the first half of the seventeenth century especially in Franciscan communities. From the Iberian peninsula it spread first to Sardinia, at that time under the dominion of the Spanish crown and then to Italy. Here it found a convinced and effective apostle in Saint Leonard of Port Maurice (+ 1751), a friar minor and a tireless missionary; he personally erected more than 572 Via Crucis, including the famous one erected inside the Colosseum at the request of Benedict XIV on 27 December 1750 to commemorate the Holy Year. The biblical form Every year on the evening of Good Friday, the Holy Father goes to the Colosseum for the pious practice of the Way of the Cross, joined by thousands of pilgrims from all over the world. Compared with the traditional text, the biblical Way of the Cross celebrated by the Holy Father at the Colosseum for the first time in 1991 presented certain variants in the «subjects» of the stations. In the light of history, these variants, rather than new, are - if anything - simply rediscovered. The biblical Way of the Cross omits stations which lack precise biblical reference such as the Lord's three falls (III, V, VII), Jesus' encounter with his Mother (IV) and with Veronica (VI). Instead we have stations such as Jesus' agony in the Garden of Olives (I), the unjust sentence passed by Pilate (V), the promise of paradise to the Good Thief (XI), the presence of the Mother and the Disciple at the foot of the Cross (XIII). Clearly these episodes are of great salvific import and theological significance for the drama of Christ's passion: an ever-present drama in which every man and woman, knowingly or unknowingly, plays a part. The proposal is not entirely new. Pilgrims arriving in Rome for the Jubilee of 1975 received a small handbook, Libro del pellegrino, prepared by the Central Committee for the Holy Year, which included an alternative version of the Stations of the Cross, with which in part, the 1991 biblical Via Crucis takes up. Likewise, the Congregation for Divine Worship on various occasions in recent years authorised the use of formulas alternative to the traditional text of the Way of the Cross. With the biblical Way of the Cross the intention was not to change the traditional text, which remains fully valid, but quite simply to highlight a few «important stations» which in the textus receptus are either absent or in the background. And indeed this only emphasises the extraordinary richness of the Way of the Cross which no schema can ever fully express. The biblical Way of the Cross sheds light on the tragic role of the various characters involved, and the struggle between light and darkness, between truth and falsehood, which they embody. They all participate in the mystery of the Passion, taking a stance for or against Jesus, the «sign of contradiction» (Lk 2, 34), and thus revealing their hidden thoughts with regard to Christ. Making the Way of the Cross, we, the followers of Jesus, must declare once more our discipleship: weeping like Peter for sins committed; opening our hearts to faith in Jesus the suffering Messiah, like the Good Thief; remaining there at the foot of the Cross of Christ like the Mother and the Disciple, and there with them receiving the Word which redeems, the Blood which purifies, the Spirit which gives life. PIERO MARINI Titular Archbishop of Martirano Master of the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff