Stations of the Cross with Our Lady of America

Transcription

1 Stations of the Cross with Our Lady of America

2 + In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen Prayer to The Immaculate Conception O Immaculate Mother, Queen of our Country, open our hearts, our homes, and our Land to the coming of Jesus, Your Divine Son. With Him, reign over us, O Heavenly Lady, so pure and so bright with the radiance of God s light shining in and about You. Be our Leader against the powers of evil set upon wresting the world of souls, redeemed at such a great cost by the suffering of Your Son and of Yourself, in union with Him, from that same Savior, Who loves us with infinite charity. We gather about You, O chaste and holy Mother, Virgin Immaculate, Patroness of our beloved Land, determined to fight under Your banner of holy purity against the wickedness that would make all the world an abyss of evil, without God and without Your loving maternal care. We consecrate our hearts, our homes, our Land to Your Most Pure Heart, O great Queen, that the kingdom of Your Son, our Redeemer and our God, may be firmly established in us. We ask no special sign of You, sweet Mother, for we believe in Your great love for us, and we place in You our entire confidence. We promise to honor You by faith, love, and the purity of our lives according to Your desire. Reign over us, then, O Virgin Immaculate, with Your Son Jesus Christ. May His Divine Heart and Your most chaste Heart be ever enthroned and glorified among us. Use us, your children of America, as Your instruments in bringing peace among men and nations. Work Your miracles of grace in us, so that we may be a glory to the Blessed Trinity, Who created, redeemed, and sanctifies us. May Your valiant Spouse, St. Joseph, with the holy Angels and Saints, assist You and us in renewing the face of the earth. Then when our work is over, come, Holy Immaculate Mother, and as our Victorious Queen, lead us to the Eternal Kingdom, where Your Son reigns forever as King. AMEN

3 First Station : Jesus is condemned to death What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews? Pilate asked them. Crucify him! they shouted. Why? What crime has He committed? asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, Crucify him! Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified. Mark 15:12-15 Our Lady - My humble one, My small flower, we must have more souls who love, love unselfishly and without reserve. Who does anything who does not love? I wish to gather about Me, tender child, soldier and valiant bearer of the torch, an army of brave lovers, who as My torchbearers will enkindle the fire of Divine Love in the souls of men. Only those who are strong in love can be My soldiers to bear aloft, not the sword of destruction, but the sword of fire, the flaming torch of Divine Charity. Dear Lady, I pray for the courage to be Your Torchbearer, knowing that, if the world persecuted Jesus, they will surely persecute His followers as well. Enkindle in me the fire of Divine Love that I may be strong enough to be Your soldier and be given the grace to bear the torch no matter what the cost. Station Two: Jesus embraces His Cross So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying His own cross, He went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). John 19:16-17 Our Lady Fear not, small one, for it is through the most unlikely of instruments that God works His wonders. He chooses where the world would not. He makes that possible which the world deems impossible God has no need of anyone, yet He chooses the smallest of the small for His glory. Dear Lady, please help me to see that I am never alone. Help me to trust that with every cross in my life, there is Jesus carrying it with me. Grant me the grace to embrace my cross with joy trusting that God, in His Divine Love, has prepared it especially for me, for my good and for the good of others. Help me to carry it faithfully until the end.

4 Station Three: Jesus falls the first time JESUS - My Heart beats with compassion for the sorrows of man. Oh, how gladly would I help him bear the weight of his terrible cross, fashioned, for the most part, by his own guilt! But alas, he will have none of My help. So I am forced to stand by the side of the road and watch him struggle hopelessly in his agony. O man, what have I done to you that you should refuse My aid? Our Lady Behold, O My children, the tears of your Mother! Shall I weep in vain? Assuage the sorrow of My Heart over the ingratitude of sinful men by the love and chasteness of your lives. I come to you, O children of America, as a last resort. I plead with you to listen to My Voice. Cleanse your souls in the Precious Blood of My Son. Live in His Heart, and take Me in that I may teach you to live in greater purity of heart which is so pleasing to God. Be My army of chaste soldiers, ready to fight to the death to preserve the purity of your souls. Dear Lady, I pray for the grace of purity of mind, body and soul. Please protect me from all that could harm my purity and give me a great love for chastity. I pray for the grace of perseverance that I may be a faithful Torchbearer and prudence to know what is pleasing in the eyes of God. Grant me the necessary graces to fight to the death to preserve my purity for the Kingdom of God and the salvation of souls. Station Four: Jesus meets His Mother When Jesus saw His mother there, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to Her, Woman, here is your son, and to the disciple, Here is your Mother. From that time on, this disciple took Her into his home. John 19:26-27 Our Lady My child, I entrust you with this message that you must make it known to My children in America. I wish it to be a country dedicated to my purity. The wonders I will work will be the wonders of the soul. They must have faith and believe firmly in My love for them. I desire that they be the children of My Pure Heart. Let them come to Me with confidence and simplicity; and I, their Mother, will teach them to become pure like to My Heart that their own hearts may be more pleasing to the Heart of My Son. Dear Lady, I pray for a deep devotion to You as my Mother and a great love for Your holy rosary. I consecrate myself to Jesus through Your Immaculate Heart and pray for the grace to imitate Your virtues that I may become a holy woman and fulfill the mission Jesus has prepared for me.

5 Station Five: Simon helps Jesus to carry the Cross As the soldiers led Him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. Luke 23:26 Our Lady My sweet child, if love does not have its roots implanted deeply within the soul, it will die out or be rooted up by the first storm that besets it. But to make your hearts grow more and more like to the Heart of the Son, you must go to the Mother, whose Heart is most like His. From this Pure and Immaculate Heart you will learn all that will make you more pleasing to the Divine Heart of the Son of God. The Holy Trinity looks down with infinite delight upon such souls and makes them Its Heaven upon earth. Dear Lady, I pray for the grace to do all things out of love for Jesus. Help me to realize that every moment of my day, if done with love, can sanctify me and save souls. Give me the wisdom to see all the details of my life as loving invitations from Jesus to help Him carry the Cross and save the greatest number of souls. Keep me in Your Heart that I may always respond to His Love with Your Love. Station Six: Veronica wipes Jesus Face JESUS Blessed are the homes that honor My Name and the Name of My Father. Blessed are the homes where I am loved, for there the Holy Trinity dwells. Blessed are the parents and children who have made a home for God in their hearts. Our Lady Beloved Daughter, there is no true love unless there is sacrifice. A selfish heart cannot love because is it filled with self and has no room for love. My precious one, if self-love be true, it contains within itself the love of all and ignores no one. I need your help to bring peace into the world. Do not disappoint Me. Dear Lady, I pray for the grace to be selfless, always putting the needs and happiness of others before my own. Help me to see the Face of Jesus in all those I meet and especially in those within my own home. Help me to serve them as I would serve Jesus and give me a love like Yours that I may be a light to those around me.

6 Station Seven: Jesus falls the second time JESUS I am a Beggar for love, but how few give to Me the means by which to satisfy My Divine hunger. I hunger for the love of My own, and I receive only the crumbs no other would accept. I am the resurrection and the life, and unless souls seek their life in Me, they will find only death and destruction. Our Lady The hour grows late. My Son s patience will not last forever. Help Me hold back His anger which is about to descend on sinful and ungrateful men. Suffering and anguish, such as never before experienced, is about to overtake mankind. It is the darkest hour. But if men will come to Me, My Immaculate Heart will make it bright again with the mercy which My Son will rain down through My Hands. Help Me save those who will not save themselves. Help Me bring once again the sunshine of God s peace upon the world. Dear Lady, I pray for the gift of understanding that I may know the reality of evil and the means to overcome it. Please give me a great concern for all souls and a deep desire to see that not one be lost. Teach me to pray and to offer sacrifices for all who do not know and love God. Station Eight: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem A large number of people followed Him, including women who mourned and wailed for Him. Jesus turned and said to them, Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me; weep for yourselves and for your children. Luke 23: Our Lady Making the rosary a family prayer is very pleasing to Me. I ask that all families strive to do so. But be careful to say it with great devotion, meditating on each mystery and striving to imitate in your daily lives the virtues depicted therein. Live the mysteries of the rosary as I lived them, and it will become a chain binding you to Me forever. They who are found in the circle of My rosary will never be lost. I Myself will lead them at death to the Throne of My Son, to be eternally united to Him. Dear Lady, I pray for the grace to love prayer. Teach me to pray and to fight distractions without becoming discouraged. Be with me as I pray with my family and on my own. Help me to remember that every time I pray and hold the rosary I am holding Your Hand as well.

7 Station Nine: Jesus falls the third time JESUS Return, My people, for My Heart hungers and thirsts for your love. If you will not return, the just anger of My Father will descend upon you. What would you My love or My Father s anger? Choose, and as you choose, so shall it be done. I will not force your free will, for that is yours to use as you desire. Our Lady My sweet child, unless My children reform their lives, they will suffer great persecution. If man himself will not take upon himself the penance necessary to atone for his sins and those of others, God in His justice will have to send upon him the punishment necessary to atone for his transgressions. Dear Lady, I pray for a greater love for Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament. I pray for the ability to spend more time with Him in adoration, knowing that adoring Our Lord in the Eucharist will quench His thirst for love and send grace upon the whole world. Increase my love that I may share it with others and bring all people into His Eucharistic Presence. Station Ten: Jesus is stripped of His garments They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His Head. They put a staff in His right hand. Then they knelt in front of Him and mocked Him. Matthew 20:27-29 Our Lady What I ask, have asked, and will continue to ask is reformation of life. There must be sanctification from within. I will work My miracles only in those who ask for them and empty their souls of the love and attachment to sin and all that is displeasing to My Son. Souls who cling to sin cannot have their hands free to receive the treasures of grace that I hold out to them. Come to Me, My children, come to Me and learn. There is much I would teach you. It is for your own happiness and eternal salvation. Dear Lady, I pray for the grace of detachment from all created things so that my heart will be for God alone. Empty my hands and my heart of all that is displeasing to God and give me the treasures of grace. I thank You for all that You do for me and for all of Your children, dear Mother, and I pray to always be faithful to the graces that You give.

8 Station Eleven: Jesus is nailed to the Cross It was nine in the morning when they crucified Him. The written notice of the charge against Him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS. They crucified two rebels with Him, one on His right and one on His left. Those who passed by hurled insults at Him, shaking their heads. In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked Him among themselves. He saved others, they said, but He can t save Himself! Those crucified with Him also heaped insults on Him. Mark 15:26-32 Our Lady My child, nothing is accomplished without pain. Prepare to suffer much. You see the sword in the Heart of your Mother. Suffering completed the work of Divine Grace in My Soul. He who refuses to suffer will never abide in the Spirit of Christ, will never be formed into His image. Dear Lady, be with me in all my sufferings and in the midst of pain; help me look to You and Jesus. Place in my heart an image of the Crucifixion of Our Lord that I may offer everything up in union with Him on the cross. Give me a great appreciation for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and a deep reverence for the reality that we participate in. May I draw all my strength from the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and from receiving Jesus in Holy Communion. Hail Mail Station Twelve: Jesus Dies on the Cross It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, Father, into Your Hands I commit My Spirit. When He had said this, He breathed His last. Luke 23:44-46 Our Lady The Heart of My Son is open to anyone who wishes to enter and is closed to none. Your love then, must become like God s love so that it embraces and contains the love of everyone. The Will of the Father must be dearer to you than all else. This is the lesson every soul desiring intimate union with My Son must strive to learn. Dear Lady, I pray for the grace to always know and do the will of God, to love God with all of my heart, all of my strength, all of my mind and to love my neighbor as myself. Help me to live the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass by being willing to suffer for love. Please protect me and defend me that I may never be separated from You and Your Divine Son, Jesus.

9 Station Thirteen: Jesus is taken down from the Cross and placed in the Arms of His Mother Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid Luke 23:50-53 Our Lady My Son asks of souls love, that true love willing to sacrifice itself for the One loved. Man fears to sacrifice himself because he is selfish. If souls would place themselves into My keeping, I would teach them the way of true love. Dear Lady, I pray for the grace to know my faults and my weaknesses and, when I fall, to humbly seek the help of Jesus to rise, confess my sins and receive His forgiveness through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Give me a pure heart that I may know what is right and a conviction to never settle for less than the Truth, that at the end of my life, I too may be found in Your Arms. Station Fourteen: Jesus is laid in the tomb Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, Woman, why are you crying? They have taken my Lord away, she said, and I don t know where they have put Him. At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: I have seen the Lord! John 20:11-18 Our Lady My faithful one, what happens to the world depends upon those who live in it. There must be much more good than evil prevailing in order to prevent the holocaust that is so near approaching. Have confidence, dear one, be at peace. I am your Mother and will never leave you. Dear Lady, I pray for the grace to embrace Your mission with a generous heart. I thank You for entrusting to me such a great task. Please give me Your courage and Your love that I may tell the world, through the witness of my life, that I have seen the Lord and that He is still with us in the Holy Eucharist! Jesus, Mary, I love You. Please use me to help save souls!

10 Prayer to The Indwelling Most Holy Trinity O my Love, my Only Good, Most Holy Trinity, I adore You, hidden in the depths of my soul. To You, to Your honor and glory, I dedicate my life. May every thought, word and deed of mine be an act of adoration and praise directed towards Your Divine Majesty enthroned in my heart. O Father, Infinite Goodness, behold Your child, clothed in the likeness of Your Son. Extend to me Your Arms that I may belong to You forever. O Son, Divine Lord, made man, crucify me with Yourself that I may become, in union with You, a sacrifice of praise for the glory of Your Father, O Holy Spirit, Fire of Everlasting love, consume me on the altar of Divine Charity that, at the end of life, nothing may remain but that which bears the likeness of Christ. O Blessed Trinity, worthy of all adoration, I wish to remain in spirit on my knees, to acknowledge forever Your reign in me and over me, to Your everlasting glory. At the moment of death, receive me, O my Triune Love, that I may continue my adoration of love through all eternity. Amen Conclude with: One Our Father... One Hail Mary... One Glory Be... For our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, and for all of his intentions. + In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

11 These Stations of the Cross are based on the messages from our Lord and our Lady of America to Sister Mary Ephrem (Mildred Neuzil) of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus and occurred in Fostoria, Ohio from the years of The following is an excerpt from Cardinal Raymond Burke s letter dated May 31, 2007, in which he reviews the history of Our Lady of America and the actions of Archbishop Leibold approving this apparition for public devotion: Having reviewed the correspondence between Sister Mary Ephrem and her spiritual director of many years, Monsignor Paul F. Leibold, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, it is clear that the devotion, as proposed by Sister Mary Ephrem, received his approbation. What can be concluded canonically is that the devotion was both approved by Archbishop Leibold and, what is more, was actively promoted by him. In addition, over the years, other Bishops have approved the devotion and have participated in public devotion to the Mother of God, under the title of Our Lady of America. A specific request of Our Lady of America was that her statue be placed in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. While the National Shrine is the largest shrine in the world at which there was not a previous apparition, the private revelation to Sister Mary Ephrem very much confirms the mission of the National Shrine. As our late and most beloved Pope John Paul II reminded us, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of America and Star of the New Evangelization, draws all of the nations of America into unity in carrying out the new evangelization. Our Lady of America calls the people of our nation to the new evangelization through a renewed dedication to purity in love. I hope that the above may be of some help to you in responding to questions regarding the devotion to Our Lady of America.May the Immaculate Virgin intercede for the intentions of our dioceses and our nation. -Cardinal Raymond L. Burke