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Via Crucis, Felix Anton Scheffler - 1757
Church of Saint Martin - Ischl, Seeon (Diocese of München) - Germany FIFTH STATION
Jesus is helped by Simon the Cyrene to carry his Cross
V/. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R/. Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum. From the Gospel according to Matthew. 27:32; 16:24 As they went out, they came upon a man of Cyrene, Simon by name; this man they compelled to carry his cross.
Jesus told his disciples:
If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. MEDITATION Simon of Cyrene,
you are one of the little ones, the poor,
a nameless man from the countryside,
someone overlooked by the history books.And yet you made history! You wrote one of the most beautiful chapters
in the history of mankind:
you carried the cross of Another,
you lifted the cross,
and prevented it from crushing its victim. You restored dignity to us all,
by reminding us that we become truly ourselves
only when we stop thinking only about ourselves.
[1]
You remind us that Christ is waiting for us
in the street, on the landing,
in hospital, in prison,
in the outskirts of our cities.
Christ waits for us!
[2]
Will we recognize him?
Will we help him?
Or will we die in our selfishness?
[1]
Lk 9:24.
[2]
Mt 25:40.
PRAYER Lord Jesus,
love is fading away,
and our world is becoming cold,
inhospitable, intolerable.
Shatter the chains that hold us back
from reaching out to others.
Help us, through love, to find ourselves.
Lord Jesus,
our affluence is making us less human,
our entertainment has become a drug, a source of alienation,
and our societys incessant, tedious message
is an invitation to die of selfishness.
Lord Jesus,
rekindle within us the spark of humanity
that God placed in our hearts at the dawn of creation.
Free us from our decadent narcissism,
and we will find new joy in life
and burst into joyful song.
All:
Pater noster, qui es in cælis:
sanctificetur nomen tuum;
adveniat regnum tuum;
fiat voluntas tua, sicut in cælo, et in terra.
Panem nostrum cotidianum da nobis hodie;
et dimitte nobis debita nostra,
sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris;
et ne nos inducas in tentationem;
sed libera nos a malo.
Quis est homo qui non fleret,
matrem Christi si videret
in tanto supplicio?
© Copyright 2006 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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