THE THIRD STATION
Jesus before the Sanhedrin
Antiphona
Collegerunt pontifices et pharisaei concilium.
Ut Jesum dolo tenerent, et occiderent:
cum gladiis et fustibus exierunt tamquam ad latronem.
Antiphon
Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council,
That they might by craft apprehend Jesus and kill him.
They came out with swords and clubs as against a robber.
Kyrie eleison.
Christe eleison.
Kyrie eleison.
Pater noster ...
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Our Father ...
Luke 22:66-71
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."
Responsoria
V. Seniores populi consilium fecerunt,
R. Ut Jesum dolo tenerent, et occiderent:
V. Concilium fecerunt inimici mei adversum me, dicentes:
R. Eradamus eum de terra viventium.
Responsory
V. The elders of the people discussed
R. That they might by craft apprehend Jesus and kill him.
V. My enemies have conspired together against me, saying:
R. Let us cut him off out of the land of the living.
Reflection
The Giver of the Law stands before his judges, without protest or argument, to accept a sentence for a contrived indictment. The boy who once amazed these doctors of the law with his knowledge and insight could have tied the chief priests and scribes in knots with their own words, but the truth cannot be argued with those who set out to deceive. In our own lives we are often insistent about being proven right in any dispute. This urgency to win an argument seems to have no regard even for whether we are in possession of the truth or otherwise: such is the curse of pride. If we are indeed in possession of the truth, to defend it seems naturally good, but how much of our urgency is indignant pride? Is it the truth itself that we want the other to see, or its bearer? The Way of the Cross continues with a meekness of spirit in the true sense of yielding our power wholly into the hands of God, for it to be used at his command and for his glory. Though we may have strength to defeat a thousand foes, we remain restrained by God and at his disposal alone. The truth prevails even beyond death, just as Jesus breathed his last and the centurion said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”.
V. Domine, exaudi orationem meam.
R. Et clamor meus ad te veniat.
Oratio
DOMINE Iesu Christe, qui de caelis ad terram de sinu Patris descendisti, et sanguinem tuum pretiosum in remissionem peccatorum nostrorum fudisti: te humiliter deprecamur, ut in die iudicii ad dexteram tuam audire mereamur: VENITE BENEDICTI. Qui vivis et regnas cum Deo Patri in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
V. Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come before you
Prayer
O LORD Jesus Christ, who out of the bosom of the Father descended from heaven to earth, and shed your most Precious Blood for the remission of our sins; we humbly beseech you, that in the day of judgment we may be found worthy to stand at your right hand, and to hear you say to us, "Come, blessed ones." You, who live and reign with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen.
