THE TWELFTH STATION
Jesus entrusts Mary and John to each other
Antiphona
Quam acerbo doloris gladio cor matris, et cor amantissimi discipuli vulneratum fuerit ad hunc Iesu conspectum! Quem in te compassionis dolorem sentis.
Antiphon
Oh, how sharp a sword of grief must have pierced the heart of his Mother, and of his loving disciple, when they met Jesus thus! Do you, too, share with them their sorrow and grief?
Kyrie eleison.
Christe eleison.
Kyrie eleison.
Pater noster ...
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Our Father ...
John 19: 25-27
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.
Responsoria
V. Magna est velut mare contritio tua.
R. Quis medebitur tui?
V. Tuam ipsius animam doloris gladius pertransivit.
R. Ut revelentur ex multis cordibus cogitationes.
Responsory
V. Great as the sea is your grief.
R. Who shall heal you?
V. A sword of grief has pierced your own soul.
R. So that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
Reflection
In our moments of gravest suffering, those who love us most naturally share our pain and suffer with us. It is important to recognise the role of such special people. They do not lessen our own suffering but take on a suffering of their own that is intimately bound up in our own suffering. In the case of old age or terminal illness it is not uncommon to hear people say that they would rather die quickly or alone in order to spare those closest to them from suffering. Although it might sound right, it is actually an act of profound selfishness. As the endurance of suffering is bound up in love, the suffering of a loved one inevitably leads to suffering love. We must honour this love just as Christ honoured the suffering love of his Mother and beloved disciple. Knowing that their sorrow would only become greater even after his death, and knowing also that the sorrow of the Church for his sacrifice would be felt throughout time, Jesus tenderly honoured their suffering love and entrusted one to the other so that their pain might bear the fruit of love in the light of the resurrection, and so that all suffering from then on might be bound up in Christ’s own suffering for the salvation of the world.
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.
