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| Stations of the Cross
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| The
Sixth Station |
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Veronica
Wipes the Face of Jesus |
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V.
We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee:
(genuflect)
R.
Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
THE
READING: (St. Matthew 24:8, 9, 30,
40-41)
Jesus
said unto his disciples, All these are the beginning of sorrows, Then
shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you; and ye
shall be hated of all nations for my Name's sake. And then shall
appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven... and they shall see the
Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great
glory. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and
the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one
shall be taken, and the other left.
V.
I led thee forth out of Egypt, drowning Pharoah in
the Read Sea, and thou hast delivered me up to the chief priests.
R.
Holy and Immortal, have mercy upon us.
Let us
pray:
O
God, whose days are without end, and whose mercies cannot be numbered;
Make us, we beseech thee, deeply sensible of the shortness and
uncertainty of human life; and let thy Holy Spirit lead us in holiness
and righteousness all our days: that, when we shall have served thee in
our generation, we may be gathered unto our fathers, having the
testimony of a good conscience; in the communion of the Catholic Church;
in the confidence of a certain faith; in the comfort of a reasonable,
religious and holy hope; in favor with thee our God, and in perfect
charity with the world; in favor with thee our God, and in perfect
charity with the world; all of which we as through Jesus Christ our
Lord (who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost,
ever one God, world without end). Amen.
V.
O Savior of the world, who by thy Cross and Precious Blood hast redeemed
us:
R.
Save us and help us, we humbly beseech thee, O Lord.
| Reflection:
As
Jesus toils along up the hill, covered with the sweat of death, a
woman makes her way through the crowd, and wipes His face with a
napkin. In reward of her piety the cloth retains the impression of
the Sacred Countenance upon it.
The
relief which a Mother's tenderness secured is not yet all she did.
Her prayers sent Veronica as well as Simon--Simon to do a man's
work, Veronica to do the part of a woman. The devout servant of
Jesus did what she could. As Magdalen had poured the ointment at the
Feast, so Veronica now offered Him this napkin in His passion.
"Ah," she said, "would I could do more! Why have I
not the strength of Simon, to take part in the burden of the Cross?
But men only can serve the Great High Priest, now that He is
celebrating the solemn act of sacrifice." O Jesus! let us one
and all minister to Thee according to our places and powers. And as
Thou didst accept from Thy followers refreshment in Thy hour of
trial, so give to us the support of Thy grace when we are hard
pressed by our Foe. I feel I cannot bear up against temptation,
weariness, despondency, and sin. I say to myself, what is the good
of being religious? I shall fall, O my dear Saviour, I shall
certainly fall, unless Thou dost renew for me my vigor like the
eagle's, and breathe life into me by the soothing application and
the touch of the Holy Sacraments which Thou hast appointed. |
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