2019 Year of The Youth - Way of The Cross

Way of the Cross

Way of the Servant of the Lord
lifted from and inspired by the Via Crucis
at the World Youth Day 2019 in Panama

Episcopal Commission on Youth
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines

FOREWORD

Youth ministry has to be synodal; it should involve a “journeying together” that values “the
charisms that the Spirit bestows in accordance with the vocation and role of each of the Church’s
members, through a process of co-responsibility…” (Christus Vivit, 206)

That is what we, as the Episcopal Commission on Youth, the CBCP office at the service of
young people and of the ecclesial ministry among them, hope for as we propose to you this
Way of the Cross for the 2019 Year of the Youth, inspired by the same Way of the Cross in the
World Youth Day 2019 in Panama: For young people to do this together, but not only them.
Together with their lay adult leaders, with their parish priests, with the religious women and
men in their communities, and indeed together with Mary and her Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.

As you pray these stations in your groups and communities, may you truly experience walking
with Jesus in this way of love, gift and power, in the company of our Blessed Mother, who
shows us faithful accompaniment in mission--in the mission of the Lord.

For that is how young people view life, isn’t it? A journey: oftentimes fun, but sometimes
difficult. That this journey involves stops and turns where guidance is welcome, even if not
always sought. That the journey becomes more meaningful when shared. That moving
forward brings us to a wider realization of what matters: family, relationships, wisdom,
emotions, community, struggles, growth, vocation. The journey then becomes a share in the
way of the Cross: discovering that behind and beyond suffering can be joy, that it is in giving
that we receive, that we are responsible for one another, that through dying we come to life.

May this way of the Cross be more meaningful in the motherly presence of Mary, “the Mother
who watches over us, her children, on our journey through life, often weary and in need,
anxious that the light of hope not fail. For that is our desire: that the light of hope never fail.
Mary our Mother looks to this pilgrim people: a youthful people whom she loves, and who
seek her in the silence of their hearts amid all the noise, the chatter and the distractions of
the journey.” (Christus Vivit, 48)

+ Leopoldo C. Jaucian, SVD, DD
Bishop of Bangued
Chairman of the CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Youth

Way of the Cross, Way of the Servant of the Lord p. 1

INTRODUCTION

The Way of the Cross, a dear tradition especially during the Lenten Season, is also a main
event of the World Youth Days (WYD).

The text for this Way of the Cross was lifted from and inspired by the actual text used in
the Way of the Cross during the WYD2019, on Friday, January 25, at Campo Santa Maria La
Antigua (Cinta Costerra, Panama City), as gleaned from the WYD2019 Prayer Book (English)
and the live coverage by EWTN.

Live coverage available in the EWTN Youtube Channel through this link--
World Youth Day: Panama 2019 - 2019-01-26 - Way Of The Cross
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD1sZMVrDZ8
The Way of the Cross proper begins at 00:38:12.

The text in this edition is adapted for the Philippine context, especially for the 2019 Year
of the Youth and in the spirit of the theme of the National Youth Day 2019 (which is also the
WYD2019 theme):

“I am the servant of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.”

In each station, a reality or issue affecting young people is remembered in the light of that
moment in the Way of the Cross. Similar to how it was prayed in Panama, where each station
implored the intercession of our Blessed Mother in one of her titles venerated in selected
American nations, a Marian devotion in the Philippines will be mentioned not only to promote
awareness about our country’s love for Mary but also to highlight how we, who strive to be
servants of the Lord, can be aided by our Lady, our model in Christian service.

The words of Pope Francis have been lifted from--
http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2019/january/documents/papa-francesco_20190
125_panama-viacrucis-gmg.html

Images of the Scriptural Stations of the Cross by Michael O’Brien
Accessed here--
https://tonebenedict.wordpress.com/ http://www.reformworship.com/

Other photos from--
http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/events/event.dir.html/content/vaticanevents/en/2019/1/25
/via-crucis-gmg.html


FLOW OF EACH STATION

1. Announcement of the Station

A leader proclaims the moment in the Way of the Cross highlighted in the station.

2. Traditional opening

Leader: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You
Assembly: Because by Your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

3. Gospel proclamation preceded by a faith statement

A leader declares a faith statement, after which the selected Gospel text is proclaimed.

Scripture texts are taken from the New American Bible revised edition (NABRE).

4. Reflection

A text for reflection is offered, to be read aloud by one person, or by selected persons, or by
the assembly.

5. Common Prayer

Everyone recites the prayer.

6. Closing antiphon

Leader: I am the servant of the Lord
Assembly: May it be done to me according to your word.

A creative yet meaningful variation could be to recite this in the group’s own language, i.e.
the 3rd responsory in the Angelus prayer.

For example, a Tagalog-speaking group praying this Way of the Cross may opt to use this:
Leader: Narito ang alipin ng Panginoon
Assembly: Maganap nawa sa akin ayon sa wika mo.

7. Movement to the next station

The movement is accompanied by a prayerful chant, which can be identified and rehearsed
before the Way of the Cross is began.


Proposed chant: In manus tuas (Taize)

(Into Your hands, O Father, I now commend my spirit.)

If the assembly has a cross borne in procession, then it will be more meaningful if this cross is
transferred from one station to the next by a group within the assembly, e.g. group of students,
group of parents, group of parish leaders, etc. If the assembly is small in number, then the cross
may be carried by a different individual per station.

At the end of the Way of the Cross, each one is highly encouraged to take time to read
personally and meditatively the reflections offered by Pope Francis (Appendix 1 of this
booklet) to deepen and enrich the Via Crucis prayer experience.


OPENING PRAYER

1. The Sign of the Cross

In the name of the Father + and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

2. Introduction

A leader reads these words from Pope Francis:

From Pope Francis, as we begin this Way of the Cross.

“Dear Young People of the world,

To walk with Jesus will always be a grace and a risk:

a grace, because he commits us to living in the faith and to knowing him by entering the
deepest part of his heart and understanding the power of his word;

a risk, because the words, gestures and actions of Jesus stand in contrast to the spirit of the
world with its human ambition, with its cultural designs that discard and are loveless.

There is a certainty that fills this Way of the Cross with hope: Jesus walked it with love. And
the Glorious Virgin experienced it too, she who from the beginning of the Church has wanted,
by her tenderness, to sustain the way of evangelization.”

(words of the Holy Father at the start of the Way of the Cross in the World Youth Day 2019)

3. Scripture reading

From the letter of Paul to the Romans.

What will separate us from the love of Christ?
Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?...
neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature
will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. [8:35-39]

4. Reflection

When young people want something, they don't give up. When someone is convinced by an
ideal, he or she gives everything for the cause believed in. Today, we want to walk with all
Filipino youth alongside Jesus. In every step on this path of sorrow and hope, we want to

encounter the lives of those who unite themselves to the Cross of Jesus, who embrace the
grace of following the Lord as well as the risk of committing themselves to Him in life, in
truth, and in hope.

5. Prayer

Let us pray.

Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. [Mt
16:24]

Lord, look with mercy on us.
Fill our hearts with Your Spirit of wisdom,
that we may enthusiastically proclaim the Good News to our fellow men and women.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
forever and ever.

Amen.


First Station
Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

*Let us remember everyone,
especially young people,
discerning their future.


We should not wait to be perfect
in order to respond with our generous “yes”, nor be fearful of our limitations and sins,
but instead open our hearts to the voice of the Lord.
(Pope Francis, in his message for the 2018 World Day of Prayer for Vocations)

From the Gospel according to Mark.

Then they came to a place named Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I
pray.” He took with him Peter, James, and John, and began to be troubled and distressed.
Then he said to them, “My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch.” He
advanced a little and fell to the ground and prayed that if it were possible the hour might pass
by him; he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible to you. Take this cup away from me, but
not what I will but what you will.” [14:32-36]

Reflection

Let us put our hearts into this prayerful encounter and hear the call that comes from
Gethsemane to do the will of the Father. Let us dedicate our lives to a continuous and
everlasting "Yes" -- a yes given by young people, the bravest in pursuit of Christ, the most
dedicated in response to their vocations, and the most faithful -- that the chalice of Christ's

passion, which so many young people have united themselves to, may become hope and
blessing for all.

Gethsemane is always a remembrance of silence, of prayer, of suffering. God comes silently
and discreetly, without imposing on our freedom. We need, then, to prepare ourselves to
listen deeply to His word, to learn how to view things with the eyes of faith, and to keep
ourselves open to the surprises of the Spirit.

Let us pray.

Give us, Lord, the joy of saying Yes to You--in each day, to Your invitation to friendship and
discipleship, and through our lives, to Your call of service: whether in the ordained ministry, in
marriage and family, in consecrated life, or in the single state.

May Nuestra Senora de Guia, whose image is recognized as oldest in our shores,
never cease to guide us, especially our youth.
May she teach us that Jesus, her Son and our Lord, is freedom and hope.
May she reassure us that those persecuted in so many ways and in so many places
will find the fraternal comfort of all humanity.



Second Station
Jesus is betrayed by Judas, and arrested.

*Let us remember the dream for unity.


“...that they may all be one,
as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that they also may be in us, that the world may believe..." [Jn 17:21]


Then, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived, accompanied by a crowd
with swords and clubs who had come from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. His
betrayer had arranged a signal with them, saying, “The man I shall kiss is the one; arrest him
and lead him away securely.” He came and immediately went over to him and said, “Rabbi.”
And he kissed him. At this they laid hands on him and arrested him. [14:43-46]

Reflection

We want to live as Jesus did. This means building unity which He announced, and which He
realized with His generosity.

“Master!” This is what Judas calls Jesus. Today, we also approach Jesus, betrayed and
arrested. Today, we see how important it is to build unity, so that our faith becomes an
eloquent service that enlightens peoples with the truth and with the hope Jesus gives us.


From our hearts, we cry out that we may be sources of communion, of life, of joyful hope that
gives the world a new "rhythm" of vitality and joyful searching for what unites us. The path of
a Church that is an artisan of unity passes through the Garden of Gethsemane to find in the
pain of Jesus an incentive to heal wounds, to draw bridges, to unite wills, and to build
fraternal communities that seal covenants with joy and hope.

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus, betrayed and arrested in the Garden,
we pray that the olive trees that surrounded Your sorrow
may also become signs of unity and peace for everyone and everywhere.

Through the intercession of Nuestra Senora de Caridad,
may she teach us that Jesus, her Son and our Teacher,
continues to call us to be one,
and to work unceasingly for communion and fraternity.



Third Station
Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin.

*Let us remember the martyrs of today.


“Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” [Mt 5:10]


The chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin kept trying to obtain testimony against Jesus in
order to put him to death, but they found none. Many gave false witness against him, but
their testimony did not agree. Some took the stand and testified falsely against him, alleging,
“We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands and within three days I will
build another not made with hands.’” Even so their testimony did not agree. The high priest
rose before the assembly and questioned Jesus, saying, “Have you no answer? What are these
men testifying against you?”

Then Jesus answered, “I am;
and ‘you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power
and coming with the clouds of heaven.’”

You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”
They all condemned him as deserving to die. [14:55-60, 62, 64]


Reflection

Following Jesus means living His cause, His generous love which gives strength to those who
give testimony to the truth in love.

The experience of the martyrs, among whom are our compatriots Lorenzo Ruiz and Pedro
Calungsod, reminds us how the Sanhedrin lives on in history and how many today are
persecuted, opposed and condemned because their consistent and firm lives are a scandal to
the world.

The voice of the martyrs will always be a song of hope. The voices of true shepherds will
continue to show their flock the path of life and hope. The voice of those who died because
they are faithful to Jesus is an eternal cry of hope and blessing.

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus, glory of the martyrs and crown of those who give their lives for love,
strengthen our faith and make us courageous witnesses of Your peace.
That through the intercession of our Lady Help of Christians,
remind us of how much God loves the blood of the martyrs, which is the seed of faith;
and how precious in the eyes of the Lord are the hearts offered
by all those who have joined Christ in an offering of peace and blessing.
So that the young people might learn to give their lives with joy,
and that they might live with joy in the midst of the world.



Fourth Station
Jesus is denied by Peter.

*Let us remember the indigenous peoples.


“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” [Jn 21:16]


While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the high priest’s maids came along. Seeing
Peter warming himself, she looked intently at him and said, “You too were with the Nazarene,
Jesus.” But he denied it saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.”
So he went out into the outer court. [Then the cock crowed.] The maid saw him and began
again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” Once again he denied it. A little
later the bystanders said to Peter once more, “Surely you are one of them; for you too are a
Galilean.” He began to curse and to swear, “I do not know this man about whom you are
talking.” And immediately a cock crowed a second time. Then Peter remembered the word
that Jesus had said to him, “Before the cock crows twice you will deny me three times.” He
broke down and wept. [14:66-72]

Reflection

With what great love Jesus sends us to seek and love the sheep who are the weakest, the
most fragile, and the most ignorant. God wanted to reveal His Son with the human face of all
those who would be redeemed. Therefore, denying Jesus is also denying His loving decision

to enter into all of humanity, all cultures, all expressions of humanity that are capable of
recognizing Him as Lord and Savior.

Our indigenous peoples portray Christ in the many years of pain that mark their lives. Denied
and forgotten, they find in the Lord Jesus the image of their pain, the face of so many that
have been forgotten. That is why they recognize themselves in the Suffering Servant, and see
in their defenders the hand of God that extends toward those who should be most loved
because they are the first in these lands. The indigenous peoples, the natives of our land,
have become so close to Jesus that in their faces, we find His beloved Face, whom we
venerate, sculpted and painted with love in those whom He made His brothers and sisters.

Let us pray.

Give us, Lord Jesus, Your zeal as the Good Shepherd,
and Your love, so that we might take care of those who suffer the most.

May our Lady of the Visitation continue to remind us
how You, her Son, always finds in our indigenous peoples
a cradle of tenderness and a cross that has flourished in hope.



Fifth Station
Jesus is judged by Pilate.

*Let us remember ecology and our common home.


Young people demand change.
They wonder how anyone can claim to be building a better future
without thinking of the environmental crisis and the sufferings of the excluded.
(Laudato si, 13)

From the Gospel according to Luke.

Then the whole assembly of them arose and brought him before Pilate. They brought charges
against him, saying, “We found this man misleading our people; he opposes the payment of
taxes to Caesar and maintains that he is the Messiah, a king.” Pilate asked him, “Are you the
king of the Jews?” He said to him in reply, “You say so.” Pilate then addressed the chief priests
and the crowds, “I find this man not guilty.”

With loud shouts, however, they persisted in calling for his crucifixion, and their voices
prevailed. The verdict of Pilate was that their demand should be granted. [23:1-4, 23-24]

Reflection

Kingdoms of the world pass away; the Kingdom of Jesus, which is justice, love, joy,
truth--remains forever.


Jesus is the Lord of all. Someday, the whole of creation will surrender before His glorious
presence. As God placed this wonderful world, full of beauty and harmony, in the hands of
humanity, we, like Pilate, thought that we could dispose of everything, and then end up
enslaving creation to the ambitions of a few, to the false ambition of those who thought they
were masters when they are only caretakers.

Our planet, our home, cannot be a victim of indifference or of the self-sufficiency of man.

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus, we pray that we are able to do justice,
that we may be wise in encountering You in all of Your works.

May Nuestra Senora de Caysasay remind us that the Lord,
who was condemned to an unjust death, is the Lord of all.
Together with her, whose image was given us by the wonders of nature,
let us say: “Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth,
who sustains and governs us, producing various fruits with colored flowers and herbs."



Sixth Station
Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns.

*Let us remember migrants and refugees.


“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
a stranger and you welcomed me…” [Mt 25:35]

From the Gospel according to Matthew.

Then he released Barabbas to them, but after he had Jesus scourged, he handed him over to
be crucified.

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus inside the praetorium and gathered the whole
cohort around him. They stripped off his clothes and threw a scarlet military cloak about him.
Weaving a crown out of thorns, they placed it on his head, and a reed in his right hand. And
kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They spat upon him
and took the reed and kept striking him on the head. [27:26-30]

Reflection

In the Gospel of Mark, we are told about the iniquity of the mockery and horrible insults which
Jesus was subjected to. The scourging and the crown of thorns continue to cruelly pierce
Jesus' face and body. Jesus wants us to find Him in the pain of migrants and the anguish of
refugees. He Himself was a migrant, a refugee as a child in Egypt; He Himself felt the steps of
those who, yesterday and until today, brutally pursue those who have lost everything and

know what it means to have borders and doors closed; how the lines that limit countries are
being crowned with sharp thorns that threaten, despise and reject so many brothers and
sisters.

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus, walking through the world are many
who have had to flee their land, who have no land.
They remind us of Your presence.

May our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage,
who has walked together with the beating hearts of so many migrants and refugees,
help us to care for, heal, and help fill with hope those hearts
which are scourged and crowned with thorns of so many who have lost their homeland.



Seventh Station
Jesus takes up His cross.

*Let us remember those who are victims:
the least, the lost, the last.


If God loves us so all-inclusively, why are so many excluded?
If God’s justice is wrought so marvelously in compassion,
why are so many victims of heartless injustice?
If God loves us so lavishly, why are so many yet victims of driving poverty?
(from “To bring glad tidings to the poor”, CBCP Pastoral Exhortation, 2014 January 27)

From the Gospel according to John.

Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.

So they took Jesus, and carrying the cross himself he went out to what is called the Place of
the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha. [19:16-17]

Reflection

In the Pilgrim Cross of World Youth Day, Saint John Paul II gave us a banner of hope. In the
National Youth Cross, the Church in the Philippines offers young people a sign that unifies.
The Cross is the banner of Jesus, who is the answer to our questions; it is the sign of the
surrender that saves, of the love that extends to all, and of the open arms of the Redeemer
who turned the tree into the sign that marks His glory, the throne of the Lamb that was slain,
and the Tribunal in which we are judged in love.


On our way of the Cross, these symbols which the young people of our country and of the
world have taken to so many places, identifies the life that is offered. At the same time, it
invites us to unite to the Cross all the pains of the world, all the crosses that so many have to
bear, the crosses of so many tragedies, and the crosses that represent the immense suffering
of all the victims of various forms of violence.

Let us pray.

Lord, may we opt for the poor, the weak, the suffering,
and for those who are excluded and marginalized.
Anoint us so that we may be led to take critical and proactive attitudes towards reality,
prophetically denouncing situations of injustice that children and young people face
in different regions of our nation and in various parts of the world.

May our Mother of Perpetual Help and Prompt Succor,
venerated with so much love every Wednesday
in various churches, offices and homes around our country,
show us Jesus who, in the way of the Cross,
meets her, the Mother of comfort and strength.
May she, the Lady of hope, gather in her maternal heart
the cry of so many victims and teach us the healthy path of forgiveness and reconciliation.



Eighth Station
Jesus is helped by the Cyrenian.

*Let us remember the virtue of hope.


The cross of others is our cross. May we draw near them,
and bear with love the immense cross of the world.
(reflection from Brazilian youth in the Way of the Cross, WYD2019 Panama)


They pressed into service a passer-by, Simon, a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country,
the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. [15:21]

Reflection

Young people know solidarity, compassion, how to share life and encounters that build
bridges and open roads for unity. On the way to the victory of Jesus that we now walk, Simon
of Cyrene represents us, calls us, encourages us so that all the initiatives that foster
community and solidarity have a sure motivation through this station.

We cannot lose hope. However, a lot of young people seem to be losing this: those deprived
of education or employment opportunities, those who have lost their parents, those confused
and jaded by the illusions and fake news they see around them, those scandalized by people
in authority, including leaders in government or church. Many times we have been told that
young people are the hope for the future, that this virtue flourishes in their lives, and is a sign

of our identity, and how we are present in a world empty of love and joy. May we become like
Simon of Cyrene to these young people, and help them carry their crosses and encounter
Jesus our Hope.

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus, console and inspire all the young people in the world
who feel defeated by lack of love, lack of opportunities, lack of friends.

May Nuestra Señora de los Remedios grant to all of our brothers and sisters of every land
a true missionary zeal illuminated by faith and hope.



Ninth Station
Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem.

*Let us remember women,
and violence against them.


Violence… against women cries out to heaven…
Where is your brother or sister who is enslaved?
Let us not pretend and look the other way. There is greater complicity than we think.
This issue involves everyone! (Pope Francis, 2018 January 19, in his apostolic visit to Peru)


A large crowd of people followed Jesus, including many women who mourned and lamented
him. Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep
instead for yourselves and for your children…” [23:27-28]

Reflection

The women of Jerusalem have the capacity to offer us the splendor of grace and the virtues
of the biblical women who came before them: Eve, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Judith, Esther,
Naomi, Ruth; of those who, like them, shared that blessed time of closeness to Jesus:
Elizabeth, Mary of Magdala, Salome; and of those who, in the history of the faith have been
shining stars in the Church's journey: mothers, martyrs, doctors of the Church, founders,
missionaries.


Today, as we honor them, we think of our own mothers, grandmothers, women-relatives, lady
teachers, religious sisters, and other women who grace our lives--living signs of God’s love.

Let us pray.

Lord, we pray for all women who suffer from discrimination
because of their gender, inequality and prejudice.
For those who are fighting against the darkness of abuse, poverty,
loneliness, violence, human trafficking, and slavery.
Grant them Your Spirit, so that with Your light and strength, they may say yes to a new life.

Through the intercession of Nuestra Senora del Pilar, Lady of fortitude,
faithful Virgin, the glorious Woman who is the prototype of all women,
remind us of the love that Jesus showed to the women in His time,
might they find in You a defender of their dignity.



Tenth Station
Jesus is crucified.

*Let us remember human rights.


Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. [Jn 14:27]


They brought him to the place of Golgotha (which is translated Place of the Skull). They gave
him wine drugged with myrrh, but he did not take it. Then they crucified him and divided his
garments by casting lots for them to see what each should take. It was nine o’clock in the
morning when they crucified him. [15:22-25]

Reflection

Young people know that peace is always a gift. It is always obtained by the generous love of
God, Who is the enduring source of mercy.

From the wood of the Cross, lifted over the summit of Calvary, Jesus is Lord. Nailed to the
holy wood, His body, bruised for love, figures in the defiled and slain bodies of Fr. Marcelito
Paez, Fr. Mark Anthony Ventura, Fr. Richmond Nilo, Edgardo Avelino, Kian Delos Santos and
many others. His broken body rises above all of creation as a flag of hope, the generous
victory of love, the oblation that saves humanity and definitively restores the bonds of love
that sin had broken at the very dawn of humanity, and which continues to be shown through

human rights which are so profaned and defiled in our painful history, through violence and
vengeance which destroy countries and families.

Let us pray.

Grant us, O Lord, Your mercy,
so that we may offer forgiveness in order to be reconciled with our brothers and sisters,
to overcome enmity, to renounce vengeance,
and to open ourselves to living with one another based on justice,
on truth, in a true culture of fraternal encounter.

Through the intercession of our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary,
whose beads are united in and reflect Your life,
give us, Lord, true peace which You offered on the throne of Your Cross.



Eleventh Station
Jesus promises His Kingdom
to the repentant thief.

*Let us remember the evil of corruption.


“Corruption is not countered with silence.
We must speak about it, denounce its evils,
and try to understand it so as to show our resolve
to make mercy reign over meanness, beauty over nothingness.”
(Pope Francis, in his Pope Video for 2018 February--
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-02/pope-francis-prayer-intention-february-
corruption.html)


Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save
yourself and us.” The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, “Have you no fear of God,
for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly,
for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing
criminal.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied
to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” [23:39-43]

Reflection

Jesus on the cross has the key to the gates of the Kingdom of hope, and can open for all of us
the merciful heart of the Father where we all have a place, in Him who is love and forgiveness

for all. At the end of his life, the good thief recognized in the tortured man by his side the
face of the King who would open for him the Kingdom of life and peace.

He knew that at the end of his existence, the pure and sincere look of Jesus washed him of his
sins, tore away from his soul the continuation of a dramatic existence full of sadness.

Jesus calls us to conversion so as to build the Kingdom, and promises us a serene Paradise, a
transparent and joyful peace, a new life, filled with joy.

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus, open to us the door of Your heart.
Make us know that only in You are the source of truth,
the river of love that purifies our lives.

May Nuestra Senora de la Candelaria enlighten our path to You.
Let the light she carries who is Jesus, the Light of the world,
vanquish the dark designs of greed and corruption.
May she remind us that You are the only one
who can bring us to the Port of Life, to true life,
to the Kingdom of joy, to the holiness that conquers evil,
and to eternal life.



Twelfth Station
Jesus crucified, the Mother, and the Disciple.

*Let us remember all mothers.


Thank you, women who are mothers!
You have sheltered human beings within yourselves in a unique experience of joy and travail.
This experience makes you become God's own smile upon the newborn child,
the one who guides your child's first steps, who helps it to grow,
and who is the anchor as the child makes its way along the journey of life.
(Pope John Paul II, in his Letter to Women, 1995 June 29)


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. [19:25-27]

Reflection

You cannot live without a mother. Mary, the Mother, gave us in Bethlehem the blessed Fruit
of her womb. She followed her Son in generous and obedient silence. In Cana, she showed us
the way of fidelity. Finally, on Calvary, next to the cross, according to the Gospel of St. John,
she understood that the young man who was there synthesized all of humanity that was

entrusted to him to see in her the faithful Teacher, the provident Mother, the most perfect
Model of holiness and life.

The Church and her young people have always been accompanied by Mary. She has become
the mother of the disciples and, eternally young, continues to take care with motherly
goodness the fragility of youth, the need for tenderness and kindness, to defend the youth
from the fury of sin and the bitterness of loneliness. The first hour of evangelization had in
this Mother at the foot of the Cross a pillar of support, and her presence opened paths and
hearts.

Let us pray.

O God, who willed that, when Your Son was lifted high on the Cross,
His mother should stand close by and share His suffering.
We pray with all women who in their families give life its true meaning
by the gift of unconditional love, for the maternal nature that they develop day by day.

Through the intercession of Nuestra Senora de Penafrancia, devoutly called Ina,
continue accompanying us on our journey, defend us from the tendency to despair,
make us true disciples of the One who from the Cross
gave us a Mother and Educator for our life.
May we follow Ina’s maternal example through our love and respect for life.



Thirteenth Station
Jesus dies on the cross.

*Let us remember terrorism and murder.


The death of Christ is not a defeat; it is the victory of life and love.
It is hope.
(reflection from Mexican youth in the Way of the Cross, WYD2019 Panama)


It was now about noon and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon
because of an eclipse of the sun. Then the veil of the temple was torn down the middle. Jesus
cried out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”; and when he had said
this he breathed his last. [23:44-46]

Reflection

The death of Jesus on the Cross is, at the same time, a sacrifice, an offering, a gift of oneself,
and light. A river of light and life streams from the side of the Savior. His pierced body
depicts the sufferings from all time, from all of history. His words are victory. His silence is a
cry of hope. His open heart reigns serene, and is a flame of living love which purifies, heals,
redeems and consoles.

In our world, terrorism has destroyed many lives. These murderers have broken our hearts.
We remember those killed by criminal acts, those executed because of personal or political or

ideological convenience, suspects slain before being brought to justice, those annihilated in
the name of religion, and others who are killed because their murderers see them as different
instead of sharers in the same humanity. Jesus, dead on the Cross, becomes the voice of
many victims in order to teach us the kind of love with which we should defend, respect and
care for life.

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus, Your death gives us life.
We present to You the lives of many young people
who are in danger, who are attacked violently.

Through the intercession of our Lady of the Abandoned,
continue to show the compassionate and luminous face of the crucified Lord,
and teach us how to sow hope and solidarity
where heartbreak has pierced the heart of humanity.



Fourteenth Station
Jesus is placed in the sepulcher.

*Let us remember the evil of abortion.


May we understand that the tomb of Christ is not a tomb.
It is a glorious door through which we obtain life and peace.
(reflection from Nicaraguan youth in the Way of the Cross, WYD2019 Panama)


Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new
tomb, in which no one had yet been buried. So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish
preparation day; for the tomb was close by. [19:41-42]

Reflection

Life flourishes in the body of Christ, which, anointed with the balm of kings, wrapped in a
shroud woven with clemency and mercy, awaits the Easter dawn to emerge victorious.

There are many tombs: some are engraved with human art, others open in the depths of the
earth and hold the remains of many deceased, so many victims of violence and hatred.
However, there is a tomb which cries to heaven and condemns the terrible cruelty of
humanity: it is the tomb which is made in the wombs of the mothers of the innocents whose
lives are torn from them. It is the tomb in which rest the new Ninos Inocentes (Innocent
Martyrs), the victims of abortion, who like the Holy Innocents in Bethlehem, continue to cry

out to the world with their drowned voices, the cries of their bodies torn apart, the deep
sadness of their defiled rights, the supreme injustice which denied them the right to life.

God, grant that we may may truly humanize ourselves, resolutely defend life, and erase laws
which kill innocent life forever.

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus, grant that the young people of the world
choose the option for life so that the innocents might regain their right to life,
to be born and to live.

May Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe teach us the sacred value of life
from its conception to its natural end,
so that tombs may nevermore be made of the sacred wombs of mothers.



CONCLUDING PRAYER
From the Cross to the Light.

1. Scripture reading

From the Gospel according to Matthew.

Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to
me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded
you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
[28:18-20]

2. Reflection

The empty Cross leading to the empty tomb is a sign of mission, the work of light--to be hope,
to be life.

We must convince the world of a faith which transforms, of hope which brings humanity forth
from the pain of sin and death. Jesus lives! And so we sing it, so we shout! And so we will
continue proclaiming it from every heart renewed with Paschal joy, illuminated by Baptismal
grace which is reawakened when we are told that in the bosom of the Church, we have all
been reborn in Christ. All have been made anew!

3. Prayer

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus, make all of us, including especially young people,
beloved, gifted and empowered missionaries of Your Kingdom, joyful witnesses of Your Cross,
Faithful disciples... of the way of life, of joy and of hope.

That through the intercession of Mary,
the Immaculate Conception, Patroness of the Philippines,
vessel of Your grace and reflection of Your glory,
she who brought to the world and showed us the face of the Lord of hope for the first time,
help us to offer everyone, with the light of Christ,
our Christian solidarity which is called charity,
and to fill the world with our luminous joy which is called hope.

St. Pedro Calungsod, patron of Filipino youth, pray for us.
Mary, Immaculate Mother of the Church and loving model for young people, pray for us.


If an ordained minister is present, then the following may be done:

Final blessing

Minister: This blessing is not the conclusion of a journey, but rather, we are being sent forth to
proclaim life and hope. When I give you this blessing, I send you, in the name of our Lord, to
go forth with the Good News of the Lord’s Victory with the joy of being Disciples of Him who
overcame death and who reigns eternally.

The Lord be with you.
And with your spirit.

May the Lord bless you and keep you, embracing you as His beloved all your days.
Amen.

May the Lord carry you as His gifted, bearing the life won for us by Jesus crucified and risen.
Amen.

May the Lord sustain you with His Holy Spirit as His empowered servants of His Good News.
Amen.

And may the blessing of almighty God, Father + Son and Holy Spirit
descend upon you and dwell in you always.
Amen.

Go in peace, servants of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.


Appendix 1

Reflection of Pope Francis at the end of the Way of the Cross during the WYD2019

Lord, Father of mercy, in this Coastal Beltway, together with so many young people from all
over the world, we have accompanied your Son on his Way of the Cross: the way he wanted to
walk for us, in order to show us how much you love us and how much you care about our lives.

The way of Jesus leading to Calvary is a way of suffering and solitude that continues in our
own time. He walks and suffers in all those faces hurt by the complacent and anesthetizing
indifference of our society, a society that consumes and is consumed, that ignores and is
ignorant, blind to the pain of our brothers and sisters.

Lord, we too, your friends, have given in to apathy and inaction. All too often, we have ended
up going along with the crowd, and this has paralyzed us. It has been hard to see you in our
suffering brothers and sisters. We have looked away in order not to see; we have taken refuge
in noise in order not to hear; we have covered our mouths in order not to cry out.

The temptation is always the same. It is easier and “it pays” to be friends in triumphs and in
glory, in success and applause; it is easier to be around someone who is considered popular
and a winner.

How easy it is to fall into a culture of bullying, harassment, intimidation, of cruelty to the
weak.

It is not like that for you, Lord: on the cross, you identified yourself with all those who suffer,
with all those who feel forgotten.

It is not like that for you, Lord: because you wanted to embrace all those whom we so often
consider unworthy of an embrace, a caress, a blessing; or, worse yet, do not even realize that
they need it; we ignore them.

It is not like that for you, Lord: on the cross, you unite yourself to the way of the cross of every
young person, of every situation, in order to turn it into a way of resurrection.

Father, today your Son’s way of the cross continues:

it continues in the muffled cry of children kept from being born and of so many others denied
the right to a childhood, a family, an education; of children not able to play, sing or dream…

it continues in women who are mistreated, exploited and abandoned, stripped of their dignity
and treated as nothing;

and in the saddened eyes of young people who see their hopes for the future snatched away
for lack of education and dignified work;

it continues in the anguish of young faces, our friends, who fall into the snares of
unscrupulous people – including people who claim to be serving you, Lord – snares of
exploitation, criminal activity, and abuse which feed on their lives.

Your Son’s way of the cross continues in all those young people and families who, caught up in
a spiral of death as a result of drugs, alcohol, prostitution and human trafficking, are deprived
not only of a future but also of a present. Just as they divided your garments, Lord, their
dignity is divided and mistreated.

Your Son’s way of the cross continues in those young people with downcast faces who have
lost the ability to dream, create and shape their future, and have already chosen to “retire” in
glum resignation or complacency, one of the narcotics most consumed in our time.

It continues in the quiet and anger-filled pain of those who, instead of solidarity from an
opulent society, encounter rejection, sorrow and misery, and are singled out and treated as
responsible for all society’s ills.


Your Son’s passion continues in the despairing solitude of the elderly, whom we have
discarded and abandoned.

It continues in the indigenous peoples whom others strip of their lands, their roots and their
culture, ignoring and silencing the great wisdom that they have and can bring us.

Father, your Son’s way of the cross continues in the plea of our mother earth, profoundly
wounded by the pollution of her skies, the barrenness of her fields, the contamination of her
waters, trampled underfoot by disregard and a fury of consumption beyond all reason.

It is prolonged in a society that has lost the ability to weep and to be moved by suffering.

Yes, Father, Jesus keeps walking, carrying his cross and suffering in all these faces, while an
uncaring world is caught up in comfortable cynicism and in the drama of its own frivolity.

And we, Lord, what are we to do?

How are we to react to Jesus as he suffers, walks, emigrates in the faces of many of our
friends, or of all those strangers that we have learned to make invisible?

And we, Father of mercy,

do we console and accompany the Lord, helpless and suffering in the poorest and most
abandoned of our brothers and sisters?

do we help carry the burden of the cross, like Simon of Cyrene, by being peacemakers,
builders of bridges, a leaven of fraternity?

do we have the courage to remain, like Mary, at the foot of the cross?

Let us look to Mary, woman of strength. From her let us learn how to stand beneath the cross
with her same determination and courage, without evasions or illusions. She accompanied the
suffering of her Son, your Son, Father; she supported him by her gaze and protected him with
her heart. She shared his suffering, yet was not overwhelmed by it. She was the woman of
strength who uttered her “yes”, who supports and accompanies, protects and embraces. She
is the great guardian of hope.

We too, Father, want to be a Church that supports and accompanies, that is able to say, “Here
I am!” in the lives and amid the crosses of all those Christs who walk by our side.

From Mary we learn how to say “yes” to the patience and perseverance of the many mothers,
fathers and grandparents who never cease to support and accompany their children and
grandchildren in trouble.

From her we learn how to say “yes” to the stubborn endurance and creativity of those who,
undaunted, are ready to start over again in situations where everything appears to be lost, in
an effort to create spaces, homes and centres of care that can be an outstretched hand to all
those in difficulty.

In Mary, we learn the strength to be able to say “yes” to those who have refused to remain
silent in the face of a culture of mistreatment and abuse, disparagement and aggression, and
who work to provide opportunities and to create an atmosphere of safety and protection.

In Mary, we learn how to welcome and take in all those abandoned, and forced to leave or
lose their land, their roots, their families, their work.

Father, like Mary, we want to be Church, a Church that fosters a culture that welcomes,
protects, promotes and integrates; that does not stigmatize, much less indulge in a senseless
and irresponsible condemnation of every immigrant as a threat to society.

From her we want to learn to stand beneath the cross, but not with hearts tightly shut, rather
with hearts that can accompany, that feel tenderness and devotion, that show mercy and
treat others with respect, sensitivity and understanding. We want to be a Church of memory,
which appreciates and respects the elderly and gives them their rightful place as guardians of
our roots.

Father, like Mary we want to learn what it means to “stand”.

Lord, teach us to stand, at the foot of the cross, at the foot of every cross. Open our eyes and
hearts this night, and rescue us from paralysis and uncertainty, from fear and from
desperation. Father, teach us to say: Here I stand, alongside your Son, alongside Mary and
alongside all those beloved disciples who desire to welcome your Kingdom into their heart.
Amen.

After having experienced the Lord’s Passion together with Mary at the foot of the cross, we
now go with quiet and peaceful hearts, filled with joy and a great desire to follow Jesus.

May Jesus accompany you and our Lady take care of you.


Appendix 2

Canonically crowned Marian images and/or Marian patronages and devotions in the
Philippines mentioned in this Way of the Cross

1st Nuestra Senora de Guia, Archdiocese of Manila

2nd Nuestra Señora de Caridad de Bantay, Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia
Nuestra Señora de Caridad de Agoo, Diocese of San Fernando

3rd Mary Help of Christians, Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan
Principal patroness of the Prelature of St. Mary’s-Marawi.

4th Our Lady of the Visitation of Piat, Archdiocese of Tuguegarao
Nuestra Senora de la Visitacion de Guibang, Diocese of Ilagan

5th Nuestra Senora de Caysasay, Archdiocese of Lipa

6th Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage, Diocese of Antipolo

7th Our Mother of Perpetual Help, Diocese of Paranaque
Nuestra Senora del Pronto Socorro de Boac, Diocese of Boac

8th Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, Archdiocese of San Fernando

9th Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Manila, Archdiocese of Manila
Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zamboanga, Archdiocese of Zamboanga
Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Morong, Diocese of Balanga
Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Imus, Diocese of Imus
Nuestra Senora del Pilar de Libmanan, Diocese of Libmanan
Principal patroness of the Archdiocese of Zamboanga and Diocese of Imus.

10th Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Manaoag, Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan
Nuestra Senora del Santisimo Rosario de Orani, Diocese of Balanga
Nuestra Senora del Santisimo Rosario de Ubanon, Diocese of Calbayog
Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of La Naval, Diocese of Cubao
Principal patroness of the Dioceses of Dipolog and Naval; secondary patroness of the
Dioceses of Bacolod and Kalibo.

11th Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, Archdiocese of Jaro
Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Paracale, Diocese of Daet

12th Nuestra Senora de Penafrancia, Archdiocese of Caceres

Nuestra Senora de Penafrancia de Manila, Archdiocese of Manila

13th Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados, Archdiocese of Manila
Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados, Diocese of Antipolo

14th Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Cebu, Archdiocese of Cebu

15th Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Patroness of the Philippines
Nuestra Señora de la Inmaculada Concepción, Diocese of Kalookan
Nuestra Señora de la Inmaculada Concepción, Diocese of Malolos
Nuestra Señora de la Inmaculada Concepción, Diocese of Pasig
Principal patroness of the Archdioceses of Capiz, Cotabato, Manila and Ozamis, of the
Dioceses of Antipolo, Boac, Cubao, Malolos, Pasig, Urdaneta and Virac, and of the
Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Princesa; secondary patroness of the Archdiocese of Lipa.

Other canonically crowned Marian images
Antipolo Diocese: Nuestra Señora de Aranzazu and Nuestra Señora de la Luz
Cabanatuan Diocese: La Virgen Divina Pastora
Cebu Archdiocese: Nuestra Señora de la Regla
Imus Diocese: Nuestra Señora de la Soledad de Porta Vaga
Laoag Diocese: La Virgen Milagrosa de Badoc
Legazpi Diocese: Nuestra Señora de Salvación
Manila Archdiocese: Nuestra Senora del Carmen de San Sebastian, Nuestra Señora de la
Consolación y Correa and Nuestra Señora de la Rosa
Paranaque Diocese: Nuestra Señora del Buen Suceso de Paranaque
San Fernando Diocese: Nuestra Señora de Namacpacan


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