Come to Me, All of You Stations of the Cross in the Voice of Christ
Amy Ekeh with art by Gabrielle Rowell
LITURGICAL PRESS Collegeville, Minnesota www.litpress.org
Nihil Obstat: Rev. Robert Harren, J.C.L., Censor Librorum Imprimatur: 5 Most Rev. Patrick M. Neary, C.S.C., Bishop of St. Cloud, August 28, 2023 © 2023 by Amy Ekeh and Gabrielle Rowell Published by Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, except brief quotations in reviews, without written permission of Liturgical Press, Saint John’s Abbey, PO Box 7500, Collegeville, MN 56321-7500. Printed in the United States of America. 1
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979-8-4008-0063-4 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Control Number: 2023033672
Introduction The path of Jesus’ passion and death, based on both Scripture and tradition, has been walked and prayed by followers of Christ for centuries. The word “station” derives from a Latin word meaning “to stand.” Originating as a physical pilgrimage in the Holy Land, where pilgrims moved from place to place in order to “stand” for a time in the places of Christ’s suffering, the Stations of the Cross has become a devotion of great variety. The practice of walking the path remains evergreen, but the words we use and the places we walk perennially find new expression. Our pilgrimage from station to station may now take us along the walls of a church, across a well-worn garden path at a retreat house, step-by-step in our own backyards, or simply into the quiet of our own hearts. However it is prayed, the Stations of the Cross is a way to be with Jesus, to accompany him faithfully and to share his sorrow as an act of personal and communal love. This particular set of stations accompanies Jesus very closely—closely enough to imagine what he might have been thinking, to picture the scenes of his passion in intimate detail, to wonder what echoes of Scripture he may have heard in his mind and heart in these distressing moments. At first this approach may feel almost too intimate, too close to the mind of Christ, which is surely beyond our grasp or knowledge. And yet there is great benefit to imagining this mind, 3
this way of being that we have been urged to “put on,” even to become (Rom 13:14). St. Paul, who experienced Christ dwelling in him (Gal 2:20), urges us on: “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus” (Phil 2:5). Imagination can be a powerful entrance to prayer. Our tradition has long embraced this practice in lectio divina, Ignatian contemplation, and other spiritual exercises. Whether we are mulling over the sights, sounds, and smells of prophetic texts, or imagining ourselves in a vibrant scene from the Gospels, or simply sitting down next to Jesus to talk for a while, we become active participants in the moments of salvation and the sacred conversations between God and human beings. And as we walk these steps of Jesus’ passion—hearing its sounds, breathing its dust, experiencing its devastation and beauty—our imaginative prayer can take us from a distanced observation of Christ into profound interaction with him. Each station in this book begins with a reading from Scripture. In most cases, this is a passage from the Gospels narrating the station. In some cases, where there is no biblical description of a station that has come to us by tradition (the falls of Jesus, Jesus meeting his mother, and Veronica wiping the face of Jesus), a different Gospel selection or a psalm text invites us into the spirit of the station, the place where we will “stand.” We then read a meditation in the voice of Christ, the one who first walked this path and felt its every joy and sorrow. At times Jesus is thinking about what is happening at that moment—the roughness of the wood of the cross, his joy in encountering Simon of Cyrene. At 4
other times he remembers moments from his life or hears echoes of beloved texts of the Scriptures he knew so well. (These Old Testament echoes appear in italics and are referenced in the back of the book.) As we hear the voice of Jesus, we imagine ourselves in these times and places as we accompany him—walking, falling, sweating, living, loving, and dying. The invitation of Jesus, “Come to me,” then calls us to respond—first quietly with our hearts, then with our voices as we pray each station’s prayer. Finally, a refrain reaches back into the rich teaching ministry of Jesus, serving as a transition between stations. The artwork for each station serves two purposes. First, it marks the places along the path where we will stand. Since we cannot physically be at the place where Jesus was condemned, for example, an artistic rendering takes us there. Second, the art can be part of our prayer, prompting our imaginations in new ways (see p. 39 for a simple guide to praying with the art in this book). Spending time with each image becomes its own pilgrimage into the mind and heart of Christ. Now let us set out together on this way of prayer as we draw close to Christ crucified, who willingly lays down his life for us and asks us to do the same for one another.
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Prayer Before Stations Leader: Brothers and sisters, as we prepare to walk with Jesus along this path of suffering, let us open our hearts, bringing not only our sin and sorrow, but our every need and worry. It is along this path that we meet our Savior, who has already gone out to meet us and who invites us to come. On the cross, every need will be met and all love made known. All: Lord Jesus Christ, we offer you our hearts, minds, and bodies as we set out on this path of encounter. Give us the attentiveness to hear your voice, the fortitude to stay by your side, and the compassion to accompany all who suffer. As your disciples, may the love with which you walked this path be the hallmark of our lives.
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First Station
Jesus Is Condemned to Death We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you. Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world. 8
Reading: Pilate entered his headquarters again and asked Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate therefore said to him, “Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?” (John 19:9-10) Meditation: For three years I have given myself over to this mission. I have preached until my voice was hoarse. I have healed until I could barely stand. I have wrangled demons out of bodies with every last ounce of energy I had. I loved the crowds even when they pressed in on me. I only rested so I could return to them. I never stopped anyone from asking, from reaching out, from needing me. And now here I stand before a man and a world that do not understand. They do not understand the Father’s voice, the treasure in the field, the true kingdom. I am condemned. Come to me, all of you who have been misunderstood. Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, we come to you. We are here, right beside you. For the times we have misunderstood you, forgive us. From misunderstanding you again, deliver us. On finding one pearl of great price, he sold everything he had in order to buy it. (Matt 13:46)
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Ninth Station
Jesus Falls the Third Time We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you. Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world. 24
Reading: My heart is in anguish within me, the terrors of death have fallen upon me. And I say, “O that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.” (Ps 55:4, 6) Meditation: My body has begun to feel numb. I feel light and heavy at the same time. I can hear the shouting of the crowds and the soldiers, but the rest of the world feels distant. Am I still moving forward? Have I arrived? I lift my eyes to the hills, from whence comes my help. My help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. My legs give way. I fall. Come to me, all of you who fall again and again. Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, we come to you, lifting our eyes to the hills, believing that God is our help, trusting that when we fall, you are with us. Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. (John 12:24)
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Twelfth Station
Jesus Dies Upon the Cross We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you. Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world. 30
Reading: When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. (Mark 15:33-34, 37-38)
(All kneel for a short time.) Meditation: I began to die in a garden. It was in the dirt of Gethsemane that I died first—died to the desire for more time, died to the longing for security, died to the cup of my own choosing. In the garden I died and was set free to do this—to die for the sake of love alone. My heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast. Every excruciating moment— my final cry, my last breath—is the laying down of my life, a decision I made in a garden. Come to me, all of you who have decided to love. Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, we come to you, full of love and sorrow. May our own hearts melt like wax, so they may be pliable, so we may choose to love like you, so we may lay down our lives for others. It is finished. (John 19:30) 31