The Twelfth Station

Jesus Dies on the Cross

We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.

Because by Your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Darkness falls over the land. Even nature mourns. With final gasps, You struggle.

My God, my God,

why have You abandoned me?

Why so far from my call for help,

from my cries of anguish?

Psalm 22:2

Death is near, coming mercifully to claim Your faithful but broken body and heart.

Father, into Your hands

I commend my spirit.

We pray. My God, we feel the pain of Christ's last moments. We stand beneath the Cross with His mother and loved ones at our side. We are struck empty by the loss. In this moment, we imagine that nothing can ever fill us again. Death is an ending. But because of this Cross, death is also a beginning. We stand ready to be filled by the living waters made possible through Your selfless sacrifice. By conquering death, You offer eternal life.

Amen.

Sit for a moment in silence and listen for God's voice.

[excerpt from Stations of the Cross by Denise Hemrich-Skomer and Fr. Joachim Tyrtania. ©2009. Nihil Obstat: Charles McNamee, J.C.L. Censor Librorum. Imprimatur: Thomas G. Doran, D.D., J.C.D, Bishop of Rockford]