Way of the Cross for priests – Fr Aleksander Woźny
Introduction
Lord Jesus, I wish to offer this Way of the Cross for priests.
I know that you distribute the fruits of your passion through priests, and so it matters to you that they should be worthy of you and able to take your place in giving out graces.
I offer you this Way of the Cross also for those who are soon to receive ordination, for the priests of our parish and for all the priests of our city.
Station I
Jesus is condemned to death
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you…
Jesus allowed himself to be judged unjustly in order to appease the heavenly Father, among other things for the sins of those who judge priests.
Many people do not make use of a priest's ministry simply because they listen to human judgements about priests. A priest will be judged more strictly than other people. The Lord Jesus is also free to make use of an unworthy priest, who – like every man – is sinful and has his faults.
Lord Jesus, I am sorry for all my judgements about priests. Have I perhaps turned someone away from the holy sacraments by them?
Who for us didst bear the wounds…
Station II
Jesus takes his cross upon his shoulders
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you…
No one is willing to take up a cross. For priests, too, the cross is a cross.
Have I perhaps once seen a priest who avoided the cross? There is no need to be scandalised by it. A priest, as a man, may be weaker than I am.
Lord Jesus, I am sorry for all those times when I was scandalised by a priest's conduct and at the same time wanted – following his example – to arrange an easier and more comfortable life for myself.
Who for us didst bear the wounds…
Station III
Jesus falls under the cross for the first time
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you…
At the sight of the Lord Jesus falling, many were scandalised by his physical weakness and doubted his Divinity.
When I see a priest falling, instead of being scandalised I shall pray for him.
Lord Jesus, I am sorry for every instance of an unworthy priesthood.
Who for us didst bear the wounds…
Station IV
Jesus meets his Mother
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you…
Every priest – like the Lord Jesus – needs the care and the help of the Blessed Mother.
Let us ask the Lord Jesus that all priests and seminarians may give themselves over entirely to the Mother of God.
Who for us didst bear the wounds…
Station V
Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry the cross
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you…
Just as the Lord Jesus accepted the help of Simon of Cyrene, a priest too needs the help of lay people. It is true that in such cooperation people usually give all the credit to the priests, but God will one day judge everything justly and give each one what is due to him.
Let us ask for the grace that lay people may gladly and zealously help priests in their pastoral work.
Who for us didst bear the wounds…
Station VI
Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you…
The Lord Jesus accepted Veronica's gesture with gratitude.
A priest, too, needs the support of lay people. But no one should draw him away from continuing along his own way of the cross. Sometimes even a good person may unwittingly become a temptation to another.
Let us ask the Lord Jesus to forgive us for having perhaps once contributed to a priest becoming less zealous.
Who for us didst bear the wounds…
Station VII
Jesus falls under the cross for the second time
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you…
The sins of priests were surely the most painful thing for the Lord Jesus.
It happens that a priest, instead of being converted, falls still further. Do not let the sight of it break your faith or your good works. A priest's fall cannot be an excuse for you.
Let us make amends for those priests of whom we know that they have fallen, and perhaps even left the Lord Jesus.
Who for us didst bear the wounds…
Station VIII
Jesus consoles the weeping women
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you…
What a priest is like most often depends on his mother.
Let us pray for good families, for good mothers who would be willing to offer their children to God and would encourage them to it.
Let us pray that all the mothers of today's seminarians may encourage their sons to offer God a true sacrifice of their lives.
Who for us didst bear the wounds…
Station IX
Jesus falls under the cross for the third time
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you…
A priest faces many temptations. It is Satan who puts them before him, because he knows that if a priest falls, the scandal will be greater than when a lay person falls.
Such a priest needs help – not only prayer or a kind word, but above all the example of lay people. That can sometimes be more effective than a bishop's admonition.
Let us make amends to the Lord Jesus for those priests who have given public scandal.
Who for us didst bear the wounds..
Station X
Jesus is stripped of his garments
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you…
The Lord Jesus suffers greatly when a priest sins. But he suffers still more when a priest's sin is public, because then those weak in faith are shaken.
If you wish to „cover” the Lord Jesus, you can do so by keeping a discreet silence about a priest's sins, so that they do not become public. The Lord Jesus will reward you for it.
Let us make amends for all those times when we talked about a priest's sins.
Who for us didst bear the wounds…
Station XI
Jesus is nailed to the cross
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you…
The Lord Jesus foretold that when he was lifted up on the cross he would draw all people to himself.
Through the pierced hands of the Lord Jesus let us ask for purity of priestly hands. Let us ask too that the hands of those preparing for the priesthood may be stained neither by impurity nor by greed.
Who for us didst bear the wounds…
Station XII
Jesus dies on the cross
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you…
The death of the Lord Jesus on the cross is repeated in every Holy Mass. Thanks to that death man can live. How greatly Christ suffers when a priest in a state of sin offers the sacrifice of the Holy Mass.
Lord Jesus, I offer you the love of the Immaculate Heart of your Blessed Mother in reparation for every sacrilege.
Who for us didst bear the wounds…
Station XIII
Jesus is taken down from the cross
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you…
Our Lady of Sorrows, into whose arms the dead body of her Son was given, counted every wound inflicted on him by our sins.
Whoever makes amends for the sins of priests gives the greatest consolation to the Blessed Mother.
Let us ask for the grace that priests may take the Body of the Lord Jesus into their hands with the same love and reverence with which the Mother of God held it in hers.
Who for us didst bear the wounds…
Station XIV
Jesus is laid in the tomb
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you…
How hard it is to share with Mary the immeasurable sorrow of a Mother present at the burial of her Son.
The Blessed Mother looks upon everyone who receives Holy Communion and asks that his heart may be pure and worthy.
Let us ask the Blessed Mother to remain with us always when we receive Holy Communion.
Who for us didst bear the wounds…
Conclusion
Whoever makes amends to the Lord Jesus for priests wins his gratitude and may hope for the grace of meeting in life a priest who will help him truly to love the Lord Jesus.
Source: Drogi Krzyżowe, Fr Aleksander Woźny, Kontekst, Poznań 2015
