STONE PRAYING DESK
The Way of the Cross
JESUS SENTENCED TO DEATH
Jesus,
In your divine justness,
Take my human weakness
As an extenuating circumstance
When you will be my only judge – on that day.
Our Blessed Lady,
The embodiment of justice,
You be my faithful lawyer
On my judgement day.
Amen.
The embodiment of justice, pray for us !
JESUS TAKES THE CROSS
Jesus,
Thank you for your voluntary acceptance
Of my cross,
The symbol of redemption and salvation from my sins.
Our Blessed Lady,
Mother of Christ,
Let your prayer be the guidance to my strength
In carrying this cross of mine as my passport for eternal home.
Amen.
Mother of Christ, pray for us !
JESUS FALLS UNDER THE CROSS FOR THE FIRST TIME
Jesus,
You fell under the weight of the rough stone of my sins.
But you rose to take me to eternal heavens,
Created for mankind since Genesis
Our Blessed Lady,
Possible virgin
Let your prayer give me strength to get up every time I fall over the stone
of my sins.
Amen.
Possible virgin, pray for us !
JESUS MEETS HIS HOLY MOTHER
Jesus,
When you were left by all to whom you wished and did nothing but good,
Your Blessed Mother was the only one beside you.
And in that painful moment
She prayed for us to meet in eternity.
Our Blessed Lady,
Comfort of the mournful,
Bring me close to Jesus, when all the others turn their faces and their
hearts from mine.
Amen.
Comfort of the mournful, pray for us !
SIMON OF CYRENE HELPS JESUS TO CARRY HIS CROSS
Jesus,
Alienation from both God and other menis caused by sin.
It made us numb when hearing the call of pain from our fellow creature.
So, to whom, if not God should one lean on ?
Our Blessed Lady,
Helper to all Christians,
Let me understand how I must look for Simon of Cyrene inside myself
And not for myself, egoistically.
Amen.
Helper of all Christians, pray for us !
VERONICA GIVES A SCARF TO JESUS
Jesus,
Sins leave heavy vestiges.
How deep are the wounds, which Evil with its wickedness has placed into
our hearts.
And scars in souls and on the bodies of those, who in their sins persist.
Our Blessed Lady,
Sanctuary of sinners,
May my soul be as pure as the one of a child,
As Veronica’s scarf,
For the image of our Creator is in it engraved.
Amen.
Sanctuary of sinners, pray for us !
JESUS FALLS UNDER THE CROSS FOR THE SECOND TIME
Jesus,
My promises were many, but my endurance was brief and I have gone
astray for so many times.
For that human weakness, which you saw in me,
Made your second fall even harder for thee.
May my decision and my confession, too
Be everlasting is what I beg you.
Our Blessed Lady,
Virgin of Mercy,
There is only one thing I would ask from thee.
That every time I fall over the stone of my sins,
I should fall down to my knees.
Amen.
Virgin of Mercy, pray for us!
JESUS CONSOLES WOMEN IN JERUSALEM
Jesus,
How eternal Wisdom
Has bestowed upon a woman
Love, kindness, self-sacrifice,
Beauty of the soul, tenderness of the heart.
Woman,
Always ready to share her tears of sympathy.
Our Blessed Lady,
Faithful virgin,
Thank you for the tears of my earthly mother, together with your own,
Serve as my permanent pledge
To Jesus the Savior.
Amen.
Faithful virgin, pray for us !
JESUS FALLS UNDER THE CROSS FOR THE THIRD TIME
Jesus,
I accept that the path to our Father
Is narrow, steep and full of thorns.
I pray for endurance
Not to seek no other path,
But the one offered by Providence,
As a gift of free will.
Our Blessed Lady,
Mother of good advice,
Pray for my persistence in making good decisions,
So if my heart would ever be like stone,
Let it never be petrified.
Amen.
Mother of good advice, pray for us !
JESUS IS UNDRESSED
Jesus,
There I watch ashamed,
How disgracefully they undressed you because of me,
Of every man laid bare by sin.
This ridicule you endured for us,
Dressed as guests,
To bring us to your Feast.
Our Blessed Lady,
Mother of our Savior,
Pray that my baptismal dress, pure and clean, be recognized
On our fateful encounter with the just judge.
Amen.
Mother of our Savior, pray for us !
JESUS IS CRUCIFIED
Jesus,
Your arms were crucified, but you still hugged,
Your legs were nailed and yet you hurried to the sinner.
Give me the power to forgive – when others hate me,
To pray for blessings – when crucified.
Our Blessed Lady,
Mother of Christ,
Make me tougher
With your strong support and make me,
No matter how spread my arms would be,
Find enough strength to clasp them together in prayer.
Amen.
Mother of Christ, pray for us !
JESUS DIES
Jesus,
You crucified love,
Regardless of all the evil people can do,
For every sinful soul and even my own,
You still cry to heaven:
“Father forgive them, for they not know what they do”
Remember me in thy kingdom !
Our Blessed Lady,
Throne of wisdom,
In the anxious hours of crucifixion
Between life and death,
Let my cross of life be next to Christ’s
On His right side.
Amen.
Throne of wisdom, pray for us !
TAKING JESUS OFF THE CROSS
Jesus,
Faced with the sting of death,
Placed in your mourning mother’s lap.
May we also be taken from her arms and our time to eternity.
Our Blessed Lady,
The Cause of our joy,
In the end of time, on the doorway to eternity,
Hold me tight in your arms,
And encourage me with truth:
Christ is real, everything else is just a shadow.
Amen.
The Cause of our Joy, pray for us !
JESUS IS PLACED INTO HIS GRAVE
Jesus,
Human fate is the Way of the Cross,
Death and the grave.
Let your cross be with me all the way till I reach my grave,
And there it will stand as a sign.
Our Blessed Lady,
Door to Heaven,
Follow me with care
On my roads of life.
And, in the end, like a star of my sky,
Take me with you to meet resurrected Christ.
Amen.
Door to Heaven, pray for us !
JOŽA PRUDEUS, CROATIAN NOVELIST AND POET, BORN IN
SAMOBOR IN 1944. HE WORKED AS A TEACHER IN BROD NA
SAVI, SIBINJ, RAB, SAMOBOR, BREGANA, NORŠIĆ SELO…
etc. HE PUBLISHED SEVERAL WORKS IN THE NEWSPAPER
AND PARTICIPATED IN TV AND RADIO SHOWS.
SEVERAL BOOKS PUBLISHED:
-
IN PEACE WITH MYSELF (1964)
VISITING OUR BLESSED LADY (1989)
MOTHER, HEAR OUR CALL (1991)
15TH STONE
WARNING I (1991)
WARNING II (1993)
MASS FOR ST. ALOJZIJE STEPINAC (2000)
PEACE TO YOU / PEACE BE WITH YOU (2001) –