This week, we reflect on the Way of the Cross from the perspective of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. The Congregation of Holy Cross–which founded Notre Dame–claims Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows as their universal patroness. Our Lady of Sorrows provides us a way of understanding ourselves as intimately, spiritually connected to the passion of Christ through her experience on the Way of the Cross.

Loving God, you gave us your only begotten son so that we could be freed from our sin and live eternally with you. In this season of Lent, we pray that we might unite our hearts to his passion and saving death through the intercession of Mary, who walked the Way of the Cross with him. May her sorrow teach us to love Jesus as she loved him and embrace the cross as our only hope. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Art: Stations of the Cross from the St. Teresa of Calcutta Chapel in Johnson Family Hall


Text of the Stations of the Cross with Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows

Let us begin, In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

The 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.

Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, you knew that your son was an extraordinary person. You knew that he would bring light to the nations and announce God’s plan of salvation to the world. And yet a darkness hung over your joyful and faithful motherhood of our Lord. Simeon foretold that your heart would be pierced by a sword. As the sinless Son of God is condemned to die, you– also free from sin–watch as your final sorrow begins to unfold.

The Second Station, Jesus takes up his cross.
We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you…Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, your son willingly takes up his cross on the way to his crucifixion. How heavy was your heart when you witnessed the sin of the world placed on your son’s shoulders? You carried him in your womb; you carried him in your arms when he was a young child. You knew the weight of his human body as he grew. Now, the child that you bore to the world takes up the weight of our sin as he lifts his cross.

The Third Station, Jesus falls for the first time.
We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you…Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, as you walk the way of the cross with your son, you see him fall to the ground under the weight of his cross. How many times did you pick him up when he fell as a child? How many times did he seek your comfort and care when he fell? We know that your love always lifted him up and set his feet on the right path. As your son falls for the first time, we feel your sorrow.

The Fourth Station, Jesus meets his mother.
We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you…Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, now we come to the moment when you meet your son on the way to his crucifixion. Up to this point, you have been watching from the crowd. After his first fall, you come forward to comfort and encourage him. This is your final embrace. We cannot know the depth of your sorrow, but we are grateful that you accepted your role in our salvation, even to the point of the unjust death of your beloved son.

The Fifth Station, Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus to Carry His Cross
We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you…Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, as your son struggles under the weight of his cross, the Roman soldiers force a bystander, Simon the Cyrenian, to help him. You must have longed to ease his burden in this moment of great distress. As Simon takes up the cross, shoulder to shoulder with Jesus, we remember that you walked side by side with him his whole life, giving him the strength to fulfill his mission.

The Sixth Station, Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus
We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you…Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, as Jesus continues on the way to his death, Veronica comes forward to wipe the sweat and blood from his holy face. As his mother, how many times did you wipe his face as he looked up at you with love? As you watched from the crowd, was your heart moved by this gesture of compassion? As the image of his face is transferred to Veronica’s linen cloth, we remember that you are the reason we are able to see the face of God in your son, whom you brought into the world.

The Seventh Station, Jesus Falls for the Second Time
We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you…Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, your heart sinks as Jesus falls to the ground a second time. You taught him to be strong. Like all mothers, you showed him how to get back up again when the harsh realities of our shared human existence knock us to the ground. As he rises to his feet once more, we know that his determination and perseverance are gifts he received from you, a mother who teaches her son to meet the challenges of life.

The Eighth Station, Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem
We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you…Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, the women of Jerusalem are weeping and mourning as your son passes by. Their distress at Jesus’ impending death mirrors your own. Even in the midst of his own suffering, he does not ignore this group of women. He responds to their sorrow and tells them, “do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children.” A prophet to the end, he knew that greater trials were ahead for his followers. His concern for them is surely a product of the compassion you taught him.

The Ninth Station, Jesus Falls for the Third Time
We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you…Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, your son falls yet again, for a third time. The ordeal of his execution is drawn out before your eyes. His suffering is agonizing to contemplate even as we stand centuries removed from these events. How did you endure his long path to Golgotha? There is perhaps no greater anguish than that of a mother watching her child suffer. As we contemplate your sorrow, we are filled with gratitude for what you endured on the way of the cross with your son.

The Tenth Station, Jesus is Stripped of his Garments
We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you…Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, you brought Christ, the son of the living God, into this world naked, vulnerable and cold. You immediately held him to your warm body, swaddled him, and calmed him at your breast. You gave him life. As the soldiers strip his garments, he is brought to the cold, vulnerable nakedness of his execution. As he came into the world, so he goes, unto death.

The Eleventh Station, Jesus is Nailed to the Cross
We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you…Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, as your son is nailed to the cross, Simeon’s prophecy from Jesus’ presentation in the temple comes to its fulfillment: “You, yourself a sword will pierce.” As the soldiers drive nails through his body and into the cross, your heart is pierced with anguish. You teach us how to share in the suffering of Christ, even though it is he who suffers for our sake.

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.
Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, the great hymn of the church, the Stabat Mater, teaches us that you stood at the foot of the cross: “At the Cross her station keeping, stood the mournful Mother weeping, close to her Son, to the last”. The mystery of your maternal love makes a final transit from life into death as you stand near while your son breathes his last and gives up his spirit.

The Thirteenth Station, Jesus is taken down from the Cross
We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you…Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, you were present when your son’s followers were allowed to take his body from the cross and prepare him for burial. The image of you cradling your son’s lifeless body in your lap endures in art throughout the ages. As you hold your son one last time, we see that he passes from his death into the promise of new life in the same way that he became incarnate: cradled in your arms.

The Fourteenth Station, Jesus is laid in the Tomb
We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you…Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, as Jesus is placed in the tomb, his death seems final. The promise of resurrection that he preached in his ministry feels like nothing more than a distant memory. But we know now that his time in the tomb is a preparation for the dawning of his glory. As we meditate on this final station, we recall that the Savior you birthed from your womb, you also commended to the tomb… so that the tomb could open and give birth to the resurrection of your son.

Let us pray. Loving God, you gave us your only begotten son so that we could be freed from our sin and live eternally with you. In this season of Lent, we pray that we might unite our hearts to his passion and saving death through the intercession of Mary, who walked the Way of the Cross with him. May her sorrow teach us to love Jesus as she loved him and embrace the cross as our only hope. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.