PRAEDICAMUS CHRISTUM CRUCIFIXUM
(1 Cor 1,23)

Opening Hymn

In the name of the Father, and of the son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

(If the presider is a priest, he greets the assembly)

P. The grace and peace of the Risen Lord be with you.

A. And also with you.

(If the leader is a layperson, he greets the assembly)

L. Praised be the God of grace, mercy and peace. Blessed be God forever.

A. Blessed be God forever.

The presider/leader recalls the meaning of the prayer to the Cross:

We know that the Cross of Christ is the chosen sign of God to show us His love. We cannot only admire it at a distance: Jesus invites us to be part of the experience of the Cross to learn how to love. This is the witness of the saints, servants of the Gospel of the Cross of Jesus Christ.

The presider/leader invites the people to recite the following canticle (Phil 2, 6-11):

Come let us adore Christ the Lord,
at His name every knee shall bow.
Though he was in the form of God, he did not
count equality with God, a thing to be grasped. R.

But emptied himself, taking the form of a servant,
being born in the likeness of men. R.

And being found in human form he humbled himself
and become obedient unto death, even death on a cross. R.

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed
on him the name which is above every name. R.

The at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess the Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. R.

Let us pray (silent prayer)

Merciful Father, you wanted to serve the human race by the Cross of Jesus your Son. Grant to us, who have known on earth the mystery of His love, the joy of participating in heaven in the fruits of redemption. We ask this through Christ our Lord. R. Amen.

The Word of God

From the First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (1, 18.22-25)

The message of the Cross is folly for those who are on the way to ruin, but for those of us who are on the road to salvation it is the power of God.

While the Jews demand miracles and the Greeks look for wisdom, we preach Christ crucified: to the Jews an obstacle they cannot get over, to the Gentiles foolishness, but to those who have been called, whether they are Jews or Greeks, a Christ who is both the power of God and the wisdom of God. God’s folly is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Canticle (cf. Rev 5, 9-10.12)

R.You have saved us through the Cross, Lord Jesus.
You are woryour to take the scroll and to break its seals.

R.You have saved us through the Cross, Lord Jesus.
Because you were sacrificed, and with your blood you bought people for God of every race, language, people and nation.

R.You have saved us through the Cross, Lord Jesus.
And made us a kingdom of priests for God, to rule the whole world.

R.You have saved us through the Cross, Lord Jesus.
Woryour is the Lamb that was sacrificed to receive power, riches, wisdom, strength, honour, glory and blessing.

R.You have saved us through the Cross, Lord Jesus.

Gospel

A reading from the Gospel according to Luke (23, 33.39-43)

When they reached the place call The Skull, there they crucified him and the two criminals, one on his right, the other on his left. One of the criminals hanging there abused him: “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us as well.” But the other spoke up and said, “You got the same sentence as he did, but in our case we deserved it: we are paying for what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He answered him, “In truth I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to You, O Lord Jesus Christ.

Reflection from Pope Benedict XVI (2007 Lenten Message)
(The Cross reveals the fullness of God's love)

It is in the mystery of the Cross that the overwhelming power of the Heavenly Father's mercy is revealed in all of its fullness. In order to win back the love of his creature, he accepted to pay a very high price: the Blood of his Only Begotten Son. Death, which for the first Adam was an extreme sign of loneliness and powerlessness, was thus transformed in the supreme act of love and freedom of the new Adam. One could very well assert, therefore, together with St Maximus the Confessor, that Christ "died, if one could say so, divinely, because he died freely" (Ambigua, 91, 1056). On the Cross, God's eros for us is made manifest. Eros is indeed, as Pseudo-Dionysius expresses it, that force which "does not allow the lover to remain in himself but moves him to become one with the beloved" (De Divinis Nominibus, IV, 13: PG 3, 712). Is there more "mad eros" (N. Cabasilas, Vita in Cristo, 648) than that which led the Son of God to make himself one with us even to the point of suffering as his own the consequences of our offences?

("Him whom they have pierced")

Dear brothers and sisters, let us look at Christ pierced on the Cross! He is the unsurpassing revelation of God's love, a love in which eros and agape, far from being opposed, enlighten each other. On the Cross, it is God himself who begs the love of his creature: He is thirsty for the love of every one of us. The Apostle Thomas recognized Jesus as "Lord and God" when he put his hand into the wound of his side. Not surprisingly, many of the saints found in the Heart of Jesus the deepest expression of this mystery of love. One could rightly say that the revelation of God's eros toward man is, in reality, the supreme expression of his agape. In all truth, only the love that unites the free gift of oneself with the impassioned desire for reciprocity instils a joy which eases the heaviest of burdens. Jesus said: "When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself" (Jn 12: 32). The response the Lord ardently desires of us is above all that we welcome his love and allow ourselves to be drawn to him. Accepting his love, however, is not enough. We need to respond to such love and devote ourselves to communicating it to others. Christ "draws us to himself" in order to unite himself to us, so that we learn to love our brethren with his own love.

(Pause for a brief reflection)

In Himself, Christ carried our sins on the Cross, so that free from our sins, we may give ourselves to justice. We now turn to God our prayer:

R.Lord have mercy.

You went to Jerusalem to suffer death and enter into glory, guide your pilgrim Church to the Eternal Passover. R.

You prayed for Peter that he would not be lacking in faith, give strength and encourage to the Pope and all the bishops in their apostolic ministry. R.

Your side was pierced with a lance and there came out blood and water, symbols of the sacraments the Church, heal our wounds through the power of your grace. R.

You made out of the Cross the tree of life, give the fruit of salvation to all those who have been reborn in baptism. R.

From the Cross you gave as mother to your disciple your own Mother, grant that we live truly as her children. R.

You who from the Cross have forgiven the penitent thief, forgive also us sinners and welcome us into the heavenly Jerusalem. R.

Our Father…

God our Father,
in your mysterious design of salvation
you continue the passion of Jesus your Son
in the wounded members of his body, the Church,
may we learn to accept and to serve lovingly
Christ in those who suffer.
Who lives and reigns for ever and ever. R. Amen.

If the time allotted for the prayer service is done, the final blessing and closing hymn may be sung.

If not, the assembly may recite the prayers that follow…

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

May God the Father, who has shown you such great mercy, bless you with an everlasting blessing.

Amen.

May Christ who humbled himself for our sakes inspire and strengthen us. May you follow his example and share his resurrection.

Amen.

May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

If a lay person is the leader, he recites the following…

May God the Father, with the Son and the Holy Spirit, who has shown us such great mercy, and may Jesus Christ our Savior, who humbled himself for our sakes, be praised and blessed for ever and ever.

Amen.

NOVENA IN EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS

Jesus, Who because of Your burning love for us, willed to be crucified and to shed Your Most Precious Blood for the redemption and salvation of our souls, look down upon us and grant the petition we ask for (State your intention here...)

We trust completely in Your Mercy.

Cleanse us from sin by Your Grace, sanctify our work, give us and all those who are dear to us our daily bread, lighten the burden of our sufferings, bless our families, and grant to the nations, so sorely afflicted, Your Peace, which is the only true peace, so that by obeying Your Commandments we may come at last to the glory of Heaven.

PRAYER BEFORE A CRUCIFIX

Behold, O Kind and most sweet Jesus, before Your face I humbly kneel, and with the most fervent desire of soul, I pray and beseech You to impress upon my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope and charity, true contrition for my sins and a firm purpose of amendment.

With deep affection and grief of soul, I ponder within myself, mentally contemplating Your five wounds, having before my eyes the words which David the Prophet spoke concerning You: "They have pierced my hands and my feet, they have numbered all my bones."

LITANY IN HONOR OF THE HOLY CROSS

The word of the Cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Cor. 1:18)

R. God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Gal. 6:14)

Jesus has many who love His Kingdom in heaven, but few who bear His Cross. He has many who desire comfort, but few who desire suffering. He finds many to share His feast, but few His fasting.

All desire to rejoice with Him, but few are willing to suffer for His sake.

R. God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world . (Gal. 6:14)

Why do you fear to take up the Cross, which is the road to the Kingdom? In the Cross is salvation and life, protection against our enemies, infusion of heavenly sweetness; in the Cross is strength of mind, joy of spirit, excellence of virtue, perfection of holiness.

There is no salvation of soul, nor hope of eternal life, save in the Cross.

R. God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world . (Gal. 6:14)

Take up the Cross, therefore, and follow Jesus, and go forward into eternal life. Christ has gone before you, bearing His Cross; He died for you on the Cross, that you also may bear your cross, and desire to die on the Cross with Him. For if you die with Him, you will also live with Him. And if you share his sufferings, you will also share His glory.

R. God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Gal. 6:14)

See how in the Cross all things consist, and in dying on it all things depend. There is no other way to life and to true inner peace, than the way of the Cross. Go where you will, seek what you will; you will find no higher way above nor safer way below than the road of the Holy Cross.

R. God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Gal. 6:14)

The Cross always stands ready, and everywhere awaits you. You cannot escape it, wherever you flee; for wherever you go, you bear yourself, and always find yourself. Look up or down, without you or within, and everywhere you will find the Cross. And everywhere you must have patience, if you wish to attain inner peace, and win an eternal crown.

R. God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Gal. 6:14)

All: Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us to follow you not only to the Breaking of Bread but also to the drinking of the Cup of Your Passion. Help us to love You for Your own sake and not for the sake of comfort for ourselves. Make us woryour to suffer for Your name, Jesus, our Crucified and Risen Lord and Savior, now and forever.

Amen.

(- from The Imitation of Christ by Thomas À Kempis, 1380-1471)

PRAYER TO THE HOLY FACE

O Jesus, Who in Your bitter Passion didst become 'the most abject of men, a man of sorrows,’ I venerate Your Sacred Face whereon there once did shine the beauty and sweetness of the Godhead ... but now it has become for me as if it were the Face of a leper!

Nevertheless, under those disfigured features, I recognize Your Infinite Love and I am consumed with the desire to love You and make You loved by all men.

The tears which well up abundantly in Your Sacred Eyes appear to me as so many precious pearls that I love to gather up, in order to purchase the souls of poor sinners by means of their infinite value.

O Jesus, Whose adorable Face ravished my heart, I implore You to fix deep within me Your Divine Image and to set me on fire with Your Love, that I may be found woryour to come to the contemplation of Your glorious Face in Heaven.

Amen.

- Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face