J.B. Midgley
Catholic Truth Society
ISBN 9781860824166
eISBN 9781784694296
ASIN B073H1693R
CTS Booklet D682
This year during holy week I worked through a different version of the Stations of the cross each day. Most I has read before, some were new. This volume was not only a new version but it also had a second part of the book the Via Lucis - The Way of the Resurrection, I can be honest and admit I had not yet encountered this devotion, and I found it fascinating. And it is one I will be looking into further. This is an excellent book, and great spiritual resource.
The description of this volume is:
"In addition to the well-known fourteen Stations of the Cross (or via crucis), this booklet includes the more recently popularised fourteen Stations of the Resurrection (via lucis). Intended to preserve a living memory of Jesus' words and actions from his Passion until Pentecost, this combined devotion is further enriched by the prayers and thoughts of the saints and others who have gone before us."
The book has a short introduction that in part contains the following:
"John Paul II - via crucis
Through the weakness of a humiliated and despised man, God manifested his omnipotence. Jesus, the Innocent One, by freely accepting to go to the extreme of obedience to his Father who had sent him, became the witness of God's boundless love for all humanity. The mystery of our salvation is accomplished in the silence of Good Friday when a man, abandoned by all, bearing the weight of our sufferings, was delivered up to death on a Cross, his arms wide open in the gesture of embracing every man and woman. Could greater love be shown? A mystery that is difficult to grasp, a mystery of infinite love! A mystery that inaugurates the new and transfigured world of the Kingdom. On this cross, death has been overcome; from the death of the Son of God made man, life has sprung. His fidelity to the Father's divine plan of love has not been in vain, it has led to the resurrection.
Benedict XVI - via lucis
Christ's Resurrection...if we may borrow the language of the theory of evolution,...is the greatest "mutation"; absolutely the most crucial leap into a totally new dimension that there has ever been in the long history of life and its development: a leap into a completely new order which does concern us...What does it mean for us, for the whole world and for me personally? Above all: what happened? Jesus is no longer in the tomb. He is in a totally new life. But how could this happen? What forces were in operation?... His death was an act of love. It is clear that this event...is a qualitative leap in the history of "evolution"... How can this event effectively reach me and draw my life upwards towards itself? The answer, perhaps surprising at first but totally real, is: this event comes to me through faith and Baptism."
And then it immediately moves into the prayers of the stations.
Fourteen Stations of the Cross - via crucis
1. Jesus is condemned to death
2. Jesus takes up His Cross
3. Jesus falls the first time
4. Jesus meets His Mother
5. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry the Cross
6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
7. Jesus falls the second time
8. The women of Jerusalem weep for Our Lord
9. Jesus falls the third time
10. Jesus is stripped of His garments and offered gall
11. Jesus is nailed to the Cross
12. Jesus dies on the Cross
13. Jesus is taken down from the Cross and laid in the arms of His Mother
14. Jesus is laid in the tomb
Each station has the usual prayers, and also several quotes from Saints, Popes, and other Christian leaders. This was a moving version of this devotion. Some of the quotes are very piercing. I love this devotion to begin with and this is an excellent version. Then it moves on to the via lucis.
Fourteen Stations of the Resurrection - via lucis
1. Jesus rises from the dead
2. The disciples find the empty tomb
3. The risen Lord appears to Mary Magdalen
4. The risen Lord appears to two disciples on the road to Emmaus
5. The risen Lord reveals himself at the breaking of bread
6. The risen Lord appears to his disciples
7. The risen Lord gives the power to forgive sins
8. The risen Lord confirms the faith of Thomas
9. The risen Lord meets his disciples on the shore of Galilee
10. The risen Lord confers primacy on Peter
11. The risen Lord entrusts to his disciples the mission to the world
12. The risen Lord ascends to the Father
13. Waiting for the Holy Spirit with Mary the mother of Jesus
14. The risen Lord sends the Spirit promised to the disciples
A sample of one of the stations is:
"12. The risen Lord ascends to the Father
V. We adore you Lord and praise you
R. Because by your death and resurrection you give life to the world
Reading from Holy Scripture
They asked 'Lord, has the time come? Are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel?' He replied, 'It is not for you to know times or dates that the Father has decided by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and then you will be my witnesses…indeed to the ends of the earth'. As he said this he was lifted up while they looked on, and a cloud took him from their sight…suddenly two men in white were standing near them and they said, 'Why are you men from Galilee standing here looking into the sky? Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, this same Jesus will come back in the same way as you have seen him go there.'(Ac 1:6-11)
St Leo the Great
We are blessed because Our Lord, having provided for everything concerning the preaching of the Gospel and the mysteries of the New Covenant, went up to Heaven before the eyes of the disciples. Our Redeemer's visible presence has passed into the Sacraments. Our faith is nobler and stronger because sight has been replaced by doctrine whose authority is accepted by believing hearts that are enlightened from on high.
Blessed John XXIII
The Lord's Ascension and final return to His father is the fulfilment of His promises, a surety for all to whom He has promised to prepare a place in Heaven and be with the Trinity for ever. He encourages us not to be hampered by temporal concerns but to trust the will of God that draws us heavenward.
St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
Our Lord remains present in the Tabernacle, not for His own sake but for ours. It is His delight to be with 'the children of men'. He understands what we are and our need for His personal nearness.
St John Fisher
Lord,…clothed with the new garment of immortality, you entered the Holy of Holies that is Heaven. Before the throne of your heavenly Father, you show the Blood of great price that you have poured out for all sinners. This sacrifice is so pleasing and acceptable to God that He cannot but take pity on us, and show mercy to all who are truly repentant.
Prayer
Father in Heaven, our minds were prepared for the coming of your Kingdom when you took Christ beyond our sight so that we might seek Him in His glory. May we follow where He has led and find our hope in His glory.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father etc."
This is an excellent little devotional booklet. I am very blessed to have encountered the Fourteen Stations of the Resurrection - via lucis. And know it is a devotion I will use often. This will be a booklet I used yearly, going forward. And may pull out from time to time throughout the year to pray.
This is another excellent resource from the Catholic Truth Society. A Devotional book that will bless you, and those you pray this with.
Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2019 Catholic Reading Plan! For other reviews of books from the Catholic Truth Society click here.
All reviews of Stations of the Cross.
Books by J.B. Midgley:
Advent & Christmastide with the Saints
Antonio Rosmini
Benedict - Patron of Europe
Bernard of Clairvaux – CTS Great Saints
Charles Borromeo - CTS Great Saints
Companion to St. Joseph
Companion to the Feasts of Mary
Companion to Saint Peter
Companion to Saint Paul
Companion to the Angels
Companion to the Feasts of Our Lord
Companion to the Passion of Our Lord
Dominic - CTS Great Saints
George: Patron of England - CTS Great Saints
Dewi Sant: St David Patron of Wales
Francis de Sales – CTS Great Saints
John Baptist de La Salle – CTS Great Saints
John Vianney – CTS Great Saints
Lent with the Saints
Nurturing the Young
Robert Bellarmine
Saint John the Baptist
Stations of the Cross and Resurrection with the Saints
The Eucharist with the Saints
The Four Evangelists
Thomas Becket – CTS Saints of the Isles
Vincent de Paul – CTS Great Saints
Witchcraft, Sorcery and Magic
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Contributed to:
First Fridays and First Saturdays The Devotions Explained
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Other Stations of the Cross from the Catholic Truth Society:
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