*Third Station of the Cross.......March 31

Jesus Falls The First Time

Exhausted and overcome by the oppressive burden, Jesus falls to the ground.

We all are burdened in mind and body. Illness and weariness, the pace of our days, the pressures of our responsibilities, are the cross we have to carry. Jesus said "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. For my yoke is easy and my burden light" (Mt. 11)

*Second Station of the Cross.......March 30

Jesus Is Made To Bear The Cross

Jesus said "Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me,

cannot be my disciple.

My Jesus, this Cross should be mine,

not Thine,

my sins crucified Thee.

*First Station of the Cross..........March 29

Jesus Is Condemned To Death

O Jesus, innocent Victim for the sins of the world, I thank You for Your boundless love in suffering injustice for my sake. Grant me pardon for my sins and a merciful judgment at the end of my life.

"Crucify Him, crucify Him!"

As sinners, we, too, join the crowd in shouting

"crucify Him".

O Jesus, so meek and uncomplaining, teach me resignation in trials.

The "SPQR" at the base of the picture, oft seen in depictions of this period, are the Latin initials of "Senatus PopulusQue Romanus," meaning, "The Senate and the Roman People."

*Wood of the Cross..........March 28

"There is no wood better to kindle the fire

of holy love

than the wood of the cross,

which Christ used for his own sacrifice

of boundless charity."

St. Ignatius of Loyola

*Dwell in His Heart..........March 27

"Oh, how good and pleasant a thing it is
to dwell in the Heart of Jesus!
Who is there that does not love
a heart so wounded?
Who can refuse a return of love
to a heart so loving!
Amen."

St. Bernard of Clairvaux

*Fix With Nails.......March 26

We often try to fix problems

with WD-40 and Duct tape.

God did it with nails.

Latin words mean

"He bore the holy cross."

*Annunciation...........March 25

"Eve believed the devil
and the world perished!

Mary put her faith in the Angel of God
and the world was saved!"

St. Lawrence of Brindisi

*Time for Silence..........March 24

"When you feel the assaults

of passion and anger,

then is the time to be silent

as Jesus was silent in

the midst of His ignominies and sufferings."

St. Paul of the Cross

Translation of the card's Latin words:

[On the banner (below the shield showing the wounded hands of Jesus and St. Francis of Assisi):]
"Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" [Galatians 6:14]

[At the bottom:]
"The Seraphic Triumph"

*Another Calvary..........March 23

"When you hear Mass,

do you come in the same frame of mind

as the Blessed Virgin at Calvary?

Because it is the same God,

and the same Sacrifice."

St. John Vianney, Sermon on Good Friday

Translation of the card's German words:

"Greater than the sea is your sorrow.

(Lamentations 2:13)"

*Know what He has done..........March 22

"The piercing nail has become a key to unlock the door, that I may see the good will of the Lord. And what can I see as I look through the hole? Both the nail and the wound cry out that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself...Through these sacred wounds we can see the secret of His heart, the great mystery of love."

St. Bernard of Clairvaux

Translation of the French words:
At the top:
"The Cross -- or the virginal bed of the child of Mary."

At the bottom:
"Remembrance of his (her) sojourn upon the Earth and of her departure for Heaven!"

*Gaze on Him.............March 21

"We are in the age of the media

and the media are more interested in novelty than in truth. Let us concentrate on the mystery

that we are celebrating...

'To fix one's gaze on the pierced side of Christ..."

Father Cantalamessa



Translation of French words:

[At the top:]

"The fragrance of myrrh from the spouses of Jesus Christ."

[Above the cross:]

"He is the Angel of Great Counsel. He is the Book of the Elect."

[Below the cross:]

"I love Thee, o Lord, my Strength."

[At the bottom:]

"(From Isaiah 53:5) He has taken upon Himself our chastisements, and with His wounds He has healed us.(From Exodus 25:40) See that you make them after the pattern for them, which is being shown you on the mountain."

*Sorrowful Mary........March 20

"Human beings will never comprehend sufficiently the anguish and immensity of Mary's sorrows.

Very few Christians partake of those sufferings and even fewer offer any consolation to her."

St. Bridget

*St. Joseph Feast Day..........March 19

How we wish we could learn more about St. Joseph, husband of Mary and foster-father to Jesus.

But Scripture has left us with the most important knowledge: who he was --

"a righteous man".

Matthew 1:18

St. Joseph, pray for us.

*Mary with Crown of Thorns.,,,,,..March 18

We are united to Him,

we are one,

and it is when His Passion becomes real to us,

through experience and love,

that we grow aware of His presence in us.

Caryll Houselander

*St. Patrick Feast Day.............March 17

"Christ beside me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ within me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me. "

St. Patrick

*Lenten Fast..........March 16

O Lord,
may your grace bring us the fruitful effects
of our devoted love,
for the Lenten fast that we observe
will be of profit to us only it it pleases you.

T

Translation of the card's French words:

At the top - INSULTS AND REPARATION

Around the Holy Face - Apostasy ... Ingratitude ... Scandals ... Abandonment ... Indifference ... Contempt ... Blasphemy ...

At the bottom - A DAILY OFFENSE!

*Learned by the Heart..........March 15

There are some things

that can be learned by the head...

Christ crucified

can only be learned by the heart.

*Ecce Homo..........March 14

"The purpose of Lent
is not to escape the conscience,
but to create a healthy hatred for evil,
a heartfelt contrition for sin,
and a passionately felt need for grace.

This continuous movement of faith from a
sense of sin to grace and forgiveness
ends only when the spirit is ultimately released."

Edna Hong

*Tears of Mary at Crucifixtion.............March 13

"My daughter, whatever I am asked through the tears of My Mother, I shall give lovingly."

Our Lords words to Sister Amalia on November 8, 1929 .....from catholictradition.org

*Thy Cup to Drink............March 12

"My father,
if this cup cannot pass away
unless I drink it,
Thy will be done."


O Jesus,
let me help you drink of the cup
by my Lenten sacrifices.
I see your courage and I continue with you
on the Way of the Cross.

*Can You Die of Grief? ........... March 11

The pain in her soul
is so great that surely
if not for the grace of God,
she would have died of grief
a thousand times over that day.
O Poor Sweet Holy Mother!

O Almighty God,
the dignity of our human nature
has been undermined by self-indulgence.
Strengthen it again through the practice
of salutary self-denial.

*Face of Christ..........March 10

"He was a lamb in accepting death,
a lion in bringing death to naught."

Saint Augustine

Face ("Vultus") of the "Man of the Shroud"

*Christ's Blood..........March 9

"God chose the sign of blood
because no other sign suggests
a person's total involvement so eloquently."

Pope John Paul II

*What the Cross Means..........March 8

"The cross means
there is no shipwreck without hope;
there is no dark
without dawn;
nor storm without haven."

Pope John Paul II

*Mortify our Senses..........March 7

O Lord,
mercifully fill our hearts with your grace.
We mortify our bodies
by abstaining from food;
may we also guard our senses
from the danger of unbridled pleasures.

Meaning of most of the Dutch words on the card:[At the top:]"If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me."[On the great cross:]"I am weighed down by all of your sins."[Some of the words on the small crosses:]"Scrupulosity, Disgrace, Ignorance, Sadness, Torments, Injuries, Severity, Contempt, Poverty, Humiliations, Adversity, Sorrow, Loss of Friends, Illnesses, Trials, Crimes, Disfavor, Misdeeds, Loss of Goodness, Lukewarmness, Prosecutions, Insults"

*Fasting and Prayer........March 6

O Lord, help us by your grace
to be diligent in fasting and prayer,
that we may be shielded against
the enemies of our soul and body.

*Healing Wounds..........March 5

Believers know that the presence of evil
is always accompanied by the presence of good,
by grace...
Where evil grows,
there the hope for good also grows...
In the love that pours forth
from the heart of Christ,
we find hope for the future of the world.
Christ has redeemed the world:
"By His wounds we are healed."

(Isaiah 53:5)

*I Am Love................March 4

I Am Merciful Love

Look at Me,
See how ardently I love Thee;
See what my love for Thee has cost Me.
Unite thyself to Me,
Offer Me,
Invite Me,
Love Me

*The Cross of Love..........March 3

O God, each year you purify the Church
through the Lenten observance.
May the good works of your Church
obtain for us the grace we ask for
through our self-denial.

Here is the meaning of the card's Latin words:
"He who wishes to come after Me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me."

*Look to the Cross..........March 2

"It is good for us now and then to have some troubles and adversities......

Such things are often an aid to humility and keep us from vainglory."

IMITATION OF CHRIST by Thomas A. Kempis

Translation of French words.

"THE LAMENT OF THE EXILED SOUL.

Lord! ... my soul is burning and perishing from being unable to fly off to Thy beautiful Heaven!"

*Child Jesus with Cross..........March 1

"Ingratitude is the enemy of our immortal souls. Ingratitude empties our souls of merit, scatters their virtues, and deprives them of graces."

St. Bernard

Thank you Jesus for what you did and what you do for me.