St. martyrs Trophim, Savvaty and Dorimedont (Every Christian must bear his own cross) I. St. The martyrs Trophim, Savvaty and Dorimedont, whose memory is celebrated today, suffered in the 3rd century. Once upon a time, when the pagans celebrated their holiday with special triumph in Antioch

209. Talking smart guys; encouragement to fight unbelief. Everyone has their own cross. Regarding the news of the death of Rev. Alexandra God's mercy be with you! I owe you an answer to two letters. Laziness has taken over. Thank you for your well wishes in New Year. Please accept mine too.

PROCESSION TO GOLGOTHA

(Christ carrying His cross; Way of the Cross;

"Via Dolorosa")

(Matthew 27:31-32; Mark 15:20-21; Luke 32:26-32; John 19:16-17)

(31) And when they had mocked Him, they took off His purple robe, and clothed Him with His clothes, and they led Him away to be crucified. (32) On their way out, they met one a Cyrene man named Simon; this one was forced to bear His cross.

(Matt. 27:31-32)

(16) Then finally he handed Him over to them to be crucified. And they took Jesus and led him away.

(17) And, bearing His cross, He went out to a place called Skull, in Hebrew Calvary.

(John 19:16-17)

W the last journey of Christ from the house of Pilate to Golgotha, the Sorrowful Way -Via Dolorosa, - is narrated in all four Gospels, although there is a significant difference in the testimony of the weather forecasters, on the one hand, and John, on the other.

From John’s point of view, it was impossible to give an assistant to Christ to bear the cross - Christ, this Lamb of God, who Himself bore the sins of the world. After all, Christ, as the substitute of humanity, Himself took upon Himself its suffering and the most cruel execution. And now, if He is replaced in bearing the cross, then He could be replaced on the cross (the Gnostic Basilides, by the way, taught that instead of Christ, that same Simon of Cyrene was crucified).

This seemingly inexplicable discrepancy in the description of the Way of the Cross, which has always served as proof of the alleged inauthenticity (fictionality) of the entire story, is in fact not at all a contradiction. Simon could join in carrying the cross, as many commentators claim, later, at the moment when Jesus’ strength began to leave him. Thus, the stories of the evangelists do not contradict each other, but complement each other, as has happened more than once.

D. Strauss explains the difference in the stories about the carrying of the cross among the evangelists: “But if John’s story cannot refute the story of the weather forecasters and if John’s story arose on the basis of dogma, then the question naturally arises before us: did the story of the weather forecasters also arise on the basis of dogmatic considerations? The Cross of Christ became a characteristic symbol of Christianity when the prejudice and temptation that was previously associated with it disappeared. To lay on oneself the cross of Christ now meant to imitate the example of Jesus Christ, and to do this, according to the evangelist, Jesus Himself commanded (Matthew 16:24), saying: “If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow By me." In general, this kind of figurative speech"have the property that they always lead to the assumption of some actually occurring incident. In fact, the cross of Christ could have been carried behind Him only when He was already being led to the crucifixion, so in the imagination of ancient Christians the following scene easily arose: on the way to the place of execution, a man appears who places and carries the “cross of Christ” on himself, following Jesus and thus fulfilling the will of Christ, expressed by him in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:41). However, it is also quite possible that the cross of Christ was actually carried by someone else, following Jesus to the Place of Execution: it is not for nothing that all weather forecasters agree with each other in indicating the name and homeland of the person who carried the cross of Jesus to Calvary" ( Strauss D., With. 456).

Both gospel versions of the Way of the Cross are reflected in Western European painting. Simon of Cyrene is usually depicted as gray-haired, with a round beard and in a short dress (Duccio).

Duccio. Procession to Golgotha ​​(altar "Maesta") (1308-1311). Sienna. Cathedral Museum.

This version was often adopted by Italian artists of the Early Renaissance, but disappeared over time - subsequently Simon was depicted only as an assistant to Christ (Tamasz of Kolozsvár, Fouquet).

Tamás from Kolozsvár. Procession to Golgotha ​​(1427). Esztergom. Christian Museum .

Jean Fouquet. Procession to Calvary (from the Book of Hours of Etienne Chevalier) (1450-1460).

Chantilly. Condé Museum.

But such an image is based on a false interpretation of the words of Luke: “so that he might bear the cross for Jesus” (Luke 23:26). Based on these words, some thought that Simon supported only the back part of the cross, while the front, the heaviest part, was carried by Christ Himself. Luke's words in no way defend this view and this type of depiction of the way of the cross, since bearing the cross behind Jesus or behind It's not the same as bearing a cross together with him. Therefore, this opinion was constantly rejected by the Fathers of the Church. In painting, when the artist chooses this program, Simon is often depicted walking with the cross in front of, rather than behind, Christ.

The image of Christ independently carrying his cross has become more widespread in Western art. IN XIII - XIV For centuries, Christ has been depicted in this scene walking or standing straight and proud. In later art, the cross becomes more massive and heavier, which radically changes the nature of the interpretation of the plot: now it is not a triumph, but a tragic pathos, emphasizing suffering. Christ falls under the weight of His burden, and the Roman soldier drives Him forward ( Durer, Pieter Bruegel the Elder).

Albrecht Durer. Procession to Golgotha ​​(from the series of engravings “Great Passion”, sheet VI)

(1497-1500).

Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Procession to Golgotha ​​(1564).

Vein. Historical and Art Museum

This was the most common motive, although it had no justification in any of the Gospels. From a historical point of view, however, this is justified: under Roman rule, the person condemned to execution actually carried his own cross, though not the whole cross, but only its crossbar -patibulum, while a vertical pillar was installed in advance at the place of execution. The old masters did not know this feature of the ritual or ignored it.

For His final journey, Christ again put on His garments, which were taken from Him in the Crowning of Thorns scene. The colors of His robes are blue and red (El Greco). He still wears the crown of thorns. Christ can be dragged on a rope by a Roman soldier (El Greco, Durer). The procession often includes other Roman soldiers carrying standards with letters inscribed on them. S. P. Q. R- Senatus Populusque Romanus(Latin - Senate and Roman people) (Rubens) (cf. THE TRIAL OF CHRIST: Christ before Pilate; CROWNING WITH A CROWN OF THORNS; "HERE, MAN!"; CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST).

Peter Paul Rubens. Procession to Golgotha ​​(1634-1636).

Brussels. Royal Museum of Fine Arts

Sometimes the image of the Way of the Cross results in a multi-figure composition in accordance with Luke’s story: “And a great multitude of people followed Him (...)” (Luke 23:27). Among those accompanying Christ you can see His disciples - Peter, James the Greater, John.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder gives a highly original interpretation of this plot: the action takes place in a vast space, and the figure of Christ, as has happened more than once in other crowded compositions by the artist, seems to be lost in the background; around, many scenes unfold - some of them are deliberately ordinary genre situations: the artist presents one of the greatest events of world history in the form of something everyday, thereby calling on the viewer - his contemporary - to awaken from spiritual hibernation and see this great thing: it is happening here and Now!

Luke, and only he, says that on the way to the Place of Execution, women followed Christ among a great multitude of people, “(27) who wept and lamented for Him. (28) Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem! Do not weep for Me, but weep for yourself and for your children, (29) for the days are coming in which they will say: Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that have not given birth, and the breasts that have not nursed! (30) Then they will begin to say to the mountains: fall on us! and the hills: cover us! (31) For if they do this to a green tree, what will happen to a dry tree? (Luke 23:27-31). The features with which Jesus outlines, according to Luke, the future fate of Jerusalem, are borrowed in part from Jesus’ great speech about the end of the world, where, according to the testimony of all the weather forecasters, Jesus said: “Woe to them that are with child and to those who nurse with breasts in those days,” as He said this is the case in this case as well. But the wish immediately expressed that the mountains would fall on the sufferers and the hills would cover them was taken almost verbatim from the book of Hosea (10:8). In painting, one often encounters the image of Christ carrying His cross and addressing women in the crowd with words conveyed by Luke ( Tamás from Kolozsvár; On the parcel emanating from the mouth of Christ, this text is given in Latin: “Filiae Hierusalem, nolite flare super me: sed super uos ipsas flete, et super filios uestros" - Luke 23:28; behind Christ is the Virgin Mary in her characteristic mournful pose (for more information about this pose, see CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST); the appearance of Christ is also rather mournful than suffering; behind Mary is one of the Holy Women; the end of the cross is supported by Simon of Cyrene).

Introduction to the characters in the paintings The Procession of the Virgin Mary to Golgotha ​​is based on the Gospel of Nicodemus, and on its expanded presentation, which became widespread in the West in XV century. According to this literary source, John informed the Virgin Mary about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Golgotha. Mary, who came here with the other Holy Wives, fainted at the sight of the terrible sight (for more details, see CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST). However, artists often transform this story and transfer its setting to the road along which Christ walked to Golgotha. Thus, Mary loses consciousness at the moment when Christ falls - the first of three times - under the weight of the cross ( Pieter Bruegel the Elder). In Italian painting, the episode of the Virgin Mary losing her senses occurs as an independent plot, known as “Lo Spasimo"("Fainting").

Another female character, which gained popularity in Western European painting starting from XV century under the influence of the religious mysteries of that time, - Veronica. There is no mention of her in the canonical Gospels. In the Gospel of Nicodemus, Veronica is identified with a woman who was cured of a hemorrhage, which she suffered for twelve years: “And a certain woman named Veronica said: “I bled for twelve years, and only the hem of His robe touched Him - and the flow of my blood stopped” (Gospel of Nicodemus, VII ; Wed Matt. 9:20-22; Mk. 5:25-34; OK. 8:43-48). The legend tells that Veronica left the house when Jesus passed by, exhausted under the weight of the cross. She wiped the sweat from His face with a handkerchief. His face was displayed on the scarf. According to another version, Veronica, having met Jesus Christ on His way to Calvary, asked Him to leave her something as a keepsake, and He gave her His Image Not Made by Hands on a scarf. This version of the legend was embodied in the mysteries of the Passion of the Lord, played out in France, Germany and England. Veronica kneeling before Christ, who has fallen under the weight of the cross, is a frequent additional motif in the Procession to Calvary ( Durer, Rubens). The board on which the face of Christ was displayed is the board of Veronica, or, in Latin,sudarium- became one of the symbols of the Passion of the Lord.

Among the crowd that accompanied Jesus Christ on His Way of the Cross, there were, naturally, Roman soldiers with their standards, on which, according to tradition, is inscribed S. P. Q. R - abbreviation of words: “Senatus Populusque Romanus"(Latin - Senate and the Roman people), which has already been encountered more than once in the “Roman” scenes of the Passion (see. THE TRIAL OF CHRIST: Christ before Pilate; CROWNING WITH A CROWN OF THORNS; "BEHOLD, MAN!"; CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST). The soldiers, besides Christ, lead two robbers, sentenced along with Christ, to crucifixion. Their names - Dismas ("good") and Gestas ("bad") - came to us only in the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus. There is no evidence of their crimes. It has been suggested that they were from the society of Barabbas. Mark notes that Barabbas was in “chains” “with his accomplices, who committed murder during the rebellion” (Mark 15:7). This crime of theirs, of course, was punishable by crucifixion, and they, like Jesus, had to carry each of their crosses to Calvary. In painting, however, they are often depicted as led by Roman soldiers without their crosses ( Rubens).

In the first centuries of Christianity, and then later during the era of the Crusades, there was a tradition of pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Countless numbers of pilgrims rushed to the Holy Sepulcher, intending to follow the path of Christ to Golgotha. Returning to their countries, pilgrims often noted - as a souvenir for themselves and for the edification of others who had yet to go to the Holy Land - the path of Christ with the cross. At first, the number of Stations of the Cross varied, and only VI century, fourteen of them were established - the number remaining to the present day. IN XIV century, thanks to the Franciscans, a special cult of the Stations of the Cross developed. These stops began to correspond to certain prayers and religious ceremonies. The cycle of paintings on these subjects became especially popular in XV century, and by the XVII century, a cycle of fourteen paintings on this topic became an indispensable element of the decor of every Catholic church. “Art finally abandons its arrogant dispassion,” writes the famous French historian Lucien Febvre. - To replace the triumphant Christ XIII century comes suffering, exhaustedtortured and crucified Christ XV century. The drama of the Passion of the Lord, a drama, as if slowly moving from stop to stop, to the final limit - Golgotha ​​- art XV centuries retells it with all the details, mercilessly, without hiding a single wound of Christ, not a single His fall, not a single tear. It takes this drama even beyond the Cross of Christ and continues it with the Cross of Mary - a crucifixion, perhaps even more painful; truly a favorite topic XV century - " Pieta": on the knees of the tormented Virgin Mary is the body of Christ, bloody and pitiful" ( Febr L., With. 319).

The Stations of the Cross, which were usually depicted in this cycle of paintings, are as follows.

1.Jesus is sentenced to death.

2.Jesus accepts His Cross.

3. Jesus falls for the first time under the weight of the Cross.

4.Jesus meets His grieving Mother Mary.

5. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry His Cross.

6.Veronica wipes Jesus' face with her handkerchief.

7.Jesus falls for the second time under the weight of the Cross.

8.Jesus speaks to the women of Jerusalem.

9.Jesus falls for the third time under the weight of the Cross.

10. Jesus' clothes are taken off.

11.Jesus is nailed to the Cross.

12.Jesus dies on the Cross.

13.The body of Jesus is taken down from the Cross.

14.The body of Jesus is placed in the tomb.

These scenes, executed in a single artistic manner, can be seen in Catholic churches in the form of paintings of a single cycle, hung in the given compositional sequence along the columns (if there are enough of them) or the walls of the naves clockwise, starting from the altar.

EXAMPLES AND ILLUSTRATIONS:

Giotto. Procession to Golgotha ​​(1304-1306). Padua. Scrovegni Chapel.

Duccio. Procession to Golgotha ​​(altar "Maesta") (1308-1311). Sienna. Cathedral Museum. .

© Alexander MAYKAPAR

Jesus on trial before Pilate

They shouted even more loudly: crucify Him!
Then Pilate, wanting to do what was pleasing to the people,
released Barabbas to them, and Jesus,
having beaten him, he handed him over to crucifixion.
(Mark 15, 14–15)

The people greeted Jesus
When He entered Jerusalem.
Now they are shouting: Kill Him!
They are no longer people
They merged into a collective wild beast,
Thirsty for torture and blood.
What evil lurks in man?
What power of darkness,
To be the target of a ritual of cruelty
Was the innocent chosen?

Jesus is the King.
He entered Jerusalem as King
And now He is a King without a kingdom.
This is our God, whom we expel from His creation
And who, having incarnated in him, takes upon himself all exile.

Cruel story, hypnosis of destruction:
Kill in order to forget that you yourself must die.
What a cruel and ironic story!
After all, Barabbas means “father’s son.”
And the ruler Pilate, who does not know the truth except his own power,
Flatters the crowd to guide its madness
And save the order of Caesar.
The monstrous wisdom of the rulers,
Throwing scapegoats at the masses.

But soon everything will turn around, for the Man of Sorrows,
When His soul offers a propitiation sacrifice,
He will look at the feat of his soul with contentment.

And through Him all exiles, all people without a face
They will see the light and be satisfied.

Lord Jesus, King without a kingdom,
Open the doors of our hearts
So that Your sweetest light, bright as life without death,
Shined in the world of the Barabbas and Pilates.

Lord Jesus, scourged by our sins,
You, who don’t even know what evil is,
And silently suffering the blows,
Tear out our dark part from us,
Dizzy of denial
So that we don't need scapegoats
And in every person we recognized
Barabbas, why son,
An unexpectedly released killer.

Second Station of the Cross

The cross is laid on Jesus

When they mocked Him, they took off His purple robe,
They clothed Him in His own garments, and led Him away to crucify Him.
(Mk 15, 20)

After the purple
White again:
After the king, there is a priest,
And here is the altar:
Cross.

They took Him out
Get out of the holy city,
Get out of the jealously guarded sanctuary,
Where there is no place for the uninitiated.
For from now on He is the source of holiness
And there is nothing more “outside”:
Nothing unsanctified.

They took Him out
Far from the Temple where the lambs are slaughtered:
It is He who takes away the sin of the world;
There is no other temple,
Like His Body:
The Eucharist, our refuge.

They took Him out
Far from people and from God,
From that God whom they supposedly know,
“For cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.”
But behold, in Him the true God reveals Himself.

They brought Him out with a cross.

O Jesus, cast out,
Let this not be outside our Churches,
From which we drive You out,
Contrasting them to each other.

O Jesus, cast out
So that no one else is driven out,
So that no one is driven away from the supper,
Which from century to century You offer to us.

O Jesus, cast out from this world,
Behold, You are coming to illuminate it.

Third Station of the Cross

Jesus falls for the first time

The dusty ground was cool. It seemed to him that she was trembling and shaking before His eyes, as if she wanted to rise, open her womb, swallow Him and hide Him at an unattainable depth - away from people, away from pain.

The dry dust gave off a thousand odors—that’s what the dust on the roads of the world smells like. She clung to His wounds, sanctified by this touch.

He lay face down in the dust, weak and exhausted. But even His fall reflected His love for us, and the message written in blood on the dusty ground said: “Listen, soul of man, I love you. Remember: My fall will give you the courage to rise when you fall. I will be with you and support you."

They picked him up. The cross dug into His back again. He humbly walked on hand in hand with joy, for such was His love for us!

Fourth Station of the Cross

Jesus Meets His Blessed Mother

The skies were blue. Her eyes were the same blue. And his? His eyes reflected the glory of the Father and the Holy Spirit. Not a single mortal remembered the color of His eyes: their light shone dazzlingly.

The eyes of the Mother and the Son, separated from each other by the Cross carried by the Son, met, and this meeting was like a silent embrace, which They would never have to repeat on earth again. Mother and Son - God's creation and God - united in love and joy.

The harsh words of the soldiers, like a whip, lashed Him. The jeering crowd was shrinking ever closer. He walked ahead with a slow step, majestic and imperturbable, for He drank love and was ready to pay with love, dying on the Cross.

Fifth Station of the Cross

Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the cross

And they forced one Simon the Cyrene, who was passing by,
Father Alexandrov and Rufus, coming from the field, to carry His cross.
Mk 15, 21

Simon is a Hebrew name, but Cyrene is a Greek city somewhere in Africa.
Returning to the land of his fathers, he cultivated it.
A strong peasant, stained with fertile mud,
Joyful, perhaps, because the fruit trees are blooming.
Here he is at the city gates,
He walks without knowing anything about what is happening.
Occupation Forces Officer
Seeing a healthy and poor man,
Delays him: he can walk quickly,
Carrying the cross of Jesus.

This is not a student and not a friend.
The apostles fled.
But he doesn't refuse, he carries the cross,
Not intended for him.

Life forces many to bear the cross,
And they do not know that this is the Cross of Christ.
They carry it every time,
Overcoming selfishness
They give the stranger food, clothing, shelter.

“We did not know You,” they say to Christ,
but He answers: “You did it to me.”

In Simon's eyes the tree was still blooming,
But under the blood clot
He looked, perhaps, at the Radiant face
And I felt that I was carrying much more than the Tree,
Which will soon dry up,
I felt that I was carrying
New Tree of Life.

Lord, fate gives us the cross to bear.
Reveal to us that this is Your Cross
And that it is really You who bear our crosses.

Lord, we carry our passions like crosses,
They are not without love
And they are not free from lies.
With your passions, deliver us from illusions
And transform our passions:
Not deprived of love -
Into compassion.

Lord, we bear the cross of our death,
The deaths of those we love.
Reveal to us what is on our painful path
It's You who's waiting for us
You, turning my cross
In Your Cross of Resurrection.

Sixth Station of the Cross

Veronica wipes Jesus' face

A cool handkerchief touched His pain-scorched face, on which blood mixed with dust. From the kiss of the midday sun, both blood and dust became dry, as if from fire. The cloth caressed His stained, swollen, distorted face. However, that day, cooler than any linen and softer than an angel’s wing, was the love that touched His weary face. Courageous, fiery love emanating from the Father, the Holy Spirit and the Son, disdaining the crowd, poisonous ridicule and obscene jokes, came with Veronica, who appeared from nowhere and disappeared, leaving us all with a linen scarf with the imprint of His holy face!

Seventh Station of the Cross

Jesus falls a second time

The ground under His cheek was hard and caused the same pain as the hearts of people who reject God. The cross fell on His prostrate body, like the entire weight of the sins of mankind.

The dust was bitter—bitter, like mortal sin.

This time no one was called for help. He was pushed, he was shouted at, he was ordered to stand up.

He tried to get up, rose with difficulty and fell face down again. The sun and dust gathered into His wounds stung with a thousand stinging pains.

He tried again. He was kicked and cursed at. He managed to rise a little more, and then, completely exhausted and staggering, rose to his full height.

The cross again plunged into the deepest wound on His holy body, and He moved on. IN last time the earth, rough and hard, felt the steps of extraordinary Love, which would never again touch its surface.

The sun and stones dug deeper into His wounds, and the rough earth imprinted its kiss on the body of God.

Eighth Station of the Cross

Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem

And a great multitude of people and women followed him, weeping and lamenting for Him.
Jesus turned to them and said: Daughters of Jerusalem! Don't cry for me
but weep for yourselves and for your children. For if with a green tree
They do this, then what will happen to the dry?
(Luke 23, 27–28.31)

The men sentenced Jesus
But the women, weeping, follow Him.
There are no women among Jesus' enemies.
They beat their chests as a sign
Scolded motherhood.

But Jesus tells them: don't cry.

Don't cry for Me, Mati,
In three days I will rise. No need to cry over the priest,
Those who perform sacrifices
Universal holiness.

We must cry over the fate of man,
Over what a person did with his destiny.
Lazarus died and already stinks
Enemies are already besieging the city,
The forces of nothingness besiege man
And they drag him into the abyss of emptiness.

Jesus accepts this fate in order to overcome it.
He raised Lazarus
And prepares for a duel with the one who divides
And who does not find any participation in anything.
It will be so that the day comes
When will He finally tell us:
I will wipe away every tear from your eyes
And there will be no more death, no crying, no crying, no sickness,
For the former things have passed away.

The Silouan Tower keeps falling and falling,
Troops set fire to cities again and again.
This is not happening because You are punishing us,
But because we become a withered tree.

You, green tree, give us Your living power,
So that we can learn how to wipe away the tears of the women of Jerusalem.

Let each of us become Veronica,
Wiping the sweat from your face,
So that Your Face on our icons -
But every person is Your icon
It was for us a door to eternity.

Ninth Station of the Cross

Jesus falls for the third time

The earth sank under His weight. She could not stand the God-man, Who loved people so much that, sinless, He took upon Himself the burden of their sins.

The earth shook under His weight when He, exhausted and dying, fell on it for the third time!

The stones cried out. The dust cried bitter tears. The blackness of the fertile soil, hidden under a layer of dust and stones, lovingly covered Him with its cool mantle.

But His hour has not yet come. They pulled him away and, putting him on his feet, drove him further, although this was unnecessary: ​​He was hurried by love, and only love led Him to the holy mountain - to death!

Tenth Station of the Cross

Jesus' clothes are torn off

His skin was white, and his hands and face were brown, almost black compared to the white skin of his body.

They began to mercilessly tear off His clothes, thus revealing a thousand wounds one after another. Yet He stood, majestic and calm, as His sacred blood reddened like rubies on the whiteness of His skin.

Then, loudly rattling iron, people brought a basket with nails and hammers. They were not going to cover him with anything other than a shroud of excruciating pain... And so they did.

The evil words of those whom He mourned wounded Him like a thousand fiery arrows.

How else could He have died if His clothes had not been torn off? But He clothed our flesh with His Spirit Not Made by Hands out of love for us! How else could He die? After all, His very body was greatest gift love!

Eleventh Station of the Cross

Jesus crucified

Those who crucified Him divided His garments, casting lots as to who should take what.
(Mk 15, 24)

That day they nailed him to the gallows
The one who is in infinity
Keeps the worlds in balance.
He's chained with nails
Groom of the Church.
Pierced by a spear
Son of the Virgin.
We worship Your Cross, O Christ,
May Your Resurrection come.

On this day Jesus will know
The horror of a body stretched out on a cross,
Suffering confusion of the soul
And people's contempt.
From now on He is the brother of all,
Tortured
All the despairing and despised.

On this day He, the only living one,
I am the Resurrection and the Life -
Born of a Virgin without wounding Her,
Knows the wound beyond
Human dimensions.
A temptation for those who respect prudence,
But for us - the power of God and the wisdom of God.

O Jesus, who opens his arms forever,
From Your pierced side
The water of Baptism and the Blood of the Eucharist flow.
A few drops of blood renew the universe,
From the tormented Body the Spirit dawns.

We needed God to become incarnate and die,
So that we can live again.
The tree of shame becomes the tree of life
The axis of the world, collecting all our sorrows,
To give them to the fire of the Spirit.

This tree reaches from the earth to Heaven.
Jacob's ladder, angel's path,
Its fruit carries with it all life,
We eat from it, and by eating from it we will not die.

O Cross of Christ,
Only you can bear it for us
Conviction,
Only You reveal to us
God's crazy love.

O Cross of Christ
The only answer to Job
To the countless Jobs of history,
Contemplating you, may all rebellion in us dry up
And let all hatred become meaningless.

O Cross of Christ
Give us in the most difficult moments
Don't fall into despair
But to fall at Your foot,
So that the One who is exalted on you,
He drew us all to Himself
In His paradoxical glory.

Jesus promises His kingdom to the wise thief

One of the hanged villains slandered Him and said:
If you are Christ, save yourself and us. The other, on the contrary, calmed him down and said: or are you not afraid of God?
We were condemned justly because we accepted our deeds worthily, and He did nothing wrong.
And he said to Jesus: Remember me, Lord, when you come into your kingdom!
And Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
(Luke 23:39–43)

Our whole destiny lies
In the fate of these two robbers.
They are not strangers, not different: they are us.
We have no choice but to be a robber
By right hand and to the left.

The thief on the left offers Jesus
The last temptation:
If You are the Messiah, save Yourself!
The priests and soldiers have already said:
Let Him save Himself, and we will believe in Him.

But Jesus is silent, and the other thief
Turning to the first, he says to him;
We humans kill and are killed,
Death is written into the depths of our being.
But in Jesus, in whom there is no evil,
There is no fatal presence of death,
But only death out of love.

And the robber, nailed down and motionless,
Preserves the last and highest freedom:
Freedom of faith.
Shouts: Jesus, remember me,
When you come to Your Kingdom.

Does he have a presentiment that the Kingdom is not in the future,
That it has already arrived, it is Jesus in His sacrifice of love.
It is here, it is Jesus: the one Breath of life with the Father.
In Him the land of sorrows becomes paradise.

Then, turning his eyes to the robber, He says:
“Today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

Jesus, each of us is at the same time a blasphemous thief
And the one who believes.
I believe, Lord, help my unbelief.
I'm nailed to death, there's nothing left for me
How to cry: “Jesus, remember me,
When You Come to Your Kingdom."

Jesus, I don't know anything, I don't understand anything
In this world of horror.
But You come to Me, opening your arms, opening your heart,
Your presence alone is my paradise.
Remember me
When you come to Your Kingdom.

Glory and praise to You, who receives
Not healthy, but sick,
To you, whose unexpected friend is a robber,
Rejected by human justice.

You are already going to hell and liberating
Those who thought themselves damned
And they shout to you:
"Remember us, Lord,
When you come to Your Kingdom."

Jesus crucified, Mother and disciple

Jesus, seeing His Mother and the disciple standing there, whom He loved, said to His Mother: Woman! Behold, Your son.
Then he says to the disciple: Behold, your Mother! And from that time on, this disciple took Her to himself.
(John 19, 26–27)

At the foot of the Cross Mary and John,
Mother and beloved student.
Mary, Mother of God: she said to the angel “let it be”
Royally untying the tragic knot of our freedom.
In the quiet transparency of Her body, She gave birth to a Child.
Now the weapon pierces Her soul.

John, the only disciple, faithful to the end.
At the last evening
His head rested on the Heart of the Teacher, on the Heart of the world.
He saved the last words:
Unity of Jesus with the Father
The promise of the Holy Spirit.

Woman, says Jesus,
Woman: She has all femininity,
Tenderness and beauty.
A strong and thoughtful woman
Keeping everything in Your heart,
Your resurrected Son will disappear from human eyes,
But behold, a son in Your Son.
Adoption Advocate,
Mother of all people
Rejoice, O Gracious One, the Lord is with You.
John took her to him,
To your love
The presence is now silent,
In the great silence of prayerful love.
May She also be in our homes,
Mother of all faithfulness and tenderness.
May She also be in the house of peace,
Infinitely fertile land.

Behold, this is the first Church,
Born from the tree of the cross.
With his head bowed, Jesus gives up his ghost,
And this is like the first Pentecost.

Jesus, Son of heaven through the Father,
Son of the earth through Your mother,
Make us children of earth and sky
Prayers of the Mother of God.

Jesus, the spear pierced your side,
Maybe – Your Heart.
And for you, Mary, a weapon pierced your soul.
Lord, let us enter into this terrible exchange,
Prayers of the Mother of God.

Jesus, Son of the Virgin,
Make us like Your beloved disciple,
Witnesses of light and life,
Prayers of the Mother of God.

Twelfth Station of the Cross

Jesus dies on the cross

At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice: Eloi! Eloi! Lama sabachthani?
What does it mean: My God!, My God! Why did you leave me? And one ran and filled the sponge with vinegar,
and, putting it on a reed, gave Him to drink. Jesus cried out loudly and gave up the ghost.
(Mk 15, 34. 36–37)

Jesus, the Word incarnate,
Traveled the greatest distance
What can fallen humanity go through?
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
The distance is infinite, the wound is finite, the miracle of love.

Between God and God
Between the Father and the incarnate Son
Our despair meets
And Jesus wants to be in solidarity with him to the end.

The absence of God is hell.
“I thirst,” Jesus also says, echoing the psalm.
My strength has dried up like a shard;
My tongue stuck to my larynx,
And You brought me from the dust of death.”

God thirsts for man, and man runs away from Him,
Building a wall of separation.
Nailed to this wall, Jesus says:
"I'm thirsty" -
And they give Him vinegar.
Eternal embrace of the Father and the Son
Becomes the distance between heaven and hell.
“Eloi! Eloi! Lama sabachthani?
Like a momentary crucified God
Loses faith in God.

And then everything turns around
In Jesus is the human will,
Like in the Garden of Gethsemane, he agrees.

The abyss of despair dissipates
Like an insignificant drop of hatred,
In the bottomless abyss of love.
Distance between Father and Son
It is no longer the place of hell, but the abode of the Spirit.

Jesus, you who have humbled yourself,
Taking the form of a slave,
Even to death, and death on the cross,
Teach us to speak in the day of trouble,
Maybe on the day of death:
“Father, into Your hands I commend My Spirit.”

Thirteenth Station of the Cross

Descent from the Cross

The sky was burning with anger. The clouds were dressed in mourning. Men, women and children came and went. Absorbed in their worries, almost without raising their eyes, they walked past the Cross on which Love was crucified.

People approached one after another, bent over, as if they had strained themselves from hard work or experienced grief... Their movements were slow... It seemed that they were casting strange shadows on the breathless earth, reflected, as in a mirror, in the blood-red sky. The black shadows of mourning clouds fell on each of them.

He was slowly removed from the Cross and placed on a shroud sparkling with purity.

And He, Who was Life, lay dead under the Cross, colored with all the reflections of ruby.

Fourteenth Station of the Cross

Jesus is buried in a tomb

When the Tomb received the dead Lord of Life, it again became a manger, the birthplace of life!

Her silence sang the requiem as if it were a hallelujah! The cold of the tomb turned into fire and flames of joy - joy that is impossible to even dream of!..

And Jesus slept in the depths of this cradle, the sleep of the One who conquered Death! The tomb was the only witness to the mystery of His Victory! She will forever keep the secret of this sacrament, sharing with humanity only her emptiness, guarded by angels!..

Resurrection.
He touched death
For a moment

Destroying it forever
And she became an angel
Unsurpassed beauty
Which people of faith
They began to wait with bated breath.
Death has no icy hands
They are warm...
This is a hug
Angel of love.

Illustrated with footage taken at the Samara parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus