At the cross her station keeping,
Stood the mournful Mother weeping,
Close to Jesus to the last.
O sweet Mother! Font of love,
Touch my spirit from above,
Make my heart with yours accord.
Make me feel as you have felt;
Make my soul to glow and melt
With the love of Christ, my Lord.
Holy Mother, pierce me through,
In my heart each wound renew
Of my Savior crucified.
Let me share with you his pain,
Who for all our sins was slain.
Who for me in torments died.
Let me mingle tears with you,
Mourning him who mourned for me,
All the days that I may live.
By the cross with you to stay,
There with you to weep and pray,
Is all I ask of you to give.
While my body here decays,
May my soul your goodness praise,
Safe in heaven eternally. Amen.
Or:
Clap your hands, all you peoples, *
Sing unto God with a voice of jubilation.
For the Lord high and mighty *
Has shown to us his mercy,
For he has not spared his own Son *
But has delivered him up in our behalf,
That we might be redeemed by his blood *
And freed from our sins;
That justified in his blood *
We might be saved from his wrath;
That we who were separated from him *
Might be reconciled through the blood of his Son.
O Lord, my God, what can I render unto you *
For all the good you have bestowed upon me?
I will take the chalice of salvation *
And I will call upon the power of this blood.
Sing to Jesus, all you saints, *
And make known the memory of his holiness.
For he has loved us and has washed us in his blood *
And he has become our helper and our redeemer.
Blessed forever be the blood of Christ *
Which has wrought such wonders in us.
Blessed be Jesus for all eternity, *
And may the heavens and the earth be filled with the glory of his blood.
Come, let us adore Christ the Son of God *
Who has redeemed us with his blood. Amen
Or another suitable hymn approved by ecclesiastic authority.
Ant. 1 On Calvary, Our Lady of Sorrows ushers us
into the nuptial feast of the New Covenant.
PSALM 63: 2-9 A soul thirsting for God
The Church thirsts for her Savior, yearning to drink at the fount of living water that springs up for eternal life. (Cf Cassiodorus).
O God, you are my God, for you I long; *
for you my soul is thirsting.
My body pines for you *
like a dry, weary land without water.
So I gaze on you in the sanctuary *
to see your strength and your glory.
For your love is better than life, *
my lips will speak your praise.
So I will bless you all my life, *
in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul shall be filled as with a banquet, *
my mouth shall praise you with joy.
On my bed I remember you. *
On you I muse through the night
for you have been my help; *
in the shadow of your wings I rejoice.
My soul clings to you; *
your right hand holds me fast.
Ant. 1 On Calvary, Our Lady of Sorrows ushers us
into the nuptial feast of the New Covenant.
Ant. 2 With the Virgin Mary,
may all creatures of heaven and earth,
bless the Lord Jesus for the gift of redemption.
CANTICLE Daniel 3: 57-88, 56 Let all creatures praise the Lord
Praise our God, all you his servants. (Rv 19:5)
Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, *
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Angels of the Lord, bless the Lord, *
you heavens, bless the Lord,
All you waters above the heavens, *
all you hosts of the Lord, bless the Lord;
sun and moon, bless the Lord; *
stars of heaven, bless the Lord;
every shower and dew, bless the Lord; *
all you winds, bless the Lord;
fire and heat, bless the Lord; *
cold and chill, bless the Lord;
dew and rain, bless the Lord; *
frost and chill, bless the Lord;
ice and snow, bless the Lord; *
nights and days, bless the Lord;
light and darkness, bless the Lord; *
lightning and clouds, bless the Lord;
let the earth bless the Lord, *
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Mountains and hills, bless the Lord; *
everything growing from the earth, bless the Lord;
you springs, bless the Lord; *
seas and rivers, bless the Lord;
you dolphins and all water creatures, bless the Lord; *
all you birds of the air, bless the Lord;
all you beasts, wild and tame, bless the Lord; *
you sons of men, bless the Lord;
O Israel, bless the Lord; *
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Priests of the Lord, bless the Lord; *
servants of the Lord, bless the Lord;
spirits and souls of the just, bless the Lord; *
holy men of humble heart, bless the Lord;
Hananiah, Azariah, Mishael, bless the Lord;*
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Let us bless the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. *
Let us praise and exalt him above all forever.
Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven, *
praiseworthy and glorious forever.
At the end of the canticle the Glory be to the Father is not said.
Ant. 2 With the Virgin Mary,
may all creatures of heaven and earth,
bless the Lord Jesus for the gift of redemption.
Ant. 3 With Mary, Woman of the New Covenant,
the Church raises hymns of praise to the Lord.
PSALM 149 The joy of God’s holy people
Let the sons of the Church, the children of the new people, rejoice in Christ, their King (Hesychius).
Sing a new song to the Lord, *
his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel rejoice in its maker, *
let Zion’s sons exult in their king.
Let them praise his name with dancing *
and make music with timbrel and harp.
For the Lord takes delight in his people. *
He crowns the poor with salvation.
Let the faithful rejoice in their glory, *
shout for joy and take their rest.
Let the praise of God be on their lips *
and a two-edged sword in their hand,
to deal out vengeance to the nations *
and punishment on all the peoples;
to bind their kings in chains *
and their nobles in fetters of iron;
to carry out the sentence pre-ordained; *
this honor is for all his faithful.
Ant. 3 With Mary, Woman of the New Covenant,
the Church raises hymns of praise to the Lord.
READING 2 Corinthians 5:17-21
So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come. And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation; namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.
RESPONSORY
R The Cross of Christ * is the sign of reconciliation.
-- The Cross of Christ is the sign of reconciliation.
V. In the blood of the new covenant,
-- is the sign of reconciliation.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit
-- The Cross of Christ is the sign of reconciliation.
Benedictus Ant. Blessed are you, Virgin Mary,
because you believed in Christ Jesus who visited and redeemed us.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; *
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior, *
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old †
that he would save us from our enemies, *
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers *
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham: *
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear, *
holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High; *
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation *
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God *
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, *
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory to the Father and to the Son *
and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be *
world without end. Amen
Benedictus Ant. Blessed are you, Virgin Mary,
because you believed in Christ Jesus who visited and redeemed us.
INTERCESSIONS
In union with Our Lady of Sorrows, Woman of the New Covenant, let us raise our prayers to the Lord Jesus, and ask:
Make us companions and witnesses of your life, Lord Jesus.
Lord Jesus, you call blessed those who listen to your word and observe it;
- grant that we, too, may savor it and keep it as a source of blessedness.
Lord Jesus, in your love you have called women and men to your discipleship;
- may the example of the Virgin Mary encourage many young people to follow you and share your saving mission.
Lord Jesus, by the deep sorrow that pierced your beloved Mother,
- with your presence, console all those burdened by suffering.
Lord Jesus, who joined your holy Mother to yourself in life and in glory,
- by her intercession, remember to your heavenly Father all those whom you have redeemed with your blood.
Our Father.
Prayer
Father most holy, who willed to associate Our Lady of Sorrows, Woman of the New Covenant, to the sacrifice of your Son; through the merits of his precious blood, grant, we pray, that your Church, born of Christ’s pierced side, may always celebrate the memorial of his work of redemption with the love of our Mother Mary showed. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
