Way of the Cross (Pocket Prayer Book)

– In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

– Introductory prayer.

– Name of the station.

℣. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless You.

℟. Because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

– Reading and meditation corresponding the the station.

℣. Our Father…

℣. Hail Mary…

℣. Have mercy on us, O Lord.

℟. Have mercy on us.

These prayers may be said at the end of the Way of the Cross:

Acceptance of death

Dear God and Father of mine, Lord of life and death, with an immutable decree You have established that, as a just chastisement for our sins, all of us men have to die: look at me here bent low before You. From the bottom of my heart, I abhor my past faults, for which I have merited death a thousand times, death that I now accept as atonement for my sins and as proof of my submission to your lovable will. O Lord, happily will I die at the moment, in the place, and in the way that You want. And until that day, I will take advantage of the days of life that remain, in order to fight against my defects and grow in your love, to break the bonds that tie my heart to creatures, and to prepare my soul to appear in your presence. And from this moment on, I abandon myself without reserve into the arms of your fatherly providence.

Prayer for a happy death

O my Creator and Father, I beg of You the most important of all your graces: that of final perseverance and a holy death. Despite the fact that I have greatly misused the life You have given me, grant me the grace to live it well from this moment on and to end it in your love. Let me die as did the holy patriarchs, leaving this valley of tears without sadness, to go and enjoy eternal rest in my true homeland. Let me die as did glorious Saint Joseph, accompanied by Jesus and Mary, pronouncing those sweetest of names, which I hope to extol for all eternity. Let me die as did the Immaculate Virgin, in the purest of love and with the desire of uniting myself to the only object of my love. Let me die as did Jesus on the cross, fully identified with the will of the Father and made into a holocaust for the sake of love. Jesus, having accepted death for me, grant me the grace of dying in an act of perfect love for You. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for me now and at the hour of my death. Saint Joseph, my father and lord, win for me the favor of dying as one of the just.

Prayer for the moment of death

O Lord, my God, from this moment on, I will accept with a good will, as something coming from your hand, whatever kind of death You want to send me, with all its anguish, pain, and sorrow.

℣. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,

℟. I give you my heart and my soul.

℣. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,

℟. Assist me in my last agony.

℣. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,

℟. May I sleep and take my rest in peace with you.