Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
All: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world
Leader: I am a man who knows affliction from the rod of his anger, one whom he has led and forced to walk in darkness, not in the light;
. . . He has blocked my ways with fitted stones and turned my paths aside
. . . He has broken my teeth with gravel, pressed my face in the dust. Lamentations 3:1-2,9,16
All: Lord Jesus Christ, you have borne all our burdens and you continue to carry us. Our weight has made you fall. Lift us up, for by ourselves we cannot rise from the dust. Free us from the bonds of lust. In place of a heart of stone, give us a heart of flesh, a heart capable of seeing. Lay low the power of ideologies, so that all may see that they are a web of lies. Do not let the wall of materialism become insurmountable. Make us aware of your presence. Keep us sober and vigilant, capable of resisting the forces of evil. Help us to recognize the spiritual and material needs of others, and to give them the help they need. Lift us up, so that we may lift others up. Give us hope at every moment of darkness, so that we may bring your hope to the world.
Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory be . . .
For the sins of His own nation
Saw Him hang in desolation
Till His Spirit forth He sent.