Syte Reitz

The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world…….

Browsing Posts tagged Holy Steps

Working on My Prayer Life…

So, in an effort to work on my prayer life for Lent, I got out the Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows that I got from an Italian nun while visiting the Holy Steps in Rome.

What is Truth?
What is Truth?
The Holy Steps, now in Rome,  are the
steps from Pontius Pilate’s Praetorium,
on which Jesus Christ stood, bled, and
was questioned by Pilate, after the
Scourging at the Pillar and the Crowning
with Thorns..
The steps were moved from
Jerusalem to Rome by Saint Helena,
the mother of the Emperor Constantine.
Anybody, including me, can now climb
those steps reverently on their knees,
and can touch (as I did) their rosaries

or chaplets to the places where Christ’s blood stained the steps.
Well, not literally; there is protective glass.

That very moving experience prompted me to write an article on Truth upon my return to Madison,  based on the question Pontius Pilate asked of Christ, “What is Truth?”
This Lent, I thought it would be a good idea to get out the Chaplet of Seven Sorrows which I had touched to the Holy Steps, and to use it.
What better way to prepare for Lent than to meditate on Christ’s life through the sorrows suffered by His Blessed Mother, the person who loved Him most?
Here’s how the prayer works (and if you don’t have a chaplet, you can do it with the photo or with the text):

Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows

also known as

Rosary of Seven Dolors

Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows

Instructions

1. Opening Salutation:

v.  O God Come to my assistance.
r.  O Lord make haste to help me.
Glory Be to the Father….

2.  Announce the First Sorrow –Meditation – Our Father – 7 Hail Mary’s and the Strophe are repeated after each sorrow:

Strophe:

My Mother, share thy grief with me,
And let me bear thee company
To mourn thy Jesus’ death with thee.

First Sorrow- The Prophecy of Simeon
Second Sorrow – The Flight into Egypt
Third Sorrow – The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple
Fourth Sorrow – Mary Meets Jesus carrying His Cross
Fifth Sorrow – – The Crucifixion
Sixth Sorrow – – Mary receives the body of Jesus From the cross
Seventh Sorrow – The body of Jesus is placed in the tomb

3.  Announce Second Sorrow – Repeat as above for all Seven Sorrows

4.  After completing the Seventh Sorrow add 3 Hail Mary’s in remembrance of the tears Mary shed because of the suffering of her Divine Son.

5.  Concluding prayers:

v. Pray for us O sorrowful Virgin
r. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ

O God, at whose Passion, according to the prophecy of Simeon,
a sword of sorrow did pierce through the most sweet soul of the
glorious Virgin and Mother Mary; grant that we, who commemorate
and reverence Her sorrows, may experience the blessed effect of Thy
Passion, who lives and reigns world without end. Amen.

 

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What is Truth?

Does Truth Matter?

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Scala Sancta, the Holy Steps


The Scala Sancta (the Holy Steps)

Last Saturday I had the incredible privilege of climbing the Scala Sancta in Rome reverently on my knees, and of standing near the place Christ must have stood when Pontius Pilate first asked Christ “What is truth?,”[1] then solemnly declined to condemn Him, ceremonially washing his hands of guilt[2].

Feeling that same floor under my feet, kneeling on those steps where the Passion of Christ occurred, and contemplating how St. Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine, located Pontius Pilate’s Praetorium steps and transferred them from Jerusalem to Rome, I was filled with an even deeper sense of connection to the reality of our Christian beliefs, and of the importance of acknowledging the conversation that took place on those steps, located now at one of the holiest places in the world.  Non est in toto sanctior orbe locus;” There is not in the whole world a more holy place.

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Truth


What is Truth?


Truth does exist, truth does matter, and even our world’s great secular leaders, including Pontius Pilate, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, instinctively cared about and respected truth, not to mention every parent who instinctively insists on truth from their children.  Christ willingly DIED for truth, because truth is so important.

Truth is most often defined as the state of being in accord with fact or reality.  It is clear to most of us that humans, while young, must learn certain facts or realities about life in order to negotiate the world safely and effectively, and in order to become functional adults who are responsible for the perpetuation of our society. continue reading…

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