# The Steps of the Passion
*2015-06-25*

> Bill Young reflects on the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist and leads a heartfelt prayer walking through the events of Christ’s Passion.

## A Solemn Beginning

Good afternoon, I’m Bill Young. Yesterday, June 24, we celebrated the feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. From John’s birth to the birth, life, Passion, death, and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are invited to contemplate the whole mystery of salvation.

## The Prayer of the Passion

Oh sweet Jesus, who, filled with anguish, prayed to the Father in the garden of Gethsemane, sweating blood in your agony—have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy.

Oh sweet Jesus, who, by the kiss of the traitor, was handed over to the wicked, arrested, bound like a thief, and abandoned by his disciples—have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy.

Oh sweet Jesus, who was pronounced worthy of death by the unjust counsel of chief priests and elders, led like a criminal before Pilate, mocked and treated with contempt—have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy.

Oh sweet Jesus, who was stripped of your clothes and scourged cruelly at the pillar—have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy.

Oh sweet Jesus, who was crowned with thorns, beaten, struck with a reed, blindfolded, and clothed in a purple cloak for mockery—have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy.

Oh sweet Jesus, who was condemned by the Jews and sentenced unjustly to death on the cross—have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy.

Oh sweet Jesus, who, weighed down by the wood of the cross, was led to the place of execution like a lamb to the slaughter—have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy.

Oh sweet Jesus, who was counted among the thieves, given bitter wine mixed with gall, and endured excruciating pain on the cross from the sixth to the ninth hour—have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy.

Oh sweet Jesus, who died upon the cross, pierced by the lance, and from your wound flowed blood and water—have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy.

Oh sweet Jesus, who was taken down from the cross and was bathed in tears by your most sorrowful Mother—have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy.

Oh sweet Jesus, who was wrapped in linen and anointed with perfume, laid in a tomb—have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy.

*May we enter more deeply into the mystery of Christ’s Passion and allow his mercy to transform our lives.*