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The
Holy Stairs
By Michael K. Jones
It has been proven that the staircase was first located in the Patriarchum, the complex of palaces that was the ancient seat of popes. In 1589, Pope Sixtus V had it located to it's present location in front of the ancient palatine chapel (the Sancta Sactorum). Pope Pius IX (1846-1878) restored the staircase, and promoted it's veneration as one of Christianity's great relics. The pope climbed the 28 steps on his knees many times, an act of veneration done that was done traditionally then, and continues to this day. A prayer related to the passion of Jesus Christ is recited upon each of the 28 steps.
Prayers To Be Recited While
Climbing Up The Holy Staircase
At the foot of the Holy
Staircase, before beginning your ascent
on your knees, recite:
"My Jesus, by the merits of
your passion, I pray that you inspire
in me feelings of faith, of hope, and of charity, and that
you grant
me pardon for my sins, while I, having decided to change
my
life, proceed to climb the Staircase, which I venerate as
a memento
of your sacrifice and as a spur to trusting in your mercy
in this
life and to getting myself ready for eternal salvation in
the next.
Amen."
1st Step:
My Jesus, by the anxiety that oppressed you in taking
leave of
Holy Mary and of your beloved disciples, have pity upon
me!
Holy Mother! Ah! Bring it about that the wounds of the
Lord be
impressed in my heart!
2nd Step:
My Jesus, by the mortal anguish that made you sweat living
blood in the olive garden, have pity upon me! Holy Mother!
Ah! Bring it about that the wounds of the Lord be
impressed in my heart!
3rd Step:
My Jesus, by the bitterness that Judas's betrayal caused
you,
have pity upon me! Holy Mother! Ah! Bring it about that
the
wounds of the Lord be impressed in my heart!
4th Step:
My Jesus, by the confusion felt in the ways of Jerusalem,
exposed
as you were to the taunts of the vulgar crowd, have pity
upon me!
Holy Mother! Ah! Bring it about that the wounds of the
Lord be
impressed in my heart!
5th Step:
My Jesus, by the meekness you displayed before the
tribunal,
have pity upon me! Holy Mother! Ah! Bring it about that
the
wounds of the Lord be impressed in my heart!
6th Step:
My Jesus, by the patience you exercised during the mocking
and
the insults that preceded your sentencing, have pity upon
me! Holy
Mother! Ah! Bring it about that the wounds of the Lord
be
impressed in my heart!
7th Step:
My Jesus, by the fatigue you felt on climbing up and
descending
this staircase a number of time, have pity on me! Holy
Mother!
Ah! Bring it about that the wounds of the Lord be
impressed
in my heart!
8th Step:
My Jesus, by the silence you met the false witnesses with,
when
they accused you before Pilate, have pity upon me! Holy
Mother!
Ah! Bring it about that the wounds of the Lord be
impressed in
my heart!
9th Step:
My Jesus, by the humility with which you let yourself be
jeered
at and dressed as a madman in Herod's court, have pity
upon me!
Holy Mother! Ah! Bring it about that the wounds of the
Lord be
impressed in my heart!
10th Step:
My Jesus, by the shame suffered on seeing yourself
stripped of
your clothing and chained to a column, have pity upon me!
Holy
Mother! Ah! Bring it about that the wounds of the Lord
be
impressed in my heart!
11th Step:
My Jesus, by the torment of your pitiless flagellation,
have pity
upon me! Holy Mother! Ah! Bring it about that the
wounds
of the Lord be impressed in my heart!
12th Step:
My Jesus, by the agony caused by the spines that pierced
your
head, have pity upon me! Holy Mother! Ah! Bring it
about
that the wounds of the Lord be impressed in my heart!
13th Step:
My Jesus, by the humiliation suffered when you were
dressed
in a mantle of purple, with your eyes blindfolded and
saluted in a
parody of how a king is saluted, have pity upon me! Holy
Mother!
Ah! Bring it about that the wounds of the Lord be
impressed in
my heart!
14th Step:
My Jesus, by the pain you felt on being presented to the
people
that cried out that you were to be sentenced to death,
have
pity upon me! Holy Mother! Ah! Bring it about that the
wounds
of the Lord be impressed in my heart!
15th Step:
My Jesus, by the insult undergone in being put Bar Abbas,
have
pity upon me! Holy Mother! Ah! Bring it about that the
wounds
of the Lord be impressed in my heart!
16th Step:
My Jesus, by the resignation with which you embraced the
cross
and walked up to Calvary, have pity upon me! Holy Mother!
Ah!
Bring it about that the wounds of the Lord be impressed in
my heart!
17th Step:
My Jesus, by the sadness you felt in meeting your
afflicted
mother Mary, have pity upon me! Holy Mother! Ah! Bring
it
about that the wounds of the Lord be impressed in my
heart!
18th Step:
My Jesus, by the efforts you tolerated in your trip to
Calvary,
burdened by the weight of the cross, have pity upon me!
Holy
Mother! Ah! Bring it about that the wounds of the Lord
be
impressed in my heart!
19th Step:
My Jesus, by the disgust that the bitter drink of wine
mixed
with gall procured you, have pity upon me! Holy Mother!
Ah! Bring it about that the wounds of the Lord be
impressed in my heart!
20th Step:
My Jesus, by your suffering on feeling your clothes torn
from your bleeding and sore-strewn flesh, have pity upon
me!
Holy Mother! Ah! Bring it about that the wounds of the
Lord be
impressed in my heart!
21st Step:
My Jesus, by the strength with which you lay down upon
the cross and let your hands and feet be pierced with
nails,
have pity upon me! Holy Mother! Ah! Bring it about that
the wounds of the Lord be impressed in my heart!
22nd Step:
My Jesus, by the infinite love that induced you to pardon
those who had crucified you and to pray for them, have
pity upon me! Holy Mother! Ah! Bring it about that the
wounds of the Lord be impressed in my heart!
23rd Step:
My Jesus, by the generosity with which you promised
paradise to the repentant assassin and, through John, gave
to the faithful Holy Mary as a mother have pity upon me!
Holy Mother! Ah! Bring it about that the wounds of the
Lord be
impressed in my heart!
24th Step:
My Jesus, by the cruel thirst that sharpened the torments
of your frightful agony, have pity upon me! Holy Mother!
Ah! Bring it about that the wounds of the Lord be
impressed in my heart!
25th Step:
My Jesus, by the horror you felt on feeling forsaken by
the Father and cursed by men, have pity upon me! Holy
Mother! Ah! Bring it about that the wounds of the Lord
be
impressed in my heart!
26th Step:
My Jesus, by the love with which you sacrificed your life
to reconcile me with God and make me worthy of eternal
salvation, have pity on me! Holy Mother! Ah! Bring it
about that the wounds of the Lord be impressed in my
heart!
27th Step:
My Jesus, by the wound in your side, from which the
church, mother and teacher of its faithful, was born, have
pity upon me! Holy Mother! Ah! Bring it about that the
wounds of the Lord be impressed in my heart!
28th Step:
My Jesus, by the tears Holy Mary shed, she having
hugged you in her arms and arranged you in the tomb, have
pity upon me! Holy Mother! Ah! Bring it about that the
wounds of the Lord be impressed in my heart!
You have finally reached
the top top of the Holy Staircase.
Let us pray:
"Oh God, in whose passion a
sword of grief, according to
Eimon's prophecy, pierced the sweet soul of the glorious
virgin and mother. Mary grant that, in celebrating with
veneration your grief, we may earn the fruits of your
passion.
You, who live and reign forever and ever. Amen!"
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