The tattoo art Ascension of Jesus

("The Ascension of Christ," by Salvador Dali)

The Twelfth Station--The Ascension of Jesus

Leader: O Risen Christ, Light of the world, we adore you;
People: You left our mortal coil again, but this time, in glory.

The disciples knew, as they stood there on the mountain with Jesus, that something was about to change. It brought an electric sense of excitement to the group, but it was excitement tinged with fear. Was he going to leave to create new bands of disciples? Was he going to give each of them God-like powers? What would be the chain of command among those who remained? Peter had been given a specific charge, but what about the rest of them? Certainly Jesus would explain this to them.

As they were rolling these thoughts around in their heads, suddenly a cloud appeared, and when the cloud was out of sight, so was Jesus. Instead, two men in white robes had appeared. Were they angels? "Men of Galilee," they told them, "Why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who had been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."

Jesus had left them, with no further instructions. They were to figure it out on their own. But this time he had left them in glory, rather than through an indignant death. He had left them in the hope of new life rather than the darkness of death.

Leader: The cloud took Jesus from the disciples,
People: But the disciples were not abandoned; God's holy presence remained.

Leader: Let us pray.
(a brief period of silence is observed.)

Mysterious God,
Just as the disciples were left with the presence of angels,
we are left in our daily walk not with your physical Son,
but with his presence and your presence.
We are also left with your trust--trust that we,
using our hearts and minds, can discern your will and your desires for us.
Sharpen our skills to sense your presence within us
and to willingly be led by it.
Help us to feel the glimmer of your Incarnation
when we find ourselves walking in places
that we would never take ourselves on our own.
Show us the angels in our midst.

People: Amen.

Leader: Alleluia! Christ is risen!
People: The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

The tattoo art Ascension of Jesus

("The Ascension of Christ," by Salvador Dali)

The Twelfth Station--The Ascension of Jesus

Leader: O Risen Christ, Light of the world, we adore you;
People: You left our mortal coil again, but this time, in glory.

The disciples knew, as they stood there on the mountain with Jesus, that something was about to change. It brought an electric sense of excitement to the group, but it was excitement tinged with fear. Was he going to leave to create new bands of disciples? Was he going to give each of them God-like powers? What would be the chain of command among those who remained? Peter had been given a specific charge, but what about the rest of them? Certainly Jesus would explain this to them.

As they were rolling these thoughts around in their heads, suddenly a cloud appeared, and when the cloud was out of sight, so was Jesus. Instead, two men in white robes had appeared. Were they angels? "Men of Galilee," they told them, "Why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who had been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."

Jesus had left them, with no further instructions. They were to figure it out on their own. But this time he had left them in glory, rather than through an indignant death. He had left them in the hope of new life rather than the darkness of death.

Leader: The cloud took Jesus from the disciples,
People: But the disciples were not abandoned; God's holy presence remained.

Leader: Let us pray.
(a brief period of silence is observed.)

Mysterious God,
Just as the disciples were left with the presence of angels,
we are left in our daily walk not with your physical Son,
but with his presence and your presence.
We are also left with your trust--trust that we,
using our hearts and minds, can discern your will and your desires for us.
Sharpen our skills to sense your presence within us
and to willingly be led by it.
Help us to feel the glimmer of your Incarnation
when we find ourselves walking in places
that we would never take ourselves on our own.
Show us the angels in our midst.

People: Amen.

Leader: Alleluia! Christ is risen!
People: The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

The Stations of the Resurrection--Fourth Station--Jesus Appears on the Road to Emmaus

("The risen Christ appears to pilgrims on the road to Emmaus," one of a series of 26 mosaic panels illustrating the life of Christ in Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna)

The Fourth Station--Jesus Appears on the Road to Emmaus

Leader: O Risen Christ, Light of the world, we adore you;
People: You opened the eyes of the disciples on the road to Emmaus.

Two of the disciples were walking towards the village of Emmaus, discussing the events of the past few days. They wanted to talk about something else, but no matter how hard they tried to change the conversation, the topic always rolled around to the last few days of Jesus. They were so wound up in the details of it, and their fear, that they did not even recognize that the man they had met on the road was Jesus himself. In fact, they thought for a little while that he might have been the only person around who hadn't heard of Jesus!

But as they conversed, their eyes became more open, and so did their heart. They began to hear what he was teaching them about the risen Christ, and their confusion turned to certainty. There was something about this man that they recognized, but they could not quite put their finger on why that was. All the same, they listened and began to understand.

Leader: As the disciples talked to Jesus on the roadside,
People: Their conversation led to understanding.

Leader: Let us pray.
(a brief period of silence is observed.)

O God, translator of all things,
So often we do not understand the fullness of your glory.
But as we begin to talk to you, we start to understand.
As we start to understand, it is only then that you can teach us.
Give us courage to start the conversations,
Even if we don't have the story straight.
Open our ears to hear your words,
and open our minds to understand them.

People: Amen.

Leader: Alleluia! Christ is risen!
People: The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

The Stations of the Resurrection--Third Station--Mary Magdalene Meets the Risen Jesus

("The Risen Lord Appears to Mary Magdalene," stained glass window at Islip's church of St Nicholas, taken by Flickr's Lawrence OP)

The Third Station--Mary Magdalene Meets the Risen Jesus

Leader: O Risen Christ, Light of the world, we adore you;
People: You called Mary Magdalene by name and she recognized you.

Suddenly, the weight of the fact Christ's body was missing from the tomb hit Mary Magdalene like a sledgehammer. First Jesus had been taken away from her by crucifixion. Now his body was nowhere to be found. Who could be so cruel, as to steal the body? She felt as empty inside as the tomb she viewed, and began to sob openly, tears falling down her face in great rolls and wetting the collar of her robe. She didn't care there was a growing crowd by now. She didn't care about one single thing going on around her. All she knew was Jesus was gone, in a way worse than she could ever imagine. Before today, she at least had the comfort of knowing where his body lay. Now she had absolutely nothing left to remind her of Jesus.

She looked up, and in the tomb were two men in white. They reminded her of the man she saw earlier. "Why do you weep?" they asked her. Their question angered Mary Magdalene. "How stupid were they?" she thought. "Because they've taken my Lord away and I don't know where he is!" she spat out between her sobs. She couldn't take it anymore. This was just all too much to take in. So she turned and headed away from the tomb, still wailing and sobbing as hard as she could.

As she was walking away, a man stopped her. She could scarcely make him out, the tears clouded her eyes so. "Why do you weep?" the man asked her. "Who are you looking for?"

Mary Magdalene, thinking this man was the gardener, said, "Sir, PLEASE. If you carried him away, just tell me where he is, and I will take care of his body." The man looked at her warmly. "Mary," he whispered.

Suddenly she recognized the voice--it was Jesus! Suddenly, she was embarrassed that she had mistaken Jesus for the gardener. "Rabbouni!" she called out, and put out her arms to hug him. But Jesus took a step back and said, "Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the father. But go tell the rest, and tell them that I will be ascending to the Father."

Her tears suddenly stopped and a broad joyful smile crossed her face as she ran back to the disciples. He had been raised from the dead, just as Lazarus had been raised from the dead. Who would believe it?

Leader: When Jesus called Mary Magdalene by name,
People: Her weeping turned to joy.

Leader: Let us pray.
(a brief period of silence is observed.)

All powerful and ever-living God,
When you called Mary Magdalene by name,
she recognized the voice as yours alone.
Open our ears so that when you call us by name,
we know that it is your voice, just as the sheep
know the voice of their shepherd.
Let the sound of your voice have the power
to turn our weeping to singing,
dry our tears,
and turn our mournful cries to shouts of joy.
When we cannot quite reach out and touch your Son,
let the sound of his voice comfort us and lead us forward.

People: Amen.

Leader: Alleluia! Christ is risen!
People: The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

The Stations of the Resurrection--Second Station--The Disciples Find the Tomb Empty

("The Empty Tomb" by Jesus Martinez Gordo)

The Second Station--The Disciples Find the Tomb Empty

Leader: O Risen Christ, Light of the world, we adore you;
People: The disciples looked in the tomb, and saw and believed.

Mary Magdalene could scarcely catch her breath as she told Peter and the beloved disciple what she had seen. As they heard her story, they looked at each other incredulously. Was she so grief-stricken she was delirious? "This can't possibly be," they told her. The tomb was guarded. No one could have stolen the body. At this point, they could not imagine anything beyond "stolen."

"Come," Peter told Mary. "Let's go back there and you will see our Lord still rests there. The guards would not have let him be stolen."

When they all arrived back at the tomb, a large crowd was already there. More soldiers had arrived to keep order. People huddled at the mouth of the tomb but would not go in. The beloved disciple said to Peter, "Look! His burial linens are there, but he has disappeared!" Finally Peter burst through the crowd and into the tomb. "He's gone!" he exclaimed, but only after he had grabbed up the burial linens and held them in his own hands.

Leader: As the disciples looked out from the inside of the tomb;
People: They feared that their Lord's body had been stolen.

Leader: Let us pray.
(a brief period of silence is observed.)

Everlasting God,
Sometimes we cannot believe your works until we see for ourselves,
and even then, we try to rationalize it.
Teach us to fully believe in your mighty power
even when it seems distant from us.
Remind us of your continuous presence,
and that you alone have the power to conquer sin and death.
Keep our eyes ever looking forward, turning to the light, and life,
Rather than remaining in the darkness of our own fears.

People: Amen.

Leader: Alleluia! Christ is risen!
People: The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

The Stations of the Resurrection--First Station--Jesus is Raised from the Dead

("The Angel at the Tomb" by Gustave Doré)

Now that Easter is here, and I had so much fun writing my own Stations of the Cross, I've decided that, for Easter, to write my own Stations of the Resurrection (also known as the Via Lucis.) As with the Stations of the Cross, I will try to get one up every three days or so. I hope you will find them helpful for your Easter meditations!

So here we go...

Opening Prayers:

Leader: ✠In the name of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit, our sustainer and redeemer,
People: Amen.

Leader: Alleluia! Christ is risen!
People: The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!


Leader and People:

Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord's resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, Amen.

Leader: You have prepared for us, O Lord, eternal joys and delights that surpass our understanding.
People: Pour your Son's everlasting goodness into our hearts and feed us with the mysterious delicacies of your holy table. Amen.


The First Station--Jesus is raised from the Tomb

Leader: O Risen Christ, Light of the world, we adore you;
People: You rose from the dead and the stone of our iniquities was rolled away.

As Mary Magdalene and Mary of Clopas approached the tomb where Jesus was interred, they steeled themselves for a hostile reaction. Guards had been placed by the tomb to prevent the body from being stolen. They had already endured the guards' taunts, their wicked and rude comments, and their sexual innuendos. The kindness Jesus had shown upon them when he was alive seemed as dead as he was. But as they drew nearer, they were knocked to the ground by the movement of the earth itself. Suddenly the sky was filled with a brilliant flash of light, and to their amazement, they saw that the heavy stone covering the mouth of the tomb had rolled away from the entrance and was lying flat on the ground. Sitting atop the stone was a man in dazzling white robes, radiant like the sun. The guards wanted no part of what had happened, and the stress caused them to faint.

The two Marys shook with fear as they peeped into the tomb. It was empty! What did this angel do with him? "Don't be afraid," the angel said. "I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.”

Leader: The two Marys had expected to find sorrow;
People: But instead found an angel and an empty tomb.

Leader: Let us pray.
(a brief period of silence is observed.)

Holy and immortal God,
Where we expect to find sorrow and fear,
help us to find light and life.
Where we expect to find tormentors,
help us to find angels.
Where we expect to find death,
help us to find resurrection.
In the name of Jesus Christ we pray.

People: Amen.

Leader: Alleluia! Christ is risen!
People: The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!