The Women’s Confraternity meet at 11.00 a.m. on the first Saturday of every month. The Men’s Confraternity meet at 8.00 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every month. For further information contact the monastery, Phone 492 2000.

 Steps of the Passion

The Shrine of the Holy Stairs - the Scala Santa - is found in Rome.  To assist the faithful in the exercise of ascending the Holy Stairs special prayers, calling to mind the principal sufferings of Our Saviour, are recited.  The most richly indulgenced of these prayers are called the 'Steps of the Passion'.

Jesus - sorrowful and lonely in the Garden of Olives, - have mercy on the lonely and forgotten.
Jesus - forsaken by your followers, - have mercy on us when we are unfaithful to you
Jesus - condemned to death unjustly, - have mercy on those who suffer from injustice.
Jesus - publicly stripped of your garments, - have mercy on those who have been humiliated and stripped of their human dignity.
Jesus - crowned with thorns, an object of derision, - have mercy on those who suffer because of mental torment.
Jesus - burdened with the weight of your Cross, - have mercy on us as we struggle under the weight of our own Cross.
Jesus - suffering on your Cross from thirst, - have mercy on those who suffer from hunger and want.
Jesus - dying upon the Cross abandoned by your followers, - have mercy on those who will die this day.
Jesus - taken down from your Cross and laid in the arms of your sorrowing Mother, - have mercy on those who bear the burden of grief.
Jesus - laid to rest in the tomb, - have mercy on us and give us courage as we await the hope your resurrection brings.

Jesus  - through these steps of your Passion,
You taught us many things:
Love, Hope, Courage,
And especially Fidelity to the Father's Will.
Inspired by your example,
We pray as you yourself taught us

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  Amen.

The Scala Sancta

The Scala Sancta or Holy Stairs can be found in the Piazza San Giovanni in Lateran in Rome.  According to tradition they are the stairs climbed by Jesus in Pilate's Palace in Jerusalem on the way to His condemnation.

They were brought to Rome by St. Helena and placed near the Shrine of the 'Sancta Sanctorum' = the ancient private chapel of the Popes.  The stairs consists of twenty-eight steps which the faithful climb on their knees.  Various prayers are used in this exercise.  Of all the prayers the 'Steps of the Passion' are the most famous.

The Shrine is now in the care of the Passionists.

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