Pilgrimage to the Holy Door – 12 Stations Step by Step recount

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12 Stations of the Pilgrimage – Step by Step Recount of each Station

1st Station – At the compound in front of the Portico (Italian: porch leading to the entrance of a building)

• This was the first station of the pilgrimage, the porch of the Cathedral.
• Here we prayed Pope Francis Prayer for the Jubilee Year of Mercy
• We then contemplated the statue of Jesus who is the face of the Father’s Mercy, above the Portico.
• We repeatedly recited the prayer of Mercy and praised his Mercy.

2nd Station – The Holy Door

• At the second station of the pilgrimage we found the Door of Mercy.
• There was a plaque on the door which identified it as one of the Doors of Mercy designated.
• We knelt before the Holy Door, gazed at the Baptismal Font and the Crucifix above the altar.
• We then made an Act of Contrition and received the mercy of Jesus. 
• We repeatedly recited the prayer of Mercy and praised his Mercy.

3rd Station – Baptismal Font

• At the third station of the pilgrimage we moved toward the Baptismal Font.
• We touched the cross fixed to the granite door frame, made the sign of the cross while remembering that Jesus died for us on the cross. With a grateful heart we made the sign of the cross using Holy Water and received the mercy of God. 
• This font is over 100 years old, the hexagonal shape symbolizes the death of Jesus on the sixth day of the week (Friday)
• The running water symbolizes the flowing of new life from the death of Jesus
• The shape of the baptismal font symbolizes the new and everlasting life, the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden 
• We read:
  • Romans   6: 3-4     Buried in Christ through Baptism and raised with newness of life
  • John        3: 3-6     Born of water and Spirit     
• With gratitude we mediated our own baptism, being Thankful for:
  • for the death of Christ, he has redeemed us
  • for by water and the Holy Spirit, we have been called into his kingdom, the kingdom of mercy, forgiveness & love
  • at this font, many lives of our brothers & sisters are reborn 
•  We then said the Apostles’ Creed while working toward the High Altar, contemplating the Crucifix

4th Station – High Altar

• After kneeling in front of the altar, we contemplated Jesus who willing sacrificed himself on the cross and then lovingly adored and praised him.
• We read:
  • John   19: 25-37     “It is finished”, Jesus handed over his spirit
• We meditated on the word’s: “Woman behold your son….Behold your mother”, “It is finished” “From the side of Jesus, water is the sign of baptism; blood is the sign of the Eucharist… Christ not only sacrificed himself to redeem us, but he also became our living bread.”
• Next was turning our gaze to the High Altar where beneath the altar were relics of 10 saints: St Thomas, St Teresa of Lisieux, St Francis Xavier, St Mary Magdalene of Canossa, St John of Triora, St Jean-Gabriel Perboyre, St Wu Xuesheng, St Lu Tingmei, St Lin Zhao and St Theophane Venard.
• We read:
  • Col      1:24     Suffering for Christ
• As we turned our gaze to Jesus on the cross we made an offering of ourselves together with him.
• We read:
  • John      7:37-39     Whoever thirsts come to me and drink
• We then gazed to the seat of the Bishop: a sign of the mission handed over from Apostles.
• We read
  • Col      1:25-29     God’s stewardship given to us
• We prayed for the Bishop of Hong Kong and all the Bishops, we prayed for the Pope, Prayed for Hong Kong and the Universal church.
• We prayed Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be.
• We turned our gaze to Jesus on the cross: the face of God’s mercy, we repeated in our heart: We adore You, Lord Jesus Christ, and we praise You because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.

5th Station – The Confessionals

• We read
  • Rom      3:23-25     Justified freely by his grace through the Redemption in Jesus Christ
  • John      1:25-29     Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained
• We thanked our Lord Jesus who institute the Sacrament of Reconciliation and that by his blood we are cleansed of our sins and receive everlasting life. 
• We repeatedly recited the prayer of Mercy: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner and praised his Mercy: Praise the Lord, for he is good; for his mercy endures forever.

6th Station – Blessed Sacrament Chapel

• We knelt down to adore Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and had an intimate conversation with the Lord. We looked at the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the merciful heart of Jesus who is always watching us with mercy.
• We read
  • Matt      11:28-30     Take my yoke upon you
• We meditated on the revelation of Jesus to St Margaret Mary about his Sacred Heart
• As we walked to the next station we prayed the Peace Prayer of St Francis of Assisi

7th Station – Mission Chapel, the crypt housing the remains of former Bishops

• We gazed at the round stained glass window: the descent of the Holy Spirit, we gazed at the statue of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the stained glass window at the sides showing the development of the Hong Kong Diocese.
• With a grateful geart we recalled God’s merciful plan of redemption and Mother Mary who cooperates with God’s merciful plan.
• We read
  • Gen      3:15     Enmity between the woman and the snake
  • Luk       1:38     Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord, May it be done to me according to they word
  • Act       1:14     All devoted with one accord, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
• We kneeled and meditated on God’s merciful plan and cooperation of Mary. we asked for intercession of Our Lady and said Hail Mary and Hail Holy Queen then sang Salve Regina.
• We prayed the Prayer for Vocations and bow with reverence and asked for the intercession of the deceased Bishops and priests of the hong Kong Diocese.

8th Station – Chinese Martyrs Chapel (Altar of Our Lord’s Passion)

• We gazed at the statues behind the altar. The Passion of Christ with Our Lady sharing his Passion. Then gazed at the stained glass window of the Martyr Saints of China on the right, and on the left Non-Martyr Saints of China.
• We knelt and prayed the Prayer for Martyrs in China and prayed for China said Benedict XVI’s Prayer to Our Lady of Sheshan in 2008.
• We contemplated the relics of the saints and the altar, especially the sculpture of the lamb for sacrifice.
  • 1Cor      9:19, 22,23     I have made myself a slave to all so as to win over as many as possible
• We recited the Jesus Prayer to receive the mercy of Jesus: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.

9th Station – All Souls’ Chapel (Altar of St Joseph)

• We gazed at the statue of St Jospeh, the foster father of Jesus, the spouse of Mary, the head of the Holy Family, the patron saint of China and patron saint of the dying.
  • Mat      1:18-25     Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
•  We said Pope Francis Prayer to the Holy Family on 29 December 2013

10th Station – Statue of St Vincent de Paul

• We prayed to God to help us practice corporal and spiritual works of mercy and prayed for Saint Vincent de Paul
  • Mat      25:31-46     For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me

11th Station – Behind the High Altar under the Crucifix

• We contemplated the Crucifix: the Tree of Life, the True Vine and the saints who bear good fruit. We knelt and had an intimate conversation with the Lord.
  • John      15:1-12     By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.
• We prayed for Jesus’ mercy so that we can bear good fruit on the true vine.
• We recited: Praise the Lord for his mercy endures forever, our prayer extended to saints and blessed ones who made divine mercy their mission in life.
• We recited the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and full of gratitude we moved back to the Baptismal Font and made the Sign of the Cross with holy water.

12th Station

• Go out of the church through the Holy Door, look back to the church and bow to the Crucifix inside the church.
• We recited the prayer:
  • Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner
  • Praise the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever

As we walked off we recalled our own mission and the mission of the church. We are called to serve the community, to be apostles, guides and formators, and to evangelize. In this was, we can share in the priesthood of Christ, leading people to the merciful God.

Amen!