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Way of Light
with meditations by
Francis de Sales
2022
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graphic design by : Elena CRISTINO

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Contents
STATIONS I - IV
STATIONS V - VIII
STATIONS IX - XII
STATIONSXIII - XIV
Final prayer

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Jesus is raised
from the dead
Mt 28:5-7
1
The Risen Lord
appears to Mary
Magdalene
Jn 20:15-17
3
2
The disciples
nd the empty
sepulchre
Jn 20:4-8
4
Jesus appears
on the road to
Emmaus
Lk 24:18-19,25-27

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Jesus is known
in the breaking
of the bread
Lk 24:29-33
5
Jesus gives the
disciples the
authority to
forgive sins
Jn 20:19-23
7
6
Jesus appears
to the disciples
in Jerusalem
Lk 24:38-43
8
Jesus
strengthens the
faith of Thomas
Jn 20:25-29

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Jesus appears
by the Sea of
Tiberias
Jn 21:5-6,11
9
Jesus
commissions
his disciples
Mt 28:18-20
11
10
Jesus tells
Peter to feed
his sheep
Jn 21:15-17
12
Jesus ascends
into heaven
Acts 1:9-11

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Mary and the
disciples wait
in prayer
Acts 1:13-14
13
14
The Holy Spirit
descends at
Pentecost
Acts 2:1-4
Victimae paschali laudes
immolent Christiani.
Agnus redemit oves:
Christus innocens Patri
reconciliavit peccatores.
Mors et vita duello
con ixere mirando:
dux vitae mortuus,
regnat vivus.
Dic nobis Maria,
quid vidisti in via?
Sepulcrum Christi viventis,
et gloriam vidi resurgentis
Angelicos testes,
sudarium, et vestes.
Surrexit Christus spes mea:
praecedet suos in Galilaeam.
Scimus Christum surrexisse
a mortuis vere:
tu nobis, victor Rex, miserere.
Resurrezione di Cristo - Rubens - Palazzo Pitti -
Firenze

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Jesus is raised from the
dead
Queen of Heaven, rejoice,
For He whom you did merit to bear,
Has risen, as he said,
Pray for us to God,
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary,
For the Lord has truly risen.
1
Anastasis, chiesa di San Salvatore,
Chora (Turchia), inizi del secolo XIV.
The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that
you are looking for Jesus, who was cruci ed. He is not here; he
has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.
Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the
dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see
him.’ Now I have told you.”
(Mt 28:5-7)
Devotion [= making the Risen Jesus present in our lives!]
in no way spoils anything if it be true, rather it makes
everything perfect. When it con icts with any person's
legitimate occupation, it is without doubt false. “The bee”
says Aristotle, “sucks honey from owers without
damaging them,” leaving them as whole and as fresh as it
found them. But true devotion does even better. Not only
does it not spoil any sort of life-situation or occupation,
but on the contrary enriches it and makes it attractive...
Devotion makes the care of the family peaceful, the love
of husband and wife more sincere, the service of the ruler
more loyal, and every sort of occupation more pleasant
and more loveable... It is an error, or rather, a heresy,
to try to exclude the devout life from the soldiers' regiment,
the workmen's shop, the court of rulers or the home of the
married.

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The disciples nd
the empty sepulchre
Queen of Heaven, rejoice,
For He whom you did merit to bear,
Has risen, as he said,
Pray for us to God,
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary,
For the Lord has truly risen.
2
They both ran, but the other disciple outran Peter and
reached the tomb rst; 5 and stooping to look in, he saw the
linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon
Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; he saw
the linen cloths lying, and the napkin, which had been on his
head, not lying with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place
by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb rst,
also went in, and he saw and believed
(Jn 20:4-8)
Eugène Burnand. La
corsa dei discepoli
Pietro a Giovanni al
sepolcro (1898)
Blind persons do not see a prince who is among them.
If they are told of his presence, they behave with
respect. But, in fact, since they do not see him, they
easily forget his presence. Having forgotten it, they
more easily lose respect and reverence. Alas,
Philothea, we do not see God who is present with us.
Though faith reminds us of his presence, since we do
not see him with our eyes, we very o en forget and
behave as though God was very far from us.

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The Risen Lord appears
to Mary Magdalene
3
Queen of Heaven, rejoice,
For He whom you did merit to bear,
Has risen, as he said,
Pray for us to God,
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary,
For the Lord has truly risen.
"Noli me tangere", Giotto,
Cappella degli Scrovegni,
Padova, 1303-1305.
Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are
you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to
him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have
laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned and said to him in Aramaic,[b] “Rabboni!” (which
means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I
have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and
say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to
my God and your God.’”
(Jn 20:15-17)
What are the owers of our heart, Philothea? Our Good
desires, certainly. As soon as they appear, we should get
hold of a pruning knife to cut o from our conscience
every deed that is useless and irrelevant. In order to
marry an Israelite, a girl who was a foreigner had to take
o the garment she was wearing as a captive, trim her
nails and shave her head. So whoever seeks the honour of
being a spouse of Christ has to strip o the old self and
be clothed in the new, giving up sin and then trimming
and cutting away all sorts of obstructions which lead away
from the love of God.... The usual puri cation and
healing, of the body as well as of the spirit, takes place
only little by little, by gradual progress, by constant
improvement, with e ort and over a period of time.

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Jesus appears on the
road to Emmaus
Queen of Heaven, rejoice,
For He whom you did merit to bear,
Has risen, as he said,
Pray for us to God,
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary,
For the Lord has truly risen.
4
“Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know
the things that have happened there in these days?” And
he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him,
“Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet
mighty in deed and word before God and all the people”
[…] And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of
heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it
not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things
and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and
all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the
Scriptures the things concerning himself.
(Lk 24:18-19,25-27)
Duccio di Buoninsegna,
Cristo ad Emmaus, (1308-
1311), Museo dell'Opera
Metropolitana del Duomo
(Siena).
Devotion [= God’s love received and given] is to be
practised di erently by the nobleman, the workman,
the servant, the prince, the widow, the young girl, the
wife. Even more than this, the practice of devotion has
to be adapted to the strength, life-situation and duties
of each individual... No matter where we are, we can
and we should seek a life of perfection.

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Jesus is known in the
breaking of the bread
Queen of Heaven, rejoice,
For He whom you did merit to bear,
Has risen, as he said,
Pray for us to God,
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary,
For the Lord has truly risen.
5
‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day
is now nearly over.’ So he went in to stay with them.
When he was at the table with them, he took bread,
blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their
eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he
vanished from their sight. They said to each other,
‘Were not our hearts burning within us[k] while he was
talking to us on the road, while he was opening the
scriptures to us?’ That same hour they got up and
returned to Jerusalem.
(Lk 24:29-33)
Cena in Emmaus (1648),
Rembrandt (Musée du
Louvre).
The glass of a mirror would not catch our re ection if its
back were not covered with tin or lead. Similarly, we could
not easily contemplate God in this world if the Divinity
were not united to the sacred humanity of the Saviour. His
life and death are the most suitable, appealing, delightful
and fruitful subjects that we can take for our ordinary
meditation.
The Saviour calls himself, not without reason, the bread
come down from heaven. As bread should be eaten with
all sorts of food, so also the Saviour should be meditated
on, considered and searched for in all our prayers and
actions.

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Jesus appears to the
disciples in Jerusalem
Queen of Heaven, rejoice,
For He whom you did merit to bear,
Has risen, as he said,
Pray for us to God,
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary,
For the Lord has truly risen.
6
Cristo risorto nel
Cenacolo, circa 1670.
Mattia Pretti, Museo
de Bellas Artes,
Siviglia.
‘Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your
hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I
myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have esh
and bones as you see that I have.’ And when he had said
this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their
joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to
them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ They gave him a
piece of broiled sh, and he took it and ate in their
presence.
(Lk 24:29-33)
In the same way, my dear Philothea, the world
defames holy devotion as much as it can. It
represents devout persons with faces that are
dissatis ed, sad and sulky. It proclaims that devotion
makes people depressed and unbearable. But Joshua
and Caleb insisted that the Promised Land was good
and beautiful, and also that possessing it would be
delightful and pleasant. So also the Holy Spirit
assures us, through the words of all the Saints, and
our Lord by his own teaching, that the devout life is
pleasant, happy and lovable.

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Jesus gives the disciples
the authority to forgive
7
sins
Queen of Heaven, rejoice,
For He whom you did merit to bear,
Has risen, as he said,
Pray for us to God,
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary,
For the Lord has truly risen.
L’Apparizione di Cristo
durante la cena degli
apostoli. Duccio di
Buoninsegna (1308-1311).
Museo dell'Opera
Metropolitana del Duomo
(Siena).
Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be
with you.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands
and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw
the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As
the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said
this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the
Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are
forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are
retained.’
(Jn 20:19-23)
Another considers himself devout because of the very
great number of prayers he recites every day, even
though soon a er this he speaks words that are
annoying, full of pride and hurtful to those in his
house and to his neighbours. Another very gladly
opens his purse to give alms to the poor but cannot
take any gentleness from his heart to forgive his
enemies. Yet another will forgive his enemies but will
not pay what he owes unless he is legally forced to do
so.

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Jesus strengthens the
faith of Thomas
8
Queen of Heaven, rejoice,
For He whom you did merit to bear,
Has risen, as he said,
Pray for us to God,
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary,
For the Lord has truly risen.
Incredulità di san
Tommaso, Caravaggio
(1600-1601 ),
Bildergalerie de Potsdam.
‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put
my nger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his
side, I will not believe.’
A week later his disciples were again in the house, and
Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut,
Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be
with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your nger here
and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in
my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ Thomas answered
him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have
you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are
those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’
(Jn 20:25-29)
What good do we have that we have not received? If
we have received then why are we proud (1 Cor.
4:7)? On the contrary, a lively consideration of the
graces received makes us humble, for recognition
of them begets gratitude [...]
Let us never lower our eyes without humbling our
hearts. Let us not make a show of wanting to be the
last unless we really wih it.

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Jesus appears by the Sea
of Tiberias
9
Queen of Heaven, rejoice,
For He whom you did merit to bear,
Has risen, as he said,
Pray for us to God,
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary,
For the Lord has truly risen.
Cristo sul mare di Galilea
Tintoretto (1575-1580),
National Gallery of Art,
Washington.
“Children, do you have any sh?” They answered him,
“No.” He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of
the boat, and you will nd some.” So they cast it, and now
they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity
of sh. That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to
Peter, “It is the Lord!” […]Simon Peter went aboard and
hauled the net ashore, full of large sh, 153 of them. And
although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus
said to them, “Come and have breakfast.”
(Jn 21:5-6,11)
Which of the two I pray you loved God more, the theologian
Occam, held by some to be the most subtle of mortals, or S.
Catherine of Genoa, an unlearned woman? He knew God
better by science, she by experience; and her experience
conducted her deep into seraphic love, while he with his
knowledge remained far remote from this excellent
perfection.
knowledge is not of itself contrary, but very useful to
devotion, and meeting together they marvellously assist one
another; though it o en happens through our misery that
knowledge hinders the birth of devotion, because knowledge
pu s up (1 Cor 8:1) and makes us proud, and pride, which is
contrary to every virtue, is the total ruin of devotion.

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Jesus tells Peter to feed
his sheep
Queen of Heaven, rejoice,
For He whom you did merit to bear,
Has risen, as he said,
Pray for us to God,
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary,
For the Lord has truly risen.
10
Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you
love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord;
you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my
lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of
John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you
know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do
you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him
the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him,
“Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep”.
(Jn 21:15-17)
Consegna delle chiavi
- Pietro Perugino
(1481-1482),
Cappella Sistina.
Francis, Pastor and Bishop of Geneva 1602-1622.
Now the Diocese is in his hands and it is up to him to
lead it. He feels the weight and e ort of this new task:
“That day God had taken me from myself
and thus give me to the people,
meaning that he had transformed me
from what I was for myself into what I had to be for
them.”

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Jesus commissions his
disciples
Queen of Heaven, rejoice,
For He whom you did merit to bear,
Has risen, as he said,
Pray for us to God,
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary,
For the Lord has truly risen.
11
Duccio di Buoninsegna,
L'Apparizione di Cristo sul
monte della Galilea,
Museo dell'Opera
Metropolitana del Duomo
(Siena).
Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven
and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have
commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the
close of the age.”
(Mt 28:18-20)
The Risen One entrusts the universal mission.
What shall we do, then, Canons of Geneva? With charity we
must tear down the walls of Geneva, with charity we must
invade it, with charity we must reconquer it. It is with
hunger and thirst endured by ourselves that we must repel
the enemy. How to reconquer it? As Holofernes did with the
city of Bethulia: by cutting o the springs, by cutting o the
aqueducts!
There is an aqueduct that nourishes and refreshes, so to
speak, every category of heretic, and this can be identi ed as
the bad example of perverse priests, the actions, words and
the wickedness of everyone, but especially of the clergy
We must live as children of God. not only in name, but also
in fact.

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Jesus ascends
into heaven
Queen of Heaven, rejoice,
For He whom you did merit to bear,
Has risen, as he said,
Pray for us to God,
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary,
For the Lord has truly risen.
12
Duccio di Buoninsegna,
L'Apparizione di Cristo sul
monte della Galilea,
Museo dell'Opera
Metropolitana del Duomo
(Siena).
As they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud
took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing
into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by
them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do
you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was
taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same
way as you saw him go into heaven.”
( Acts 1:9-11)
Have you ever seen, Philothea, a large replace covered with
ashes? When you come ten or twelve hours later in search of
re, you will nd only a little at the centre and even that
with di culty. Yet it is there, and since you nd it, you can
rekindle with it all other coals that had already gone out.
It is the same with charity, which is our spiritual life, amidst
great and violent temptations. In fact, the temptation
casting its delight into the inferior part of the soul seems
to cover the whole soul with ashes and to reduce the love
of God to a spark. For it appears only in the very centre
of the heart, in the very depths of the spirit. It seems so
imperceptible that it is di cult to discover it at all.
Yet it is really there. Even though all may be troubled
in our soul and our body, yet we have the resolution never
to consent to the sin or to the temptation.

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Mary and the disciples
wait in prayer
Queen of Heaven, rejoice,
For He whom you did merit to bear,
Has risen, as he said,
Pray for us to God,
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary,
For the Lord has truly risen.
13
They went to the room upstairs where they were
staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew,
Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew,
James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and
Judas son of[c] James. All these were constantly
devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain
women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well
as his brothers.
(Acts 1:13-14)
Pentecoste, Messale
secolo XIV, in pergamena
(Anglia orientale).
You should say them [your prayers] xing your
attention earnestly on the words, and allowing
their meaning to stir up good movements in your
will. Do not hurry in order to say many prayers
but take care to say those that you do say from
the heart. One Our Father said earnestly is of
greater value than many recited quickly
and in a hurry.

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The Holy Spirit
descends at Pentecost
Queen of Heaven, rejoice,
For He whom you did merit to bear,
Has risen, as he said,
Pray for us to God,
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary,
For the Lord has truly risen.
14
Pentecoste - El Greco
(1597-1600), Museo
Nacional del Prado,
Madrid.
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were
all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came
from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it lled
all the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared to them tongues as of re,
distributed and resting on each one of them.
And they were all lled with the Holy Spirit and began
to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave
them utterance.
(Acts 2:1-4)
As for myself, if I had, for example, taken great care not to
fall into the vice of vanity and yet fell deeply into it,
I would not like to correct my heart in the following
manner: “Are you not wretched and abominable that a er
so many resolutions you allowed yourself to be carried
away by vanity? Die of shame, do not raise your eyes to
heaven, you blind, shameless, traitor disloyal to your God';
and similar expressions.” But I would like to correct it
reasonably by means of compassion: “Alas! my poor heart,
here we are fallen again into the ditch which we had so
rmly decided to avoid. Let us get up and leave it for ever.
Let us entreat the mercy of God and hope that henceforth
it will help us to be rm; let us return to the path
of humility.”

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Jesus Christ is risen! Love has triumphed over hatred, life has conquered death, light has dispelled the
darkness!
On Easter morning, alerted by the women, Peter and John ran to the tomb. They found it open and empty.
Then they drew near and “bent down” in order to enter it. To enter into the mystery, we need to “bend
down”, to abase ourselves. Only those who abase themselves understand the glori cation of Jesus and are
able to follow him on his way. Those who bear within them God’s power, his love and his justice, do not
need to employ violence; they speak and act with the power of truth, beauty and love. From the risen
Lord we ask today the grace not to succumb to the pride which fuels violence and war, but to have the
humble courage of pardon and peace. We ask Jesus, the Victor over death, to lighten the sufferings of our
many brothers and sisters who are persecuted for his name, and of all those who suffer injustice as a
result of ongoing con icts and violence. There are so many of them!
“Ubi et Orbi” message – Easter 2015

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He’s alive
and he’s
here!