Stations of the Cross

(Way of the Cross)

Prayer to Jesus Christ Crucified

Good and gentle Jesus, I kneel before you.

I see and ponder your five wounds.

My eyes behold what David prophesied about you: "They have pierced my hands and feet; they have counted all my bones."

Engrave on me this image of yourself.

Fulfill the yearnings of my heart:

give me faith, hope, and love, repentance for

my sins, and true conversion of life. Amen.

First Station: Jesus is Condemned to Death

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.

R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

From Saint Matthew: (27:22-23, 26)

Pilate said to them, "Then what shall I do with Jesus called Messiah?" They all said, "Let him be crucified!" But he said, "Why? What evil has he done?" They only shouted louder, "Let him be crucified!" Then he released Barabbas to them, but after he had Jesus scourged, he handed him over to be crucified.

V. God did not spare his own Son.

R. But handed him over for the sake of us all.

Second Station: Jesus Carries His Cross

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.

R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

From Saint John: (19:16-17, 19)

Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, and carrying the cross himself he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, "Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews."

V. Whoever wishes to come after me.

R. Must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me.

Third Station: Jesus Falls the First Time

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.

R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

From the prophet Isaiah: (53:4-5)

Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, while we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins; upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed.

V. Happy those whose way is blameless, who walk by the teaching of the Lord.

R. May my ways be firm in the observance of your laws!

Fourth Station: Jesus Meets His Mother

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.

R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

From the Book of Lamentations: (1:10, 16, 12)

The foe stretched out his hand to all her treasures. "At this I weep, my eyes run with tears. Come, all you who pass by the way, look and see whether there is any suffering like my suffering."

V. Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.

R. Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?

Fifth Station: Jesus is Helped by Simon

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.

R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

From Saint Mark: (15:21)

They pressed into service a passer-by, Simon, a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.

V. Whatever you did for one of these least brothers and sisters of mine.

R. You did for me.

Sixth Station: Jesus' Face is Wiped by Veronica

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.

R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

From the prophet Isaiah: (52:14; 53:2-3)

Even as many were amazed at him - so marred was his look beyond that of man, and his appearance beyond that of mortals. There was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him, nor appearance that would attract us to him. He was spurned and avoided by others, a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity, one of those from whom others hide their faces, spurned, and we held him in no esteem.

V. Rely on the mighty Lord.

R. Constantly seeking his face.

Seventh Station: Jesus Falls the Second Time

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.

R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

From the prophet Isaiah: (53:6-7, 8)

We had all gone astray like sheep, each following their own way; but the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all. Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his mouth; like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth. Smitten for the sin of his people.

V. Steady my feet in accord with your promise.

R. Do not let iniquity lead me.

Eighth Station: Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.

R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

From Saint Luke: (23:27-28, 31)

A large crowd of people followed Jesus, including many women who mourned and lamented him. Jesus turned to them and said: "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children. If these things are done when the wood is green what will happen when it is dry?"

V. The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve.

R. And to give his life as a ransom for many.

Ninth Station: Jesus Falls the Third Time

V. We adore you O Christ, and we praise you.

R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

From the prophet Isaiah: (63:1-3, 5)

Who is this that comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments, from Bozrah - this one arrayed in majesty, marching in the greatness of his strength? . . . Why is your apparel red, and your garments like those of the wine presser? "The wine press I have trodden alone, and of my people there was no one with me. I looked about, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that there was no one to lend support; so my own arm brought about the victory."

V. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings glad tidings.

R. Announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation.

Tenth Station: Jesus is Stripped of His Garments

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.

R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

From Saint John: (19:23-24)

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four shares, a share for each soldier. They also took his tunic, but this tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top down. So they said to one another, "Let's not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be," in order that the passage of scripture might be fulfilled [that says]: "They divided my garments among them, and for my vesture they cast lots."

V. All you who were baptized into Christ.

R. Have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Eleventh Station: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.

R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

From Saint Luke: (23:33-34)

When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him and the criminals there, one on his right, the other on his left. [Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do."]

V. Once I am lifted up from earth, I will draw all to myself.

R. This statement indicated the sort of death he had to die.

Twelfth Station: Jesus Dies on the Cross

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.

R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

From the prophet Zechariah: (12:10, 11; 13:1)

They shall look on him whom they have thrust through, and they shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only son, and they shall grieve over him as one grieves over a first-born. On that day the mourning in Jerusalem shall be great. On that day there shall be open a fountain to purify from sin and uncleanness.

V. My lover has come down to his garden, to the beds of spice.

R. I have come to my garden . . . ; I gather my myrrh and my spices.

Fourteenth Station: Jesus is Laid in the Tomb

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.

R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

From Saint John: (19:38-42)

After this, Joseph of Arimathea, secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. And Pilate permitted it. So he came and took his body. Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom. Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried. So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by.

V. We who were baptized into Christ Jesus.

R. Were baptized into his death.

V. We were indeed buried with him.

R. Through baptism into death.

V. So that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father.

R. We too might live in newness of life.

V. For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his.

R. We shall also be united with him in the resurrection.

V. We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more.

R. Death no longer has power over him.

Concluding Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, let your body, then, be our salvation, and your blood, forgiveness of our sins. Because of the gall you drank for us, take from us the devil's gall. Because of the sour wine you drank for us, let our weakness be changed into strength. In place of the spittle you accepted for us, may we receive the dew of your kindness. And in place of the reed with which you were struck for us, may we receive the perfect dwelling. In place of the crown of thorns you accepted for us, let an immortal crown be given to those who have loved you. In place of the shroud in which you were buried, may we too be clad in invincible power. In place of the new tomb and your sepulcher, may we receive the renewal of soul and body. For you rose and returned to life. When we return to life, we will live and stand before you at the just judgment! AMEN.