Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross: Meditating the Passion of Christ
The First Station
Jesus is Condemned to Die.
Pr.: We adore You, 0 Christ, and we praise You. (GENUFLECT)
All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
Pr.: Again the high priest began to ask him, and said to him, "Are you the
Christ, the Son of the Blessed One ?" And Jesus said to him,
"I am. And you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the
Power and coming with the clouds of heaven." But the high priest tore
his garments and said, "What further need have we of witnesses ? You
have heard the blasphemy. What do you think ?" And they all
condemned him as liable to death. (Mark 14, 61 to 64)
All: (KNEEL AND PAUSE) The kings of the earth rise up / and the princes
conspire together against the Lord and against his Anointed. / I will
proclaim the decree of the Lord; / the Lord said to me: / "You are my
Son; this day I have begotten you. / Ask of me and I will give you the
nations for an in-heritance / and the ends of the earth for your
pos-session." (Psalm 2, 2 & 7-8)
Pr.: Let us pray. All-powerful and eternal God, for pro-claiming the truth
your Son, Jesus Christ, is con-demned to death by crucifixion. Stir up
your love in our hearts so that we might be ever faithful to all that You
have told us and fear nothing more than the loss of your friendship
through sin.
All: Amen. (STAND
Sing: Now the Cross as Jesus bore it,
Has become for us who share it,
The jeweled Cross of Victory.
The First Station: Jesus is Condemned to Die.
Jesus Carries His Cross.
Pr.: We adore You. 0 Christ, and we praise You. (GENUFLECT)
All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
Pr.: And Pilate said to the Jews, "Behold, your king!" But they cried out,
"Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall
I crucify your king?" The chief priests answered. "We have no king but
Caesar." Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. And so they
took Jesus and led him away. bearing the cross for him-self. (John 19,
14 to 17) (KNEEL AND PAVSE)
All: Who would believe what we have heard? / To whom has the arm of the
Lord been revealed? .' He grew up like a sapling before him, like a shoot
from the parched earth; / there was in him no stately bearing to make
us look at him. / no ap-pearance that would attract us to him. ,' He was
rejected and avoided by men, / a man of suffering, accustomed to
infirmity. / one of those from whom men turn away. / and we held him
in no esteem. (Is. 53.1 to 3)
Pr.: Let us pray. Father in heaven, your Son, Jesus Christ, still carries
his Cross in his persecuted brothers and sisters throughout the world.
Make us feel the needs of all persons so that we might as readily help
them as we would help Jesus himself.
All: Amen. (STAND)
Sing: Weakened, prodded, cursed, and fallen.
His whole Body bruised and swollen,
Jesus tripped and lay in pain.
The Second Station: Jesus Carries His Cross.
The Third Station: Jesus Falls the First Time.
Pr.: We adore You, 0 Christ, and we praise You. (GENUFLECT)
All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
Pr.: If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before you. If you were
of the world, the world would love what is its own. Because you are not of
the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world
hates you. Remem-ber the word that I have spoken to you: No servant is
greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will persecute
you also. (John IS, Ig to 20) (KNEEL AND PAUSE)
All: Why are your clothes 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 trod them in my anger, and trampled them down
in my wrath; / their blood spurted on my garments and I stained all my
clothes. / 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." (Is. 63, 2 to 5)
Pr.: Let us pray. 0 God, to free us from sin and weak-ness your Son, Jesus
Christ, embraced his fearful passion and crucifixion. Strengthen us in our
bap-tismal resolutions by which we renounced sin and Satan, so that
through the passion of this life's suf-ferings we might rise to a new life of
joyful service free of all selfishness.
All: Amen. (STAND)
Sing: Jesus met his grieving Mother,
She who made the Lord our Brother;
Now the sword her heart has pierced.
The Third Station: Jesus Falls the First Time.
The Fourth Station: Jesus Meets His Mother.
Pr.: We adore You, 0 Christ, and we praise You. (GENUFLECT)
All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
Pr.: Now there were standing by the cross of Jesus his mother and his
mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus,
therefore, saw his mother and the disciple standing by, whom he loved,
he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son." Then he said to the
disciple, "Behold, your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her
into his home. (John 19, 25 to 27) (KNEEL AND PAUSE)
All: To what can I compare you, O daughter Jerusalem? / What example can I
show you for your comfort, virgin daughter Sion? / For great as the sea is
your distress; / who can heal you? (Lam. 2, 13)
Pr.: Let us pray. O blessed Lord, at your passion a sword of sorrow pierced the
loving heart of your mother as Simeon had foretold. Grant that we who
look back on her sorrows with compassion might receive the healing
fruits of your sufferings.
All: Amen. (STAND)
Sing: Simon stopped in hesitation,
Not foreseeing his proud station,
Called to bear the Cross of Christ.
The Fourth Station: Jesus Meets His Mother.
FIFTH STATION Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry his Cross
Pr.: We adore You, 0 Christ, and we praise You. (GENUFLECT) All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world. Pr.: And when they had mocked Jesus, they took the purple
cloak off and put his own clothes on him, and they led him
out to be crucified. Then they forced a certain passer-by,
Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, to take up his
cross. They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha, a
name meaning the place of the skull'. (Mk. 15, 20 to 22)
(KNEEL AND PAUSE)
All: With a loud voice I cry out to the Lord; / with a loud voice I
beseech the Lord. / My complaint I pour out before him;
before him 1 lay bare my dis• tress. / When my spirit is faint
within me, you know my path. / In the way along which I
walk they have hid a trap for me. / I look to the right to sec,
but there is no one who pays me heed. / I have lost all
means of escape; / there is no one who cares for my life.
(Ps. 141, 2 to 5)
Pr.: Let us pray. Lord Jesus Christ, help us to see in the
sufferings and shortcomings of our lives a share in Your
Cross; strengthen and console us in the belief that we bear
all things in union with You, who have taken upon Yourself
even our guilt.
All: Amen. (STAND)
Sing: Brave but trembling came the woman,
None but she would flaunt the Roman,
Moved by love beyond her fear.
The Fifth Station: Simon Helps Jesus Carry His Cross.
The Sixth Station: Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus.
Pr.: We adore You, 0 Christ, and we praise You. (GENUFLECT) All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world. Pr.: "Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you; or
thirsty, and give you drink? And when did we see you a
stranger, and take you in; or naked, and clothe you? Or
when did we sec you sick, or in prison, and come to you?"
And answering the king will say to them, "Amen, I say to
you, as long as you did it for one of these, the least of my
brethren. you did it for me."
(Mt. 25, 37 to 40) (KNEEL AND PAUSE)
All: A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; / he who finds one finds
a treasure. / A faithful friend is beyond price, no sum can
balance his worth. / A faithful friend is a life-saving remedy,
such as he who fears God finds; / for he who fears God
behaves accord-ingly, / and his friend will be like himself.
(Sirach 6, 14 to 17)
Pr.: Let us pray. Almighty and ever-loving God, we feel your
love and understanding in the consolation and support we
receive from one another. Give us, we be You, the courage
and dedication to sacrifice and suffer with those who are in
need, the least of your people.
All: Amen. (STAND)
Sing: Prostrate on the dust He crumbled,
Flogged in Body He resembled
All oar brothers poor and scorned.
The Sixth Station: Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus.
The Seventh Station: Jesus Falls the Second Time.
Pr.: We adore You, 0 Christ, and we praise You. (GENUFLECT) All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world. Pr.: It was our weaknesses that he carried, our sufferings that
he endured, while we thought of him as stricken, as one
struck by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our
offenses, crushed for our sins; upon him was the
punishment that makes us whole, by his stripes we were
healed. We had all gone astray like sheep, each following
his own way; but the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all.
(Is. 53, 4 to 6) (KNEEL AND PAUSE)
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 uttered no cry. /
When he was cut off from the land of the living, and smitten
for the sin of his people, / a grave was assigned him among
the wicked and a burial place with evildoers, / though he
had done no wrong nor spoken any falsehood.
(Is. 53. 7 and 9)
Pr.: Let us pray. Lord Jesus Christ, You shared in our weaknesses
and accepted our guilt. Grant us the favor of rejoicing over
our human weaknesses, so i that in all we do, Your strength,
dwelling in us, may be shown to all others.
All: Amen. (STAND)
Sing: May our sympathy for Jesus
Turn to those who here now need us,
May we see Christ bruised in them.
The Seventh Station: Jesus Falls the Second Time.
The Eighth Station: Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem.
Pr.: We adore You, 0 Christ, and we praise You. (GENUFLECT) All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world. Pr.: There was following Jesus a great crowd of people, and
among them were some women who were be-wailing and
lamenting him. Jesus turning to them said, "Daughters of
Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves
and for your children."
(Luke 23, 27-28) (KNEEL AND PAUSE)
All: Come, all you who pass by the way, / look and see whether
there is any suffering like my suffering, / suffering with
which the Lord has afflicted me on the day of his blazing
wrath. / At this I weep, my eyes run with tears: / far from
me are all who could console me, / far away are any who
might revive me. (Lam. 1, 12 and 16)
Pr.: Let us pray. Beloved Jesus, with tears of pity these woman
of Jerusalem responded to You, broken, bruised, and
beaten, on the road to Calvary. Deepen our faith, we beg
You, so that we may see You in our brothers and sisters,
bruised by our envy, beaten down by injustice, and broken
by our greed and our indifference.
All: Amen. (STAND)
Sing: Jesus fell again in weakness,
Stumbling as we do, to lead us
Through our sorrow and our pain.
The Eighth Station: Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem.
NINTH STATION Jesus falls a third time
Pr.: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. (GENUFLECT)
All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
Pr.: I lie prostrate in the dust; give me life according to your
word. I declared my ways, and you answered me; teach me
your commands. Make me under-stand the way of your
precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds. My
soul weeps for sor-row; strengthen me with your words.
(Ps. 118, 25 to 28) (KNEEL AND PAUSE)
All: The Lord is my light and my salvation; / whom should I
fear? / The Lord is my life's refuge; / of whom should I be
afraid? / When evildoers come at me to devour my flesh, /
my foes and my enemies themselves stumble and fall. /
Though an army encamp against me, / my heart will not
fear; / though war be waged upon me, even then will I trust.
(Ps. 26, 1 to 3)
Pr.: Let us pray. Almighty and eternal God, You per-mitted your
Son to be weakened, crushed, and pro-faned so that He
might rise from the dead freed from the ravages of sin.
Help us to accept our weaknesses and failings as
forerunners of our glorious resurrection in union with
your Son.
All: Amen. (STAND)
Sing: Stripped and jeered by his own nation,
ferns stood in desolation,
Giving all He had to give.
The Ninth Station: Jesus Falls the Third Time.
TENTH STATION: Jesus is stripped of his clothes
Pr.: We adore You, 0 Christ, and we praise You. (GENUFLECT) All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world. Pr.: They gave Jesus wine to drink mixed with gall; but when he
had tasted it, he would not drink. Then after they had
crucified him, they divided his clothes, casting lots, to fulfill
what was spoken through the prophet, "They divided my
clothes among them, and upon my garments they cast
lots." (Mt. 27, 34-35) (KNEEL AND PAUSE)
All: Happy is the man whom God chastises! / Do not reject the
punishment of the almighty. / For he wounds, but he binds
up; he smites, but his hands give healing. / Insult has
broken my heart, and I am weak; / I looked for comforters,
and I found none. / Rather they put gall in my food, and in
my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
(Job 5, 17 & 18; Ps. 68, 21 & 22)
Pr.: Let us pray. Lord Jesus Christ, stripped of every-thing, You
stood exposed to the jeers and contempt of the people
whom You loved. Clothe us with genuine love of others, so
that nothing we suffer may ever fill our hearts with hatred
or bitterness.
All: Amen. (STAND)
Sing: Pierced the bands that blotted and cured us,
Pierced the feet that walked to free at,
Walked the hill of Calvary.
The Tenth Station: Jesus is Stripped.
Eleventh Station: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross.
Pr.: We adore You, 0 Christ, and we praise You. (GENUFLECT)
All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
Pr.: When they came to Golgotha, the place called the Skull, they
crucified Jesus and the robbers, one on his right and the other on
his left. And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know
what they are doing."
(1.1‹. 23, 33-34; Jn. 19, 18) (KNEEL AND PAUSE)
All: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me, / far from my
prayer, far from the words of my cry? / O my God, I cry out by day,
and you answer not; / I cry out by night, and there is no relief for
me. / All my bones are racked. / My heart has be-come like wax
melting away within my chest. / My throat is dried up like baked
clay, my tongue cleaves to my jaws; / they have pierced my hands
and my feet; / I can count all my bones. (Ps. 21, 2-3, 15;16, 17b)
Pr.: Let us pray. Lord and Saviour, You have told us that ue too must
accept crucifixion if we are to accept resurrection with You. Help
us to rejoice in the sufferings that come with the fulfillment of our
daily duties, seeing in them the royal road of the cross to the
resurrection.
All: Amen. (STAND)
Sing: Life eternal, death defiant,
Bowed his head — the world was silent,
Through his death came life anew.
Eleventh Station: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross.
The Twelfth Station: Jesus Dies on the Cross.
Pr.: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. (GENUFLECT)
All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
Pr.: It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land
until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the curtain of the temple
was torn in the middle. Jesus cried out with a loud voice and said, "It is finished.
Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." Then, bowing his head, he died.
(Lk. 23, 44 to 46; Jn. 19, 30b) (KNEEL AND PAUSE)
All: My people, what have I done to you? / or in what have I offended you? / Answer
me. / What more should I have done, and did not do? / I led you out of the land
of Egypt, and you prepared a cross for me. / I opened the Red Sea before you,
and you opened my side with a lance. / I gave you a royal sceptre, and you have
given me a crown of thorns. / With great power I lifted you up, and you have
hung me upon a cross. / My people, what have I done to you, or in what have I
offended you? / Answer me. (from the Reproaches of Good Friday)
All: 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. (STAND)
Sing: Stunned and stricken, Mary, Mother
In your arms was placed our Brother,
"Full of grace" now filled with grief.
The Twelfth Station: Jesus Dies on the Cross.
THIRTEENTH STATION: The body of Jesus is taken down from she Cross
Pr.: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. (GENUFLECT)
All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
Pr.: When the soldiers came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead so that they
did not break his legs, but one of them opened his side with a lance, and
immediately there came out blood and water. Joseph of Arimathea, because he
was a disciple of Jesus (although a secret one for fear of the Jews), besought
Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave permission.
(Jn. 19, 33-34, 38a.) (KNEEL AND PAUSE)
All: O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them, / and I will
bring you back to your land. / Then you shall know that I am the Lord. / 0 my
people! I will put my spirit in you that you may live. / You shall know then that I
am the Lord. / I have promised it, / and I will do it, says the Lord.
(Ezcchiel 37, 12.14)
Pr.: Let us pray. Beloved Saviour, You returned to the Father all that He had given
You, so that He might restore all to You a hundred-fold in the glorious
resurrection. Help us, we beg You, to give generously of ourselves in all that we
do for You. so that like You we might be made perfect in a new resurrection.
All: Amen. (STAND)
Sing: Jesus, Lord, your gift accepted,
In three days You resurrected,
You did fro what we shall do.
The Thirteenth Station: Jesus Is Taken Down From the Cross.
The Fourteenth Station: Jesus Is Laid In The Tomb.
Pr.: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. (GENUFLECT)
All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
Pr.: Joseph of Arimathea took the body of Jesus, and wrapping it in a clean linen
cloth he laid it in his new tomb, which he had hewn out of rock. Then he rolled a
large stone against the entrance of the tomb and departed.
(Mt. 27, 59.60) (KNEEL AND PAUSE
All: I will praise you, O Lord, for you drew me clear and did not let my enemies
rejoice over me. / O Lord, my God, I cried out to you and you healed me. /O
Lord, you brought me up from the lower world; / you preserved me from among
those going down into the pit. / Sing praise to the Lord, you his faith-ful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name. / For his anger lasts but a moment; his good
will is for a lifetime. / At nightfall, weeping enters in, but with dawn comes
rejoicing. (Ps. 29, 2 to 6)
Pr.: Let us pray. Almighty and eternal God, on the edge of sadness when all seemed
lost, You restored to us the Saviour we thought defeated and conquered. Help
us, we beg You, so to empty ourselves of self concern that we might see your
hand in every fail-ure and your victory in every defeat. These things we ask in the
name of your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns forever with You in the unity
of the Holy Spirit.
All: Amen. (STAND)
Sing: Jesus, Risen, be our lover
In your Food and in our brother.
Lead as home to heaven with You.
