OPENING PRAYER
Mary, my Mother, you were the first to live
the way of the cross. You felt every pain and
every humiliation. You were unafraid of the
ridicule heaped upon you by the crowds.
Your eyes were ever on Jesus and his pain. Is
that the secret of your miraculous strength?
How did your loving heart bear such a
burden and such a weight? As you watched
Him stumble and fall, were you tortured
by the memory of all the yesterdays-His
birth, His hidden life and His ministry? You
were so desirous of every one loving Him.
What a heartache it was to see so many
hate Him- hate with a diabolical fury.
Take my hand as I make this Way of the
Cross. Inspire me with those thoughts that
will make me realize how much He loves
me. Give me light to apply each station
to my daily life and to remember my
neighbor’s needs in this Way of the Pain.
Obtain for me the grace to understand
the mystery, the wisdom and the Divine
love as I go from scene to scene. Grant
that my heart, like yours, may be pierced
through by the sight of His sorrow and the
misery and that I may determine never to
offend Him again. What a price He paid
to cover my sins, to open the gates of
heaven for me and to fill my soul with His
own Spirit. Sweet Mother, let us travel this
way together and grant that the love in
my poor heart may give you some slight
consolation. Amen.
The First Station:
Jesus Is Condemned To Death
R: We adore you o Christ and we Bless you,
All: Because of Your Cross You have
Redeemed the World
My Jesus, the world still has You on trial.
It keeps asking who You are and why You
make the demands You make. It asks over
and over the question, If You are God’s
Son, why do You permit the world to be
in the state it is in? Why are You so silent?
Though the arrogance of the world
angers me, I must admit that silently, in
the depths of my soul, I too have these
questions. Your humility frustrates me and
makes me uncomfortable. Your strength
before Pilate as You drank deeply from
the power of the Father, gives me the
answer to my question- The Father’s Will.
The Father permits many sufferings in my
life but it is all for my good. If only I
too could be silent in the face of worldly
prudence- steadfast in the faith when all
seems lost – calm when accused unjustly
– free from tyranny of human respect –
ready to do the Father’s Will no matter
how difficult.
Prayer
Silent Jesus, give us all the graces we need
to stand tall in the face of the ridicule of
the world. Give the poor the strength not
to succumb to their privation but to be ever
aware of their dignity as sons of God. Grant
that we might not bend to the crippling
disease of worldly glory but be willing to be
deprived of all things rather than lose your
friendship. My Jesus, though we are accused
daily of being fools, let the vision of Quiet
Dignity standing before Monstrous Injustice,
give us all the courage to be your followers.
Amen
The Second Station:
Jesus Carries His Cross
R: We adore you o Christ and we Bless you,
All: Because of Your Cross You have
Redeemed the World
How could any human impose such a
burden upon Your torn and bleeding body,
Lord Jesus? Each movement of the cross
drove the thorns deeper into Your Head.
How did You keep the hatred from welling
up in Your Heart? How did the Injustice of
it all not ruffle your peace? The Father’s
Will was hard on You – Why do I complain
when it is hard on me? I see injustice
and am frustrated and when my plan to
Prayer
Weak Jesus, help all men who try so hard
to be good but whose nature is constantly
opposed to them walking straight and tall
down the narrow road of life. Raise their
heads to see the glory that is to come rather
than the misery of the present moment. Your
love for me gave You strength to rise from
Your fall. Look upon those whom the world
considers unprofitable servants and give
them the courage to be more concerned as
to how they stand before You, rather than
their fellow men. Amen
The Fourth Station:
Jesus Meets His Afflicted Mother
R: We adore you o Christ and we Bless you,
All: Because of Your Cross You have
Redeemed the World
My Jesus, it was a great sorrow to realize
Your pain caused Mary so much grief. As
Redeemer, You wanted her to share in
Your pain for mankind. When You glanced
at each other in unutterable suffering,
what gave You both the courage to carry
on without the least alleviation – without
anger at such injustice? It seems as if you
desired to suffer every possible pain to
give me an example of how to suffer
when my time comes. What a humiliation
for You when Your mother saw you in such
a pitiable state – weak – helpless – at
the mercy of sinful men- holiness exposed
to evil in all hideousness.
Prayer
Did every moment of that short encounter
seem like an eternity? As I see so much
suffering in the world, there are times I
think it is all hopeless. There is an element
of lethargy in my prayers for mankind
that says “I’ll pray, but what good will it
alleviate it seems futile, I despair. When
I see those burdened with poverty suffer
ever more and cross is added to cross my
heart is far from serene. I utterly fail to see
the dignity of the cross as it is carried with
love. I would so much rather be without it.
Prayer
My worldly concept is that suffering,
like food, should be shared equally. How
ridiculous I am, dear Lord. Just as we do
not all need the same amount of material
food, neither do we need the same amount
of spiritual food and that is what the
cross is in my life, isn’t – spiritual food
proportional to my needs. Amen
The Third Station:
Jesus Falls the First Time
R: We adore you o Christ and we Bless you,
All: Because of Your Cross You have
Redeemed the World
My Jesus, it seems to me , that as God,
You would have carried Your cross without
faltering, but You did not. You fell beneath
it’s weight to show me You understand
when I fall. Is it pride that makes me
want to shine even in pain? You were not
ashamed to fall- to admit the cross was
heavy. There are those in world whom
my pride will not tolerate as I expect
everyone to be strong, yet I am weak. I
am ashamed to admit failure in anything.
If the Father permits failure in my life just
as He permitted You to fall, then I must
know there is good in that failure which
my mind will never comprehend. I must
not concentrate on the eyes of others as
they rest upon me in my falls. Rather, I
must reach up to touch that invisible hand
and drink in that invisible strength ever
at my side.
Prayer
Weak Jesus, help all men who try so hard
to be good but whose nature is constantly
opposed to them walking straight and tall
down the narrow road of life. Raise their
heads to see the glory that is to come rather
than the misery of the present moment. Your
love for me gave You strength to rise from
Your fall. Look upon those whom the world
considers unprofitable servants and give
them the courage to be more concerned as
to how they stand before You, rather than
their fellow men. Amen
The Fourth Station:
Jesus Meets His Afflicted Mother
R: We adore you o Christ and we Bless you,
All: Because of Your Cross You have
Redeemed the World
My Jesus, it was a great sorrow to realize
Your pain caused Mary so much grief. As
Redeemer, You wanted her to share in
Your pain for mankind. When You glanced
at each other in unutterable suffering,
what gave You both the courage to carry
on without the least alleviation – without
anger at such injustice? It seems as if you
desired to suffer every possible pain to
give me an example of how to suffer
when my time comes. What a humiliation
for You when Your mother saw you in such
a pitiable state – weak – helpless – at
the mercy of sinful men- holiness exposed
to evil in all hideousness.
Prayer
Did every moment of that short encounter
seem like an eternity? As I see so much
suffering in the world, there are times I
think it is all hopeless. There is an element
of lethargy in my prayers for mankind
that says “I’ll pray, but what good will it
do? The sick grow sicker and the hungry
starve”. “ I think of that glance between
you and Mary- the glance that said, “let
us give this misery to the Father for the
salvation of souls. The Father’s power takes
our pain and frustration and renews souls,
saves them for a new life- a life of eternal
joy, eternal happiness. It is worth it all.
“Give perseverance to the sick so they can
carry the cross of frustration and agony
with love and resignation for the salvation
of others”. Amen
The Fifth Station:
Simon Helps Jesus Carry His Cross
R: We adore you o Christ and we Bless you,
All: Because of Your Cross You have
Redeemed the World
My Jesus, Your tormentors enlisted a
Simon of Cyrene to help You carry
Your cross. Your humility is beyond my
comprehension. Your power upheld the
whole universe and yet You permit one
of Your creatures to help You carry a
cross. I imagine Simon was reluctant to
take part in Your shame. He had no idea
that all who watched and jeered at him
would pass into oblivion while his name
would go down in history and eternity as
the one who helped his God in need. Is it
not so with me, dear Jesus? Even when I
reluctantly carry my cross as Simon did,
it benefits my soul. If I keep my eyes on
You and watch how You suffered, I will
be able to bear my cross with greater
fortitude. Were you trying to tell all
those who suffer from prejudice to have
courage? Was Simon a symbol of all
those who are hated because of race,
color and creed?
Prayer
Simon wondered as he took those beams
upon his shoulders, why he was chosen
for such a heavy burden and now he
knows. Help me Jesus, to trust your loving
Providence as you permit suffering to
weave itself in and out of my life. Make me
understand that You looked at it and held it
fondly before You passed it on to me. You
watch me and give me strength just as You
did Simon. When I enter Your Kingdom, I
shall know as he knows, what marvels Your
Cross has wrought in my soul. Amen
The Sixth Station:
Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus
R: We adore you o Christ and we Bless you,
All: Because of Your Cross You have
Redeemed the World
My Jesus, where were all the hundreds
of peoples whose bodies and souls were
healed by you? Where were they when
You needed someone to give You the least
sign of comfort? Ingratitude must have
borne down upon Your heart and made
the cross nearly impossible to carry. There
are times I too feel all my efforts for Your
kingdom are futile and end in nothingness.
Did Your eyes roam through the crowd
for the comfort of just one individual –
one sign of pity – one sign of grief? My
heart thrills with a sad joy when I think
of one woman, breaking away from fear
and human respect and offering You her
thin veil to wipe Your bleeding Face. Your
loving heart, ever watching for the least
sign of love, imprinted the Image of your
torn Face upon it! How can You forget
Yourself so completely and reward such
a small act of kindness?
Prayer
I must admit, I have been among those who
were afraid to know You rather than like
Veronica. She did not care if the whole
world knew she loved You. Heart broken
Jesus, give me that quality of the soul
so necessary to witness to spread Your
Word-to tell all people of Your love for
them. Send many into Your Vineyard so
the people of all nations may receive the
Good News. Imprint Your Divine Image
upon my soul and let the thin veil of my
human nature bear a perfect resemblance
to your loving Spirit. Amen
The Seventh Station:
Jesus Falls A Second Time
R: We adore you o Christ and we Bless you,
All: Because of Your Cross You have
Redeemed the World
My Jesus, one of the beautiful qualities the
people admired in You was Your strength
in time of ridicule – Your ability to rise
above the occasion. But now, You fall a
second time – apparently conquered by
the pain of the Cross. People who judged
You by appearance made a terrible
mistake. What looked like weakness was
unparalleled strength! I often judge by
this fraudulent method of discerning. It
looks down upon those who apparently
have given their best and are now in
need. It judges the poor as failures, the
sick as useless and the aged as a burden.
How wrong that kind of judgment is in the
light of Your second fall! Your greatest act
of love was in desolation. Your greatest
show of power was in that utter lack of
strength that threw You to the ground.
Prayer
Weak and powerful Jesus, give me the
grace to see beyond what is visible and
be more aware of Your Wisdom in the
midst of weakness. Give the aged, sick,
handicapped, retarded, deaf and blind
the fruit of joy so they may ever be aware
of the Father’s gift and the vast difference
between what the world sees and what the
Father sees that they may glory in their
weakness so the power of God may be
manifest. Amen
The Eighth Station:
Jesus Speaks to the Holy Women
R: We adore you o Christ and we Bless you,
All: Because of Your Cross You have
Redeemed the World
My Jesus, I am amazed at Your compassion
for others in Your time of need. When I
suffer, I have a tendency to think only of
myself but You forgot Yourself completely.
When You saw the holy women weeping
over Your torments, You consoled them
and taught them to look deeper into Your
Passion. You wanted them to understand
that the real evil to cry over was the
rejection You suffered from the Chosen
people – a people set apart from every
other nation, who refused to accept
God’s Son. The Act of Redemption would
go on and no one would ever be able to
take away Your dignity as Son of God,
but the evil, greed, jealousy and ambition
in the hearts of those who should have
recognized You was the issue to grieve
over. To be so close to God made man and
miss Him completely was the real crime.
Prayer
My Jesus, I fear I do the same when I
strain gnats and then swallow camels –
when I take out the splinter in my brother’s
eye and forget the beam in my own. It is
such a gift – this gift of faith. It is such a
sublime grace to possess Your own Spirit.
Why haven’t I advanced in holiness of life?
I miss the many disguises you take upon
Yourself and see only people, circumstances
and human events, not the loving hand of
the Father guiding all things. Help all those
who are discouraged, sick, lonely and old
to recognize Your Presence in their midst.
Amen
The Ninth Station:
Jesus Falls the Third Time
R: We adore you o Christ and we Bless you,
All: Because of Your Cross You have
Redeemed the World
My Jesus, even with the help of Simon You
fell a third time. Were You telling me that
there may be times in my life that I will
fall again and again despite the help of
friends and loved ones? There are times
when the crosses You permit in my life
are more than I can bear. It is as if all
the sufferings of a life time are suddenly
compressed into the present moment
and it is more than I can stand. Though
it grieves my heart to see You so weak
and helpless, it is a comfort to my soul to
know that you understand my sufferings
from Your own experience. Your love for
me made You want to experience every
kind of pain just so I could have someone
to look to for example and courage.
Prayer
When I cry out from the depths of my soul,
“This suffering is more than I can bear,” do
You whisper, “Yes, I understand”? When I
am discouraged after many falls, do you
say in my innermost being, “Keep going,
I know how hard it is to rise”? There are
many people who are sorely tried in body
and soul with alcohol and drug weaknesses
who try and try and fall again and again.
Through the humiliation of this third fall,
give them the courage and perseverance
to take up their cross and follow you. Amen
The Tenth Station:
Jesus is Stripped of His Garments
R: We adore you o Christ and we Bless you,
All: Because of Your Cross You have
Redeemed the World
It seems that every step to calvary
brought You fresh humiliation, my Jesus.
How Your sensitive nature recoiled
at being stripped before a crowd of
people. You desired to leave this life as
You entered it – completely detached
from all the comforts of this world. You
want me to know without a doubt that
You loved me with an unselfish love. Your
love for me caused You nothing but pain
and sorrow. You gave everything and
received nothing in return. Why do I find
it so hard to be detached? In Your loving
mind, dear Jesus, did You look up to the
Father as You stood there on that windy
hill, shivering from cold and shame and
trembling from fear, and ask Him to have
mercy on those who would violate their
purity and make love a mockery? Did you
ask forgiveness for those whose greed
would make them lie, cheat and steal for
a few pieces of cold silver?
Prayer
Forgive us all, dear Jesus. Look upon the
world with pity, for mankind has lost its
way and the principles of this world make
lust a fun game and luxury a necessity.
Detachment has become merely another
hardship of the poor and obedience the
fault of the weak. Have mercy on us and
grant the people of this day the courage
to see and know themselves and the light to
change. Amen
The Eleventh Station:
Jesus is Nailed to the Cross
R: We adore you o Christ and we Bless you,
All: Because of Your Cross You have
Redeemed the World
It is hard to imagine a God being nailed
to a cross by His own creatures. It is more
difficult for my mind to understand a love
that permitted such a thing to happen!
As those men drove heavy nails into Your
hands and feet, dear Jesus, did You offer
the pain as reparation for some particular
human weakness and sin? Was the nail in
Your right hand for those who spend their
lives in dissipation and boredom? Was
the nail in Your left hand in reparation for
all consecrated souls who live lukewarm
lives? Were You stretching out Your arms
to show us how much You love us? As the
feet that walked the hot, dusty roads
were nailed fast, did they cramp up in a
deadly grip of pain to make reparation
for all those who so nimbly run the broad
road of sin and self-indulgence?
Prayer
It seems, dear Jesus, Your love has held
You bound hand and foot as Your heart
pleads for a return of love. You seem to
shout from the top of the hill “I love you –
come to me - see I am held fast – I cannot
hurt you – only you can hurt Me.” How very
hard is the heart that can see such love and
turn away. Is it not true I too have turned
away when I did not accept the Father’s
Will with love? Teach me to keep my arms
ever open to love, to forgive and to render
service – willing to be hurt rather than hurt,
satisfied to love and not be loved in return.
Amen
The Twelfth Station:
Jesus Dies on the Cross
R: We adore you o Christ and we Bless you,
All: Because of Your Cross You have
Redeemed the World
God is dead! No wonder the earth
quaked, the sun hid itself, the dead rose
and Mary stood by in horror. Your human
body gave up it’s soul in death but Your
Divinity, dear Jesus, continued to manifest
its power. All creation rebelled as the
Word made Flesh departed from this
world. Man alone was too proud to see
and too stubborn to acknowledge truth.
Redemption was accomplished! Man
would never have an excuse to forget
how much You loved him. The thief on Your
right saw something he could not explain
– he saw a man on a tree and knew He
was God. His need made him see his own
guilt and Your innocence. The promise of
eternal life made the remaining hours of
his torture, endurable. A common thief
responded to Your love with deep Faith,
Hope, and Love. He saw more than his
eyes envisioned – he felt a presence he
could not explain and would not argue
with. He was in need and accepted the
way God designed to help him.
Prayer
Forgive our pride, dear Jesus as we spend
hours speculating, days arguing and often
a lifetime in rejecting Your death, which is a
sublime mystery. Have pity on those whose
intelligence leads them to pride because
they never feel the need to reach out to
the Man of Sorrows for consolation. Amen
The Thirteenth Station:
Jesus is Taken From the Cross
R: We adore you o Christ and we Bless you,
All: Because of Your Cross You have
Redeemed the World
My Jesus, it was with deep grief that Mary
finally took You into her arms and saw
all the wounds sin had inflicted upon You.
Mary Magdalene looked upon Your dead
Body with horror. Nicodemus, the man so
full of human respect, who came to You
by night, suddenly received the courage
to help Joseph take you down from the
Cross. You are once more surrounded by
only a few followers. When loneliness
and failure cross my path, let me think of
this lonely moment and this total failure
– failure in the eyes of men. How wrong
they were – how mistaken their concept
of success! The greatest act of love was
given in desolation and the most successful
mission accomplished and finished when
all seemed lost. Is this not true in my life,
dear Jesus? I judge my failures harshly.
I demand perfection instead of holiness.
My idea of success is for all to end well –
according to my liking.
Prayer
Give to all men the grace to see that doing
Your Will is more important than success.
If failure is permitted for my greater
good then teach me how to use it to my
advantage. Let me say as You once said,
that to do the Will of the Father is my
food. Let not the standards of this world
take possession of me or destroy the good
You have set for me – to be Holy and to
accomplish the Father’s Will with great
love. Let me accept praise or blame, success
or failure with equal serenity. Amen
The Fourteenth Station:
Jesus is Laid in the Sepulcher
R: We adore you o Christ and we Bless you,
All: Because of Your Cross You have
Redeemed the World
My Jesus, You were laid to rest in a
stranger’s tomb. You were born with
nothing of this world’s goods and You
died detached from everything. When
You came into the world, men slept and
angels sang and now as You leave it,
Creation is silent and only a few weep.
Both events were clothed in obscurity. The
majority of men live in such a way. Most
of us live and die knowing and known by
only a few. Were You trying to tell us,
dear Jesus, how very important our lives
are just because we are accomplishing
the Father’s Will? Will we ever learn the
lesson of humility that makes us content
with who we are, where we are and what
we are? Will our Faith ever be strong
enough to see power in weakness and
good in the sufferings of our lives? Will
our Hope be trusting enough to rely on
Your Providence even when we have
nowhere to lay our head? Will our Love
ever be strong enough not to take scandal
in the cross?
Prayer
My Jesus, hide my soul in Your heart as You
lie in the sepulcher alone. Let my heart be
as a fire to keep you warm. Let my desire to
know and love You be like a torch to light
up the darkness. Let my soul sing softly a
hymn of repentant love as the hours pass
and Your Resurrection is at hand. Let me
rejoice, dear Jesus, with all the Angels in
a hymn of praise and thanksgiving for so
great a love- so great a God- so great a
day! Amen
The Fifteenth Station:
Jesus is Risen from the Dead
R: We adore you o Christ and we Bless you,
All: Because of Your Cross You have
Redeemed the World
My Jesus, I repent of the sin of
hopelessness. I beg your pardon for
many of the times I fell into depression
for small setbacks and tragedies in my
life. My Jesus let me never feel rejected
or defeated as you are risen and alive. I
put my complete trust in you O Most Holy
Risen Lord Jesus Christ forever and ever.
Amen
Closing Prayer
My Jesus, I have traveled Your Way of
the cross. It seems so real and I feel so
ashamed. I complain of my sufferings and
find obedience to the Father’s Will difficult.
My Mind bogged down by the poverty,
sickness, starvation, greed and hatred in
the world. There are many innocent people
who suffer so unjustly. There are those
born with physical and mental defects. Do
we understand that You continue to carry
Your cross in the minds and bodies of each
human being? Help me to see the Father’s
Will in every incident of my daily life. This
is what You did – you saw the Father’s
Will in Your persecutors, Your enemies and
your pain. You saw a beauty in the cross
and embraced it as a desired treasure.
My worldly mind is dulled by injustice and
suffering and I lose sight of the glory that
is to come. Help me to trust the Father and
to realize that there is something great
behind the most insignificant suffering.
There is Someone lifting my cross to fit
my shoulders – there is Divine Wisdom in
all the petty annoyances that irk my soul
every day. Teach me the lessons contained
in my cross, the wisdom of its necessity,
the beauty of its variety and the fortitude
that accompanies even the smallest cross.
Mary, My Mother, obtain for me the grace
to be Jesus to my neighbor and to see my
neighbor in Jesus. Amen.
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