The Stations of the Cross are a devotion in memory of the passion and death of Jesus Christ. They consist of 14 (sometimes 15) parts, called “stations”. Almost every church has a Way of the Cross. Sometimes it is a series of pictures, sometimes a series of reliefs, and occasionally simply a row of numbered crosses. By going from station to station one follows in spirit Jesus on the heavy road from the condemnation, through the crucifixion on Golgotha, to the tomb. Christ has suffered for our sins, and by entering into Christ’s suffering we come to see what this really means: how great his love for us is, and how great our guilt is. This insight leads to repentance and conversion. The Stations are also an exercise in which, by following Jesus on the way of the cross, each of us learns to carry our personal cross in his spirit. The Stations can be used both as a common and as a personal devotion, and there are many different forms. The text here is best suited to personal devotion and comprises only a short meditation and prayer for each station, together with an opening and closing prayer. If it is used as a common devotion, it may follow this pattern (L = leader, A = all):
L: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you!
A: Because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world!
(The leader prays the prayer of the station in question, perhaps followed by a moment of silence)
L: Have mercy on us, O Lord!
A: Have mercy on us!
L: Sorrowful Mother of God.
A: Pray for us.
See the church’s Stations of the Cross
Introduction
Lord, you have said: “If anyone wants to follow me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). I will now walk in your footsteps and in spirit follow you on the way of your passion. Open my eyes and move my heart, that I may see and truly understand how great your love for me is. Let me with all my soul take refuge in you, my Saviour, and let me turn away from the sin that has brought you such bitter pain. I repent of my sins and want to make a new beginning. Help me to do so. Help me also to carry my cross together with you. Amen.
1st Station: Jesus is condemned to death
Jesus stands before the court. His accusers are liars, the judgement is unjust, and the punishment is humiliating and terrible. But Jesus is silent and of his own free will accepts the sentence, because it is the Father’s holy will, and because our salvation is at stake.
Lord, teach me to accept criticism, suffering and injustice without bitterness and in obedience to God’s will.
2nd Station: Jesus takes up the cross
The sentence is given, and the cross is laid on Jesus’ shoulders, and he must himself carry it to Golgotha. He knows what suffering awaits him, but he is calm and composed. The cross is the Father’s will; the cross is our salvation.
Lord, help me to stand firm when I must take up my cross.
3rd Station: Jesus falls the first time
Jesus is exhausted after a sleepless night of interrogation and abuse. The cross is too heavy for him, and he falls. Patiently Jesus rises again and carries the cross onward. He does not cast it from him.
Lord, help me when I fall. Renew my patience, and give me strength to rise again and carry my cross onward.
4th Station: Jesus meets his mother
Jesus meets his mother, the Virgin Mary. She has followed him all along his way, and she will be with him to the end. Jesus knows that Mary’s love and compassion are perfect, but he cannot stop. He must go on in order to fulfil the Father’s will.
Lord, my sins are the cause of your bitter suffering. Let me always be ready to do your will, even when human considerations hold me back.
5th Station: Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the cross
Jesus’ strength is ebbing away, and the guards compel a passer-by named Simon to help carry. Simon helps only reluctantly. Jesus is alone. All have abandoned him.
Lord, help me in the loneliness of my suffering. Let me know that you are faithful and do not abandon me.
6th Station: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
Jesus is surrounded by enemies and mockers. Then Veronica steps forward and offers him a cloth to wipe his face. Even in suffering Jesus has an eye for Veronica’s care. He has not been blinded by despair.
Lord, do not let suffering make me indifferent to others. Teach me to look beyond myself.
7th Station: Jesus falls the second time
Jesus falls the second time under the weight of the cross. There is no one to help him. Even those he has helped now reject him. The ingratitude of people presses him to the ground, but it is precisely by the pain they inflict on him that he will save them.
Lord, teach me to understand the hidden value of suffering. Let me unite my suffering with yours and offer it for my salvation and that of all people.
8th Station: Jesus speaks to the weeping women
Jesus meets some women who lament and weep over him. He says to them: “Do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.” Even in the midst of pain Jesus does not lose his composure: calmly he teaches and corrects the weeping women.
Lord, help me to keep calm, and strengthen my patience when I meet a lack of understanding.
9th Station: Jesus falls the third time
Jesus falls the third time under the weight of the cross. He has reached the limit of his strength. Yet he rises and carries the cross onward towards his goal, where a terrible death awaits him.
Lord, you do not ask that we never grow weak. Give me your strength to rise again and again.
10th Station: Jesus is stripped of his garments
Jesus has been stripped of everything. Naked, he is given over to shame and mockery. Jesus is not without feeling. He suffers fully, but stands firm and endures in the Father’s will.
Lord, strengthen me when people speak ill of me. Let me not repay in kind, but trust in your justice.
11th Station: Jesus is crucified
Jesus is nailed to the cross. His hands and feet are pierced, and he suffers thirst. Jesus can do nothing but endure. The agony of death and the hatred of the people increase his sufferings.
Lord, my sins are the cause of your pains. Stand by me when my hour comes and I am helplessly given over to suffering.
12th Station: Jesus dies
Jesus hangs on the cross for three hours. Then he says: “It is finished”, bows his head and dies. Jesus has taken our guilt upon himself, and he bears it alone. He is unshakeably faithful to the Father’s will, and he is boundless in his love for us.
Lord, you have saved me by your suffering! Help me, like you, to receive the cross from the Father’s hand and to carry it out of love for others. Only in this way do we overcome suffering and death.
13th Station: Jesus is taken down from the cross
Jesus’ sacrifice is accomplished. He is taken down from the cross and laid in the lap of his mother, the Virgin Mary. All that Jesus did and taught seems to be over. It is “the folly of the cross” that “the grain of wheat” must die in order to bear eternal fruit.
Lord, I will put my trust in God and hold fast to him, so that my life and my suffering too may bear eternal fruit.
14th Station: Jesus is laid in the tomb
Jesus is wrapped in a cloth and laid in a rock tomb. A heavy stone is rolled across the entrance. The disciples are in despair, but soon they will understand that “the Christ had to suffer these things and enter into his glory” (Luke 24:26).
Lord, after every Good Friday there follows an Easter morning. Let me understand that whoever lives and suffers with you shares, even in bitterness, in your peace.
Conclusion
Lord, you have taught me that suffering belongs to your loving plan for us and serves our salvation. You have taught me how I am to carry my cross: in trust in God and in love for others. Imprint this truth on my heart, and let it be a living conviction for me, so that I also live and act accordingly. Amen.