Stations Of the Cross
The Stations of the Cross are a 14-step Catholic devotion that commemorates Jesus Christ’s last day on Earth as a man. The 14 devotions, or stations, focus on specific events of His last day, beginning with His condemnation. The stations are commonly used as a mini pilgrimage as the individual moves from station to station. At each station, the individual recalls and meditates on a specific event from Christ’s last day. Specific prayers are recited, then the individual moves to the next station until all 14 are complete.
The Stations of the Cross are commonly found in churches as a series of 14 small icons or images. They can also appear in church yards arranged along paths. The stations are most commonly prayed during Lent on Wednesdays and Fridays, and especially on Good Friday, the day of the year upon which the events actually occurred.
ACT
Visit a Catholic Church and walk around the Stations of the Cross artworks praying the Way of the Cross – you may wish to use the below prayers and reflections.
Opening Prayer
V. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
R. Amen.
Let us pray.
Father most holy, look upon the blood flowing from the Saviour’s pierced side; look upon the blood shed by the many victims of hatred, of war, of terrorism, and in your mercy, grant that the course of world events may unfold according to your will, in justice and in peace, and that your Church may devote herself with quiet confidence to your service and to the liberation of mankind. Through Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.
1st Station: Jesus is condemned to death
What was Jesus thinking about at this moment? What was he feeling? Was it pity? Pity for Pilate, who knew Jesus was innocent and wanted to free him, but was frightened of losing his position – ‘if you free this man you are no friend of Caesar’s, for he has made himself a king.’
So he backed down and tried to put the blame on his accusers; but he was the judge! But his job came before justice!
Was it pity for his accusers, who were willing to get a person condemned to death for the sake of greed and gain? Or was it pity for the high priests, who were willing to get a person crucified out of jealousy, jealousy of a man better than them; out of pride, for they wanted to be honoured and revered, but this man was exposing them for what they really were, ‘whited sepulchres’; out of fear, fear of losing their comfortable way of life!
ADORATION
V. We Adore You Oh Christ and We Bless You
R. Because By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed the World
SCRIPTURE
From the Gospel according to Mark 15:14-15
But the crowd shouted all the more, “Crucify him”. So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas; and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
MEDITATION
It is easy to condemn such people, but am I as guilty as them? I am, if I have ever put position before justice, gain for the sake of greed; if ever I have been envious or proud or been afraid of being found out for what I really am? O Lord help me to learn from this station to conquer my pride, my greed and my jealousy, and try to live as you would have me live.
PRAYER
My Jesus, it was not Pilate, it was my sins that condemned You to die. I beg You, by the merits of this sorrowful journey, to assist my soul in its journey toward eternity. I love You, my beloved Jesus; I love You more than myself; I repent with my whole heart for having offended You. Never permit me to separate myself from You again. Grant that I may love You always; and then do with me what You will.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be…
Dying you destroyed our death
Rising you restored our life
Lord Jesus come in glory
2nd Station : Jesus carries His cross
The high priests have got their way; evil seems to have overcome good. Satan thinks he has won, but it is all in God’s plan for the redemption of mankind!
But what were the thoughts of Jesus at this time? He was facing the instrument on which he was to die; he was fearful – ‘O God, let this chalice pass from me’; then he sees the names of all mankind on the cross and all the sins each one has committed and he knows he has to take them all upon himself so that mankind may be redeemed.
He is indeed fearful. But his love for us overcomes his fear and so he adds ‘not my will but thy will be done.’
ADORATION
V. We Adore You Oh Christ and We Bless You
R. Because By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed the World
SCRIPTURE
From the Gospel according to Mark 15:20
After they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak, and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.
MEDITATION
My name is on that cross Lord and under my name are all the sins I have committed. How much heavier is your cross because of me’? O Lord, forgive me for the wrongs I have done and help me when temptation comes to think, ‘am I to add to that already long list of sins under my name? May your grace permit me to overcome all temptations.
PRAYER
My beloved Jesus, I embrace all the tribulations You have destined for me until death. I beg You, by the merits of the pain You suffered in carrying Your Cross, to give me the necessary help to carry mine with perfect patience and resignation. I love You, Jesus my love; I repent of having offended You. Never permit me to separate myself from You again. Grant that I may love You always; and then do with me what You will.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be…
Dying you destroyed our death
Rising you restored our life
Lord Jesus come in glory
3rd Station Jesus falls the first time
The crowd now have their way, they spit at Jesus, kick him and finally force him to the ground amidst jeers, laughs and insults – ‘he said he was a king, look at him now!’
Jesus looks up at the crowd who are beating him and sees they are the very people he has helped. Is there not one friendly face?
ADORATION
V. We Adore You Oh Christ and We Bless You
R. Because By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed the World
SCRIPTURE
From the Book of the Prophet Isaiah 53:4-6
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
MEDITATION
It is so easy to join the crowd against a person who is down; it’s so hard to stick up for such a person in case they turn on you as well!
But it is not the crowd, as such, that force him to the ground, no, it is all my sins! He is seeing them as I will see them in purgatory. The little sins that seem nothing to me, and then I will see them as he sees them now and they are enormous! He surely must be thinking, ‘how could you hurt me so, after all I have done for you?’
O Lord, by merits of this first fall help me to see how grotesque are even the smallest sins I have committed and grant me the grace not to sin again.
PRAYER
My beloved Jesus, it is not the weight of the Cross, but my sins, which have made You suffer so much pain. By the merits of this first fall, deliver me from the misfortune of falling into mortal sin. I love You, O my Jesus, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended You. Never permit me to offend You again. Grant that I may love You always; and then do with me what You will.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be…
Dying you destroyed our death
Rising you restored our life
Lord Jesus come in glory
4th Station : Jesus meet His Sorrowful Mother
As the soldiers drag Jesus to his feet his mother is there to help and comfort him. What did Jesus feel at this meeting? Love! Gratitude and perhaps, most of all, sorrow! Love for his mother, love which was so mutual; gratitude towards his mother, ‘at last a friendly face’.
Sorrow because he knows how much it hurts his mother seeing him in such a wretched state, ‘a worm and no man’.
But he knew she would be there, she always was when he needed her
ADORATION
V. We Adore You Oh Christ and We Bless You
R. Because By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed the World
SCRIPTURE
From the Gospel according to Luke 2:34-35, 51
Simeon said to Mary, his mother, “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign of contradiction, that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed. And a sword will pierce through your own soul also”… His mother kept all these things in her heart.
MEDITATION
Of course Jesus knew she would be there for she was truly his mother, but Mary is also my mother and loves me more than I can possibly imagine! May this station ever remind me to call on Mary’s help whenever I am in need, whenever tempted to sin, whenever in sorrow, knowing that she is my mother.
PRAYER
My most loving Jesus, by the sorrow You experienced in this meeting, grant me the grace of a truly devoted love for Your most holy Mother. And you, my Queen, who were overwhelmed with sorrow, obtain for me by your intercession a continual remembrance of the Passion of your Son. I love You, Jesus, my love; I repent of ever having offended You. Never permit me to offend You again. Grant that I may love You always; and then do with me what You will.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be…
Dying you destroyed our death
Rising you restored our life
Lord Jesus come in glory
5th Station: Simon helps Jesus to carry the Cross
Jesus was so exhausted that the soldiers, afraid of being deprived of the ‘joy’ of crucifying the man from Nazareth, forced an African from Cyrene, to help Jesus carry his cross. He reluctantly did so; reluctantly, because he did not know Jesus; as far as he knew, he could have been a murderer, but God soon gave him the grace, by just one grateful look from Jesus, to know that he was a good man.
ADORATION
V. We Adore You Oh Christ and We Bless You
R. Because By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed the World
SCRIPTURE
From the Gospel according to Mark 15:21-22
They compelled a passer-by, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his Cross. And they brought him to the place called Golgotha, which means the place of the skull.
MEDITATION
How many times have I been reluctant to help someone in need’? ‘sorry, I’ve got too much to do, I’ve no time now!’ How many times have I refused to help someone in need? What can I do about it?
How many times have I walked away from someone needing help’? ‘I just can’t be bothered, it’s too much trouble, I just don’t want to get involved!
Each time I have done such, I have refused to help Jesus for ‘whatever you do, or don’t do, to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me’.
O Lord whenever I see someone in need of help, let this station give me the grace to do all I can to help them, however reluctant I may feel.
PRAYER
My beloved Jesus, I will not refuse the Cross, as the Cyrenian did; I accept it, I embrace it. I accept in particular the death You have destined for me; with all the pains that may accompany it; I unite it to Your death, I offer it to You. You have died for love of me; I will die for love of You, and to please You. Help me by Your grace. I love You, Jesus my love; I repent of having offended You. Never permit me to offend You again. Grant that I may love you always; and then do with me what You will.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be…
Dying you destroyed our death
Rising you restored our life
Lord Jesus come in glory
6th Station: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
Veronica was one of the women of Jerusalem who did their best to help the condemned. She was also a follower of Jesus and knew that he had done only good in his life, so she wanted to help him. But she saw the jeering crowd, the gruesome soldiers, the leering priests.
She hesitated; what would they do to her if she did help him? She was afraid, but overcoming her fear she took her headscarf off and gently wiped the face of Jesus, and was immediately rewarded with an imprint of his sacred face on her headscarf.
ADORATION
V. We Adore You Oh Christ and We Bless You
R. Because By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed the World
SCRIPTURE
From the Book of the Prophet Isaiah 53:2-3
He had no form or comeliness that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
MEDITATION
How many times have I been afraid of doing something good but have not done so out of fear? Fear of being laughed at, fear of being ridiculed, fear of what they will think of me.
O Lord, help me, by this station, to overcome my fear whenever I wish to do or say that which is good.
PRAYER
My beloved Jesus, Your face was beautiful before, but in this journey it has lost all its beauty, and wounds and blood have disfigured it. My soul also was once beautiful, when it received Your grace in Baptism; but I have disfigured it since by my sins; You alone, my Redeemer, can restore it to its former beauty. Do this by Your Passion. O Jesus, I repent of having offended You. Never permit me to offend You again. Grant that I may love you always; and then do with me what You will.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be…
Dying you destroyed our death
Rising you restored our life
Lord Jesus come in glory
7th Station : Jesus falls the second time
This time Jesus falls out of sheer exhaustion; every bone in his body cries out ‘enough’, ‘I can’t go on!’ But Jesus knows he must carry on, he knows our lives, our eternal lives, depend on it so he drags himself to his feet and drags himself painfully on.
How many times have you thought ‘enough, I give up’, when things have got too much for you? Sometimes it’s the children, they just give you no rest, sometimes it’s your partner who is getting to much for you; sometimes it’s illness, and you feel you cannot take any more; sometimes it’s work or school and you feel you just cannot carry on! Perhaps even in prayer when you think God is not listening.
ADORATION
V. We Adore You Oh Christ and We Bless You
R. Because By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed the World
SCRIPTURE
From the Book of Lamentations 3:1-2, 9, 16
I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath; he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light… He has blocked my ways with hewn stones he has made my paths crooked… He has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes.
MEDITATION
O Jesus there are many times when I have felt that I have had enough and perhaps there will be many more times I will feel this way. May I be granted the grace to think of this station when this happens, so that I will carry on for your sake as you carried on for my sake.
PRAYER
My most gentle Jesus, how many times You have pardoned me, and how many times have I fallen again, and begun again to offend You! By the merits of this new fall, give me the necessary help to persevere in Your grace until death. Grant that in all temptations which assault me I may always commend myself to You. I love You, Jesus my love, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended You. Never permit me to offend You again. Grant that I may love You always; and then do with me what You will.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be…
Dying you destroyed our death
Rising you restored our life
Lord Jesus come in glory
8th Station: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
The good women of Jerusalem weep when they see Jesus, but he turns to them and says, ‘it is not for me that you should weep. You should weep for yourselves and your children, for if it goes so hard with the tree that is still green, what will become of the tree that is already dried up?’
Jesus is prepared to die for mankind so that sins may be forgiven. ‘may be’ not ‘will be’, for he sees so many of his children rejecting him in spite of what he has done for them. He sees Satan still rejoicing because of the souls turning to him out of the lust, the greed, and the pride of their hearts. It is no wonder that Jesus says weep for yourselves and your children!
Perhaps this is a lesson for all who have charge of people in one capacity or another, for parents, for priests, teachers, doctors, nurses and all who work so hard for others and in return, get not gratitude, but rather rejection.
ADORATION
V. We Adore You Oh Christ and We Bless You
R. Because By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed the World
SCRIPTURE
From the Gospel according to Luke 23:28-31
But Jesus turning to them said, “Daughters of Jerusalem do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold the days are coming when they will say, blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never gave suck. Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us’; and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
MEDITATION
O Lord, even though you knew so many would continue to reject your graces, yet you still carried on to the end; grant me the grace to carry on, like you, to the end even though my labour may seem to be in vain.
PRAYER
My Jesus, laden with sorrows, I weep for the offenses I have committed against You, because of the pains they have deserved, and still more because of the displeasure they have caused You, Who have loved me so much. It is Your love, more than the fear of hell, which causes me to weep for my sins. My Jesus, I love You more than myself; I repent of having offended You. Never permit me to offend You again. Grant that I may love you always; and then do with me what You will.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be…
Dying you destroyed our death
Rising you restored our life
Lord Jesus come in glory
9th Station : Jesus falls the third time
Jesus has arrived at his place of execution. His journey is over and he sinks completely exhausted to the ground. Surely he has done enough! He has been scourged, crowned with thorns, kicked, punched, spat upon and has carried his own death bed to Calvary.
Surely he has done more than enough to pay for our sins! But Jesus knows the gross enormity of sin and knows that the ultimate price of crucifixion and death alone can pay for them.
ADORATION
V. We Adore You Oh Christ and We Bless You
R. Because By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed the World
SCRIPTURE
From the Book of Lamentations 3:27-32
It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone in silence when he has laid it on him; let him put his mouth in the dust, there may yet be hope; let him give his cheek to the smiter and be filled with insults. For the Lord will not cast off for ever, but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
MEDITATION
My Jesus, is my soul worth so much?
It is worth it to me, you say, for you are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for my soul! O Jesus make me understand what a grotesque evil sin is! Whenever temptations come may this station remind me what my sins have cost you, then give me the grace to say to you, ‘is my soul worth it?’ And let me hear your answer, ‘it is worth it to me’!
PRAYER
My outraged Jesus, by the merits of the weakness You suffered in going to Calvary, give me strength sufficient to conquer all human respect, and all my wicked passions, which have led me to despise Your friendship. I love You, Jesus my love, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended You. Never permit me to offend You again. Grant that I may love you always; and then do with me what You will.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be…
Dying you destroyed our death
Rising you restored our life
Lord Jesus come in glory
10th Station : Jesus is stripped of his garments
The ultimate humiliation! Jesus has been ridiculed beyond measure! He is blind-folded – ‘tell us who struck you, O great prophet, tell us who is tugging at your royal beard?’ ‘He’s a king, so he must have a crown’. A crown of thorns! He is paraded through the streets like a common criminal and he says not a word, he is led like a lamb to the slaughter and now this!
We may ask why so much humiliation, and your answer will be, ‘why so much pride?’ Pride was the crime of the archangel Lucifer; he wanted to be God’s equal, and in the moment he committed this sin he became a hideous demon and was thrown to hell. Pride was the crime of Adam and Eve, ‘if you eat this fruit you will be as great as God himself’.
And they and all mankind lost paradise.
Pride is the source and origin of all the sins that are committed. It is simply an inordinate, excessive love of oneself that makes a person think he is better than anyone else; they are dependant on no one, not even God!
ADORATION
V. We Adore You Oh Christ and We Bless You
R. Because By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed the World
SCRIPTURE
From the Gospel according to Mark 15:24
The soldiers divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take.
MEDITATION
O Lord, you suffered humiliation to such degree in order to pay for the sins of pride. May this station remind me of this whenever I find myself committing such a terrible sin, then grant me the grace of true humility.
PRAYER
My innocent Jesus, by the merits of the torment You have felt, help me to strip myself of all affection to things of earth, in order that I may place all my love in You, who are so worthy of my love. I love You, O Jesus, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended You. Never permit me to offend You again. Grant that I may love you always; and then do with me what You will.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be…
Dying you destroyed our death
Rising you restored our life
Lord Jesus come in glory
11th Station: Jesus is nailed to the Cross
Jesus is flung on to the cross, the moment of truth has arrived, the first nail is pressed into his flesh and then, with one foul stroke, it passes through his wrist into the wood. The pain is so intense that many, mercifully, faint; but not Jesus, he has to endure it all.
The second nail is pressed into his flesh, this time he knows what is to come and he braces himself, the pain seems even worse! But it must be so – ‘they pierced my hands and feet; they have numbered all my bones’.
ADORATION
V. We Adore You Oh Christ and We Bless You
R. Because By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed the World
SCRIPTURE
From the Gospel according to Mark 15:25-27
And it was the third hour, when they crucified him. And the inscription of the charge against him read: “The King of the Jews.” And with him they crucified two robbers one on his right and one on his left.
MEDITATION
O Jesus, what can I say but sorry! Sorry I have caused you so much pain. I did not know how much you loved me, I am sure that, if I did, I would never have offended you! Yet how many times have I offended others that love me? When in anger I have said and done so many hurtful things, things, which later on, I have regretted!
O Jesus, by this station, grant me the grace never to offend you again and even when angry, to think, before I say or do anything which I know will hurt others who love me!
PRAYER
My Jesus! loaded with contempt, nail my heart to Your feet, that it may ever remain there, to love You, and never leave You again. I love You more than myself; I repent of having offended You. Never permit me to offend You again. Grant that I may love you always; and then do with me what You will.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be…
Dying you destroyed our death
Rising you restored our life
Lord Jesus come in glory
12th Station: Jesus is raised upon the Cross and dies
Jesus is finally crucified; he hangs between heaven and earth the mediator between God and man. As he hangs there he finds he cannot breathe because, hanging from his arms, his lungs are crushed together, he pushes down on his feet to raise himself up so as to release his lungs but this just ties his muscles up in cramp which he can endure for a few minutes only, then down again to hang by his arms, to gasp for breath. This agony goes on for three hours! Yet in spite of such pain, he still thinks of others – to the repentant thief, ‘this day you will be with me in paradise’.
He sees his mother, his mother who is so bravely standing there to comfort him, and he sees John. Tears streaming down his face, Jesus comforts them both ‘mother, behold your son, son behold your mother’. He even prays for his executioners – ‘God forgive them for they know not what they do’.
ADORATION
V. We Adore You Oh Christ and We Bless You
R. Because By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed the World
SCRIPTURE
From the Gospel according to Mark 15:33-34, 37, 39
And when the sixth hour had come there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice: “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”, which means: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last.
When the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that he thus breathed his last, he said: “Truly this man was the Son of God”.
MEDITATION
O Jesus grant me the grace to be considerate and kind when I am suffering in any way or just feeling wretched and miserable, help me always to think of other people rather than myself.
PRAYER
O my dying Jesus, I kiss devoutly the Cross on which You died for love of me. I have merited by my sins to die a miserable death; but Your death is my hope. By the merits of Your death, give me grace to die, embracing Your feet, and burning with love for You. I yield my soul into Your hands. I love You with my whole heart; I repent of having offended You. Never permit me to offend You again. Grant that I may love you always; and then do with me what You will.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be…
Dying you destroyed our death
Rising you restored our life
Lord Jesus come in glory
13th Station : Jesus is taken down from the Cross
Joseph, with Pilate’s consent, claimed the body of Jesus. The custom of breaking the legs of those crucified had been carried out on the two crucified with Jesus but when they found him already dead one of the soldiers thrust a spear into his side, and immediately blood and water poured from his sacred body. As Mary looked with horror at this final desecration she remembered the words of Simeon, ‘and the sword will pierce your soul also’. Then the dead, pierced, blood-spattered body of Jesus is taken down from the cross and Joseph lays him in his mothers arms. She thinks of the times she held him in her arms as a baby.
At last she allows tears to stream down her face; her only consolation, his suffering is over! She looks at the crowd, they are now subdued. At the end of the day the earth was darkened and they began to realise that they had done something terribly wrong! Even one of the soldiers exclaimed ‘truly you are the son of God’.
As his mother looked down at the battered body who would have blamed Mary if she had wished vengeance on those who had done this to her son! If she had thought, ‘they could have done it to me and I could have forgiven them but to my son, my son who had done only good!’ No, we would not have blamed her if she had felt this way, but, just as her son had said, ‘God forgive them for they know not what they do’, so Mary, his mother, being in complete union with her son, repeated his words. She was his mother and he had made us her children!
ADORATION
V. We Adore You Oh Christ and We Bless You
R. Because By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed the World
SCRIPTURE
From the Gospel according to Mark 15:42-43, 46
And when evening had come, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, bought a linen shroud, and took the body of Jesus down from the Cross.
MEDITATION
O Lord, there have been times when I have found it hard to forgive the things that have been done and said to me and still harder to forgive those who have hurt those I love. Grant me the grace by this station not only to forgive, but like Mary, to do good and help and even love those who have offended me or my loved ones.
PRAYER
O mother of sorrow, for the love of this Son, accept me for your servant, and pray to Him for me. And You, my Redeemer, since You have died for me, permit me to love You; for I wish only You, and nothing more. I love You, my Jesus, and I repent of ever having offended You. Never permit me to offend You again. Grant that I may love you always; and then do with me what You will.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be…
Dying you destroyed our death
Rising you restored our life
Lord Jesus come in glory
14th Station: Jesus is laid in the tomb
The shrouded dead body of Jesus is carried to the tomb of Joseph accompanied by Mary, his mother and John, the disciple Jesus loved. The holy women of Jerusalem followed. It seemed as if the sorrows of the whole world came together in that procession. The body of Jesus was finally laid in the tomb and the great rock was rolled in front.
How many of them thought, why? Why did God permit this? They just could not understand how a loving God could allow such a thing to happen! With these sorrowful thoughts in their minds they went slowly back home. They would never have understood why Jesus had not risen from the dead and told them that the Christ should suffer and die in order to pay for the sins of mankind. So from one man‘s suffering, death and resurrection came the salvation of the whole of mankind.
ADORATION
V. We Adore You Oh Christ and We Bless You
R. Because By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed the World
SCRIPTURE
From the Gospel according to Mark 15:46-47
Joseph of Arimathea, wrapped the body of Jesus in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.
MEDITATION
O Lord, there have been many times when I have asked why. Many times when I have thought, ‘if God loves us, why has he allowed this to happen? And even, ‘if there is a God he would not have let this happen!’
O God, grant me the grace by the merits of this station to know that you do exist and that you do love me, and to know that all that happens is for a reason, a reason which is good, a reason which I will understand in good time, meanwhile grant me the grace to say what you said in your agony, ‘not my will but thy will be done‘.
PRAYER
Oh, my buried Jesus, I kiss the stone that encloses You. But You rose again the third day. I beg You, by Your resurrection, make me rise glorious with You at the last day, to be always united with You in heaven, to praise You and love You forever. I love You, and I repent of ever having offended You. Never permit me to offend You again. Grant that I may love you always; and then do with me what You will.
For I know you have returned to your father in heaven where you have gone to prepare a place for me and my loved ones, so that where you are, we also may be.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be…
Dying you destroyed our death
Rising you restored our life
Lord Jesus come in glory
Closing Prayers
ACCLAMATION
OLord Jesus, our resurrection,
in the new tomb you destroy death and grant life.
R. Kyrie, eleison
Lord Jesus, our hope,
your body, crucified and risen,
is the new Tree of Life.
R. Kyrie, eleison
FINAL PRAYER
Behold, O kind and most sweet Jesus, I cast myself on my knees in Your sight, and with the most fervent desire of my soul, I pray and beg You to impress upon my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope, and charity, with true repentance for my sins, and a firm desire of amendment, while with deep affection and grief of soul I contemplate Your five most precious Wounds, having before my eyes that which David spoke in prophecy: “They pierced My hands and My feet; they have numbered all My bones.”
V. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
R. Amen.
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