Stations of the cross (1-5)
“Stations of the Cross”
From the earliest times, Christians flocked to the Holy Land to visit the places sanctified by the events in our Lord’s earthly life. Especially popular was the pilgrimage along the path our Lord took on the first Good Friday. This pilgrimage was made with great devotion, the procession stopping (or making “stations”) for prayer and meditation at the various traditional points where special events took place. For those who were unable to visit the Holy Land, the custom arose throughout Europe of setting up replicas of the different incidents along the Way of Sorrow, so that the faithful could make spiritual pilgrimages. After a long development, these little shrines became restricted to fourteen (although the number can be adjusted as we at use 10 which are biblical) and it is customary to set them up along the walls of Christian churches.
This devotion is primarily a private one for the use of individuals, but it is customary in Lent, and at other times, for the people to make the Stations in common. No official prayers have ever been prescribed for this devotion, whether in private or public. It is only necessary that there be movement from one Station to another and that the people meditate, however briefly, on each particular incident. Many unofficial devotions have been written, however. The following is used by St. Michael’s Anglican Church in Charlotte, NC and provided for your own meditation.
First Station: Jesus is Condemned to Death
Leaving the house of Caiphas where He had been blasphemed, and the house of Herod, where He had been mocked, Jesus is dragged before Pilate, His back torn with scourges, His head crowned with thorns, and He Who on the last day will judge the living and the dead, is Himself condemned to a shameful death. Pilate washes his hands; the rulers of Judea take his blood upon their heads and on their children. It was for us that Thou dist suffer. O blessed Jesus: it was for our sins Thou wast condemned to die. Oh, grant that we may detest them from the bottom of our hearts, and by this repentance obtain Thy mercy and pardon.
- Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal. R. Have mercy upon us.
- He spared not His own Son. R. But delivered Him up for all of us.
Act of Contrition
O God, we love thee with our whole hearts and above all things and are heartily sorry that we have offended thee. May we never offend thee any more. O, may we love thee without ceasing, and make it our delight to do in all things thy most holy will.
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.
Let us pray
O blessed Lord Jesus, condemned to death for our sins, Grant us true repentance, that, we being washed in that stream which flows from Calvary through the Sacraments of thy Holy Church to the end of time, we may evermore serve thee with pure hearts and minds; who now livest and reignest with the Father and the holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.
Second Station: Jesus Receives the Cross
Behold the Lord in whom all things subsist, who led His people out of Egypt and into the land of milk and honey. A heavy Cross is laid upon the bruised shoulders of Jesus. He receives it with meekness, nay with a secret joy, for it is the instrument with which He is to redeem the world. What efforts do we make, on the other hand, to escape all sufferings as far as we can?
O Jesus, grant us, by virtue of Thy Cross, to embrace with meekness and cheerful sub-mission the difficulties of our state and to be ever ready to take up our cross and follow Thee.
- Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal; R. Have mercy upon us:
- The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all; R. For the wickedness of my people He hath stricken Him.
Act of Contrition
O God, we love thee with our whole hearts and above all things and are heartily sorry that we have offended thee. May we never offend thee any more. O, may we love thee without ceasing, and make it our delight to do in all things thy most holy will.
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.
Let us pray
O blessed Lord Jesus, who has taught us to pray, “Thy will be done“, and hast said, “except ye take up your Cross and follow me, ye have no part in me:” Grant us by thy grace cheerfully so to bear the slights and discouragements, the frustrations and temptations of the daily round with patience and humility, that we made be made one with thee, who bore thy cross for us, who now livest and reignest with the Father and the holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.
Third Station: Jesus Falls under the weight of the Cross
Bowed down under the weight of the Cross, Jesus slowly sets forth on the way to Cal-vary; amidst the mockeries and insults of the crowd. His agony in the garden has exhausted His Body; He is sore with blows and wounds; His strength fails Him, He falls to the ground under the Cross.
O Jesus! Who for our sins didst bear the heavy burden of the Cross and fall under its weight, may the thought of Thy agony and bloody sweat make us watchful over ourselves, and save us from any grievous fall into sin.
- Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal; R. Have mercy upon us;
- Surely He hath borne our grief’s; R. And carried our sorrows.
Act of Contrition
O God, we love thee with our whole hearts and above all things and are heartily sorry that we have offended thee. May we never offend thee any more. O, may we love thee without ceasing, and make it our delight to do in all things thy most holy will.
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.
Let us pray
O blessed Lord Jesus, accept our humble thanks for that thou didst bear the full weight and price of sin, that we might have its full weight lifted from our souls, who would be weighted down indeed and lost forever but for thee and thine abiding grace; who now livest and reignest with the Father and the holy Ghost, one God, world without end, Amen.
Fourth Station: The Cross is laid on Simon of Cyrene
As the strength of Jesus fails, and He is unable to proceed, the executioners seize and compel Simon of Cyrene to carry His Cross. The lord who holds the whole world in the hollow of His hand, now upheld by Simon. The virtue of that Cross changed his heart, and from being a compulsory task it became a privilege and joy.
O Lord Jesus: may it be our privilege also to bear Thy Cross; may we glory in nothing else; by it may the world be crucified unto us and we unto the world: may we never shrink from suffering, but rather rejoice if we be counted worthy to suffer for Thy Name’s sake.
- Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal; R. Have mercy upon us;
- Whosoever Doth not bear His cross, and come after me; R. Cannot be my disciple.
Act of Contrition
O God, we love thee with our whole hearts and above all things and are heartily sorry that we have offended thee. May we never offend thee any more. O, may we love thee without ceasing, and make it our delight to do in all things thy most holy will.
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 tres-passes, As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But de-liver us from evil. Amen.
Let us pray
O blessed Lord Jesus, who hast taught us to take up our Cross and follow thee; Grant us to grow with every burden of the daily round, that we may share our Cross with thee, who shared thy Cross with blessed Simon; who now livest and reignest with the Father and the holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.
Fifth Station: The women of Jerusalem Mourn for Our Lord
There follows Him a great company of disciples. At the sight of the sufferings of Jesus, some holy women in the crowd were so touched with sympathy that they openly bewailed and lamented Him. Jesus, knowing the things that were come to pass said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children: If they do these things in a green tree what shall be done in the dry?”
O Lord Jesus, we mourn and will mourn both for Thee and for ourselves, for Thy sufferings and for our sins which caused them. Oh, teach us so to mourn that we may be com-forted, and escape those judgments prepared for all who reject Thee.
- Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal; R Have mercy upon us;
- They that sow in tears; R Shall reap in joy.
Act of Contrition
O God, we love thee with our whole hearts and above all things and are heartily sorry that we have offended thee. May we never offend thee any more. O, may we love thee without ceasing, and make it our delight to do in all things thy most holy will.
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.
Let us pray
O blessed Lord Jesus, who has taught us to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven, where niether moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break not through nor steal; Grant, that as we walk through the midst of this crumbling world, our hearts may be stayed on thee who art the goal of all our striving and the answer to our restlessness: who now livest and reignest with the Father and the holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.
