Stations of the Cross
Text adapted from the Way of the Cross
led by Pope Francis, Colosseum, Rome,
3 April 2015.
Artwork by Brother Martin Erspamer OSB, from the Community Prayer Edition, Stations of the Cross,
by Timothy Radcliffe OP,
© Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota, 2015.
Used with Brother Martin’s kind permission.
Opening Prayer
O Father, who willed to save us by the death of your Son on the cross,
grant that we who have known on earth the mystery of his love,
may be his witnesses, in our words and actions, in our daily lives,
before all those whom you place on our path. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
First Station:
Jesus is condemned to death
Our Lord’s thoughts and feelings
How bitter was that moment. During the meal, I asked you, Father, to protect my disciples in your name, that they may be one, as we are one.
We pray
Jesus, even more than your first disciples, we are weak in faith. We too risk betraying you, while your love should make us love you all the more. Help us to be people of prayer, watchfulness, sincerity and truth, so that our faith may grow strong and full of joy.
Second Station:
Jesus takes up his cross
Our Lord’s thoughts and feelings
I keep thinking of the striking passage of the prophet Isaiah about the Servant of the Lord. It says that he had no appearance of beauty; he was despised; he was a man of sorrows; he was like a lamb led to the slaughter; he was cut off from the land of the living; he was beaten to death. I am that Servant, sent to reveal the greatness of God’s love for everyone.
We pray
Lord Jesus, you strengthen inwardly all who suffer persecution. May the fundamental right of religious freedom spread throughout the world. We thank you for all those who, like angels, give marvellous signs of your coming Kingdom.
Third Station:
Jesus falls beneath the cross
Our Lord’s thoughts and feelings
I stagger as I take my first steps towards Calvary. It is hard for me to bear the weight of the wood I have to carry, so I fall to the ground. I think of John the Baptist, who at the beginning of my public life, said: ‘Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’ Now the truth of those words is revealed.
We pray
Father most holy, we praise you, because you so loved the world as to send us your only-begotten Son, sharing our human nature in all things but sin. To the poor he proclaimed the good news of salvation; to prisoners, freedom; and to the sorrowful of heart, joy.
Fourth Station:
Jesus meets his Mother
Our Lord’s thoughts and feelings
My Mother is part of the crowd. When I was forty days old, I was presented in the Temple. Simeon told my mother that ‘a sword will pierce your soul.’ Those words have now become a reality, for her and for me. Today my presentation is complete.
We pray
Holy Mary, mother of Jesus, at the wedding feast of Cana, you said to the servants: ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Strengthen all Christian spouses and parents, called to bear witness to the beauty of a family inspired and guided by the words of Jesus.
Fifth Station:
Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus
Our Lord’s thoughts and feelings
They have forcibly laid hold of a labourer who was passing by. They tell him to walk behind me. More than once I had said, ‘Whoever does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.’ But now this man is carrying my cross. Perhaps he doesn’t even know who I am, yet he is helping me and following me all the same.
We pray
Lord Jesus, make us ready to be like Simon towards others. May those who see our way of life find encouragement, as they watch us striving to encourage all that is beautiful, just, true and good. Help us to bear one another’s burdens.
Sixth Station:
Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
Our Lord’s thoughts and feelings
Kindness inspires one of the women in the crowd to come and wipe my face. This reminds me of so many other meetings. I can remember sitting beside the well in Sychar when I spoke to a Samaritan woman about water which springs up to eternal life. She returned home speaking of me and saying: ‘Could he be the Messiah?’ John 4:29.
We pray
Lord Jesus, protect women who witness to that happiness which comes from meeting with you. May they be a radiant sign of motherhood at the side of the little ones, who, in their hearts, become the greatest.
Seventh Station:
Jesus falls the second time
Our Lord’s thoughts and feelings
It is not simply physical weariness. There is something deeper I have to endure. Last night I prayed long and hard to the Father, stretched out on the ground. My sweat was like drops of blood. My death was already upon me. Now I am sharing the ultimate, painful experience of every human being near death. Thank you, my Father, for sending an angel from heaven to comfort me at that moment!
We pray
Be open, my heart. Be as expansive as God’s own heart. Be open to bringing hope, to caring, to listening. Be open to helping the wounded, to bringing light to those living in darkness. Today, tomorrow and always.
Eighth Station:
Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
Our Lord’s thoughts and feelings
Just a few days ago, I entered Jerusalem, and they called to me: ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’ (Luke 19:38). Now as I make my painful way towards Golgotha, I hear the cries of women weeping for me.
We pray
Lord God, you have called us to the heavenly Jerusalem, God’s dwelling-place among us. There, every tear will be wiped from our eyes. Death, mourning, weeping and pain will be no more. Protect our hope that, after the toil of our sowing in tears, we will come at last to the joy of the harvest (Cf. Ps 126:5).
Ninth Station:
Jesus falls the third time
Our Lord’s thoughts and feelings
On my journey as the One sent by the Father, I preached the breadth of his love, which overlooks no one; the length of his love, which is faithful in every generation; the height of his love, a hope which triumphs over death itself, and the depth of his love, which sent me to call not the righteous, but sinners. At this moment I am called, more than ever, to reveal God’s love for all peoples.
We pray
Lord God, you are our Father. We know, Father, that we are little, yet you have granted us a great dignity, calling us to freedom. Free us from all forms of slavery. Protect each and every one of us; protect every man and woman on the face of the earth.
Tenth Station:
Jesus is stripped of his garments
Our Lord’s thoughts and feelings
I stand in silence, humiliated. I think of my Mother, who is here. My humiliation is also hers. Once more her heart is pierced. To her I owe the robe which was torn from me, which is a sign of her love for me
(Cf. Mt 27:35).
We pray
‘Blessed indeed is the one who follows not the counsel of the wicked, ... but whose delight is the law of the Lord, and who ponders his law, day and night. Such a one is like a tree planted beside the flowing waters, that yields its fruit in due season, ... and all that that person does shall prosper’ (Psalm 1:1-3).
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Eleventh Station:
Jesus is nailed to the cross
Our Lord’s thoughts and feelings
They are driving nails into my hands and feet. I am immobilised in body, but free in heart, free, for I am full of love, a love which embraces all.
We pray
Lord Jesus, you embraced the cross to teach us how to offer our lives in love. At the hour of your death, you heard the plea of the penitent thief. Sinless Saviour, you were numbered with evildoers and submitted to the judgement of sinners, and you forgave your executioners. Teach us to forgive as you did.
Twelfth Station:
Jesus dies on the cross
Our Lord’s words on the cross
Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ Then, turning to his Mother, he said, ‘Woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple John, ‘Here is your mother’ Finally, he said, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.’
We pray
Christ, we need you, the great bearer of our sorrows, to know the meaning of suffering. We need you, the conqueror of death, to set us free from despair and denial. Christ, we need you, to learn to love as you did.
Thirteenth Station:
Jesus is taken down from the cross
‘The centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus… said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!” Many women were also there … Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee’ (Matthew 27:54-56).
We pray
Father, extend to the whole human family the kingdom of justice and peace which you have prepared through your only-begotten Son, our king and saviour. Grant the blessing of true peace to all humanity, so that all the peoples of the earth will be blessed in him, our Lord and our God.
Fourteenth Station:
Jesus is placed in the tomb
‘Joseph of Arimathea… asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission, so he came and removed his body. Nicodemus also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews’ (John 19:38-40).
Mary’s thoughts and feelings
John stood close to me. Beneath the cross my faith was sorely tried. As in Bethlehem and then in Nazareth, now once more I ponder these things in silence (Cf Luke 2:19, 51). I have put my trust in God. My hope, the hope of a mother, is not spent. You too need to trust!
For all of you, I implore the grace of a strong faith. And for those experiencing dark days, consolation.
We pray
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen.
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