Scriptural Stations of the Cross

Introduction

Leader: During Holy Week in 1991, Pope John Paul II celebrated the Way of the Cross at the Coliseum in Rome. During that celebration, the Holy Father omitted some of the traditional Stations and added others so that each station was based in Scripture. He believed the faithful would better be led to the profound reality of these events in Christ’s life. Tonight we repeat these Stations of the Cross based upon Scripture. Please note that some of the traditional Stations of the Cross have been altered.

Opening Prayer

 

All: O great and loving Divine Spirit, prepare our hearts now to walk with Jesus on the Way of the Cross. Enlighten us in these moments of prayer to see you more clearly and to see our profound need for your love in our lives today. Guide our thoughts as we pray that we might pay attention to those secret parts of ourselves where darkness still dwells and where we allow it to do so. Bless us with the grace of inner vision so we may see you among us, and seeing you, may open our hearts to you. We pray for these gifts and we receive them in gratitude.

Amen.

First Station

Leader: The First Station: Jesus prays in the Garden of Olives

Leader: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.

[Genuflect]

All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Reader 1: A reading from the Gospel of Luke.

Then he went out and made his way, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place he said to them, “Pray that you may not be put to the test.” He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, then went down on his knees and prayed in these words: “Father, if it is your will, take this cup from me; yet not my will but yours be done.” An angel then appeared to him from heaven to strengthen him. In his anguish, he prayed with all the greater intensity, and his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground. Then he rose from prayer and came to his disciples, only to find them asleep, exhausted with grief. He said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Wake up, and pray that you may not be subjected to the trial.”

Leader: Let us pray:

All: Help us realize, O God, that Jesus dreaded his death, just as we dread the dying of our everyday lives. Be with us now as we make the commitment again to embrace the difficult aspects of our life and, with your power, to pass through them to new life.

All sing: At the cross her station keeping,

Mary stood in sorrow, weeping,

When her Son was crucified.

Second Station

Leader: The Second Station: Jesus is betrayed by Judas

Leader: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.

[Genuflect]

All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Reader 2: A reading from the Gospel of Matthew.

Finally, he returned to his disciples and said to them: “Sleep on now. Enjoy your rest! The hour is on us when the Son of Man is to be handed over to the power of evil men. Get up! Let us be on our way! See, my betrayer is here.” While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived accompanied by a great crowd with swords and clubs. They had been sent by the chief priests and elders of the people. His betrayer had arranged to give them a signal, saying, “The man I shall embrace is the one; take hold of him.” He immediately went over to Jesus, said to him, “Peace, Rabbi,” and embraced him.

Leader: Let us pray:

All: O God, may we take your promises seriously and keep them in mind at every turn, whenever we are tested by temptation, weakness, suffering, or discouragement. Grant, through your grace, that we will not betray you through willful sin.

All sing:

While she waited in her anguish,

Seeing Christ in torment languish,

Bitter sorrow pierced her heart.

Third Station

Leader: The Third Station: Jesus is condemned to death by the Sanhedrin

Leader: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.

[Genuflect]

All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Reader 1: A reading from the Gospel of Mark.

Many spoke against him falsely under oath but their testimony did not agree. But Jesus remained silent; he made no reply. Once again the high priest interrogated him: “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” Then Jesus answered: “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.” At that, the high priest tore his robes and said: “What further need do we have of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. What is your verdict?” They all concurred in the verdict “guilty,” with its sentence of death.

Leader: Let us pray:

All: O God, we are sometimes so reluctant to admit that we are also part of Christ, part of the Blessed One. Take away the fear that we will be condemned as Jesus was. Help us not be ashamed to claim Christ as our own.

All sing:

With what pain and desolation,

With what noble resignation,

Mary watched her dying Son.

 

Fourth Station

Leader: The Fourth Station: Jesus is denied by Peter

Leader: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.

[Genuflect]

All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Reader 2: A reading from the Gospel of Luke.

They led him away under arrest and brought him to the house of the high priest, while Peter followed at a distance. Later they lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and were sitting beside it, and Peter sat among them. A servant girl saw him sitting in the light of the fire. She gazed at him intently, then said, “This man, too, was with him.” But Peter said, “Woman, I do not know him!” A short while later someone else saw him and said, “You too are one of them”; but Peter answered, “My friend, I am not.” About an hour after that another spoke more insistently: “This man was certainly with him, for he is a Galilean.” Peter responded, “My friend, I do not know what you are talking about.” At the very moment he was saying this, a cock crowed. The Lord turned around and looked at Peter, and Peter remembered the word that the Lord had spoken to him, “Before the cock crows today you will deny me three times.” He went out and wept bitterly.

Leader: Let us pray:

All: O God, you will never deny us, though we often deny you in our words and in our actions. Help us to stand firm in our love for you and your people, through trial and adversity.

All sing:

Ever patient in her yearning,

Though her tear-filled eyes were burning

Mary gazed upon her Son.

Fifth Station

Leader: The Fifth Station: Jesus is judged by Pilate

Leader: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.

[Genuflect]

All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Reader 1: A reading from the Gospel of Luke.

Pilate addressed them again, for he wanted Jesus to be the one he released. But they shouted back, “Crucify him, crucify him!” He said to them for the third time, “What wrong is this man guilty of? I have not discovered anything about him that calls for the death penalty. I will therefore chastise him and release him.” But they demanded with loud cries that he be crucified, and their shouts increased in violence. Pilate then decreed that what they demanded should be done. He released the one they asked for, who had been thrown in prison for insurrection and murder, and delivered Jesus up to their wishes.

Leader: Let us pray:

All: O God of infinite goodness and love, we pray for insight so we can see the ways in which we ourselves have delivered divine hope for the world up to the powers of darkness. We now take all that is not loving within us, and among us, and offer it to you, so it can be transformed into the energy of your Son. We pray for the grace of humility to accept your love through whomever you send it.

All sing:

Who, that sorrow contemplating,

On that passion meditating,

Would not share the Virgin’s grief?

Sixth Station

Leader: The Sixth Station: Jesus is flogged and crowned with thorns

Leader: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.

[Genuflect]

All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Reader 2: A reading from the Gospel of John.

Pilate’s next move was to take Jesus and have him scourged. The soldiers then wove a crown of thorns and fixed it on his head, throwing around his shoulders a cloak of royal purple. Repeatedly they came up to him and said, “All hail, king of the Jews!”, slapping his face as they did so.

Leader: Let us pray:

All: Lord, help us to judge our motives and actions rightly. Lead us to ask, in any situation in which we find ourselves, “Am I scourging you or crowning you with thorns by a willful act or refusal to act?”

All sing:

Christ she saw, for our salvation,

Scourged with cruel acclamation,

Bruised and beaten by the rod. 

 

Seventh Station

Leader: The Seventh Station: Jesus carries his cross

Leader: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.

[Genuflect]

All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Reader 1: A reading from the Gospel of John.

Jesus was led away, and carrying the cross by himself, went out to what is called the Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha).

Leader: Let us pray:

All: Father, our sins are the spiritual way of the cross that Jesus bore. He bore it so that we need not. May your grace lead us to confess our sins, and be relieved of the burden we can never carry alone.

All sing:

Christ she saw with life-blood failing,

All her anguish unavailing,

Saw him breathe his very last.

 

Eighth Station

Leader: The Eighth Station: Jesus is helped by Simon of Cyrene

Leader: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.

[Genuflect]

All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Reader 2: A reading from the Gospel of Mark.

When they had finished mocking him, they stripped him of the purple, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him out to crucify him. A man named Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was coming in from the fields, and they pressed him to service to carry the cross.

Leader: Let us pray:

All: So often, Father, this is how you act in our lives, showering great graces upon us in the disguise of shame, suffering, or failure. May we form the habit of looking upon all things as graces, and begin to recognize how truly blessed we are!

All sing:

Mary, fount of love’s devotion,

Let me share with true emotion

All the sorry you endured. 

Ninth Station

Leader: The Ninth Station: Jesus encounters the women of Jerusalem

Leader: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.

[Genuflect]

All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Reader 1: A reading from the Gospel of Luke.

A crowd of people followed him, including women who beat their breasts and lamented over him. Jesus turned to them and said: “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me. Weep for yourselves and for your children. The days are coming when they will say, ‘Happy are the sterile, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.’ Then they will begin saying to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ If they do these things in the green wood, what will happen in the dry?”

Leader: Let us pray:

All: Lord Jesus, you call us to repentance and discipleship today, especially as we celebrate the Way of the Cross. Grant that this passage from station to station may lead us to proclaim, by word and example, your saving Gospel.

All sing:

Virgin, ever interceding,

Hear me in my fervent pleading:

Fire me with your love of Christ. 

 

Tenth Station

Leader: The Tenth Station: Jesus is crucified

Leader: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.

[Genuflect]

All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Reader 2: A reading from the Gospel of Mark.

When they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull), they tried to give him wine drugged with myrrh, but he would not take it. Then they crucified him and divided up his garments by rolling dice for them to see what each should take. It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. The inscription proclaiming his offense read, “THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

Leader: Let us pray:

All: Father, you permitted this evil because you foresaw the infinite good that would come from it, fulfilling Job’s prophetic comment about his own sufferings. It is the perfect example of how we are to view our sufferings. Through the veil of Jesus’ tortured flesh, may we see how, through our trials, we share in the obedience of Jesus, and in his great work of salvation.

All sing:

Virgin, ever interceding,

Hear me in my fervent pleading:

Fire me with your love of Christ.

Eleventh Station

Leader: The Eleventh Station: Jesus promises to share his reign with the good thief

Leader: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.

[Genuflect]

All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Reader 1: A reading from the Gospel of John.

One of the criminals hanging in crucifixion blasphemed him: “Are you the Messiah? Then save yourself and us.” But the other rebuked him: “Have you no fear of God, seeing you are under the same sentence? We deserve it, after all. We are only paying the price for what we’ve done, but this man has done nothing wrong.” He then said, “Jesus, remember me when you enter upon your reign.” And Jesus replied, “I assure you: this day you will be with me in paradise.”

Leader: Let us pray:

All: God, we know that you are with us and that you behold all we do and say. Now grant that, by the light of your Holy Spirit, we might be earnest as we search for truth, and fair in our judgments of others.

All sing:

At the cross, your sorrow sharing,

All your grief and torment bearing,

Let me stand and mourn with you. 

Twelfth Station

Leader: The Twelfth Station: Jesus is on the cross with His mother and disciple below

Leader: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.

[Genuflect]

All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Reader 2: A reading from the Gospel of John.

Near the cross of Jesus there stood his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene. Seeing his mother there with the disciple whom he loved, Jesus said to his mother, “Woman, this is your son.” In turn, he said to the disciple, “There is your mother.” From that hour onward, the disciple took her into his care.

Leader: Let us pray:

All: Lord Jesus, it was with profound love that you provided for your mother by putting her into the care of your beloved disciple. May we remember that it was with an even more profound love that you provided for our spiritual well-being by putting us into the care of your most holy Mother.

All sing:

Fairest maid of all creation,

Queen of hope and consolation,

Let me feel your grief sublime.

Thirteenth Station

Leader: The Thirteenth Station: Jesus dies on the cross

Leader: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.

[Genuflect]

All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Reader 1: A reading from the Gospel of Matthew.

From noon onward, there was darkness over the whole land until midafternoon. Then toward midafternoon, Jesus cried with a loud tone, “Eli, Eli, lema Sabachthani?” “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This made some of the bystanders who heard it remark, “He is invoking Elijah!” Immediately one of them ran off and got a sponge. He soaked it in cheap wine, and sticking it on a reed, he tried to make him drink. Meanwhile, the rest said, “Leave him alone. Let’s see whether Elijah comes to his rescue.” Once again Jesus cried out in a loud voice, and then gave up his spirit.

[Pause in silence]

Leader: Let us pray:

All: Your last breath, Lord Jesus, has been an endless breath. It whispers upon our souls when we are baptized and confirmed, and in all the teaching and sanctifying actions of the Church. It whispers at this very moment in our hearts as we fall silent to ponder this sad and wonderful moment.

All sing:

Virgin, in your love, befriend me,

At the Judgment Day defend me.

Help me by your constant prayer.

Fourteenth Station

Leader: The Fourteenth Station: Jesus is placed in the tomb

Leader: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.

[Genuflect]

All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Reader 2: A reading from the Gospel of Matthew.

When evening fell, a wealthy man from Arimathea arrived, Joseph by name. He was another of Jesus’ disciples and had gone to request the body of Jesus. Thereupon Pilate issued an order for its release. Taking the body, Joseph wrapped it in fresh linen and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn from a formation of rock. Then he rolled a huge stone across the entrance of the tomb and went away. But Mary Magdalene and the other Mary remained sitting there, facing the tomb.

Leader: Let us pray:

All: Lord Jesus, as we contemplate your death and sorrow, help us to see as precious the death of your beloved poor. May we accept, with love, every opportunity to care for you through them, showing them the respect and compassion that the holy women showed you.

All sing:

Savior, when my life shall leave me,

Through your mother’s prayers receive me

With the fruits of victory.  

Concluding Prayer

Leader: Lord Jesus Christ, your passion and death is the sacrifice that unites earth and heaven and reconciles all people to you. May we who have faithfully reflected on these mysteries follow in your steps and so come to share your glory in heaven where you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit one God, for ever and ever.

All: Amen.