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Private Recitation of the Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross can be said anywhere, though in a church or outside Stations is most customary. (It could be an inspiring family devotion to make simple stations and arrange them in the home, perhaps along a hallway or around the walls of the living room.) To pray the way of the cross requires only that you meditate at each station. Before each station you may say: "I adore you, O Christ, and I bless you, because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world." After each station you may say an "Our Father," "Hail Mary" and "Glory be..." 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. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Begin the Stations of the Cross by making the sign of the cross and privately reciting the following prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, take me along that holy way you once took to your death. Take my mind, my memory, above all my reluctant heart, and let me see what once you did for love of me and all the world. Now walk to the first station. Usually located on the Southeast corner of the church, or right side front. St. Thomas the Apostle in Naperville has an outdoor Stations of the Cross walk located south of the parking lot. I. Jesus comes before Pilate and is condemned to death.
When morning came, all the Chief Priests and the Elders of the people met in Council to bring about the death of Jesus. They had him bound, and led him away to hand Him over to Pilate the Governor. Pilate knew that it was out of jealousy that they handed Him over. Pilate took some water, washed his hands in front of the crowd, and said, "I am innocent of this Man's blood; it is your concern." LET US PRAY: O God, judgment is Yours alone to render. Grant that we never bring condemnation on ourselves by the judgment we make of others. We make our prayer through Christ Our Lord. Amen. "Our Father," "Hail Mary", "Glory be..." II. Jesus is made to bear His Cross.
The Governor's soldiers took Jesus with them into the Praetorium and collected the whole cohort around him. Then they stripped Him and made Him wear a scarlet cloak, and having twisted some thorns into a crown they put this on His Head and placed a reed in His right hand. To make fun of Him, they knelt to Him and said, "Hail King of the Jews," and laughed. When they had finished making fun of Him, they dressed Him in His own clothes again and led Him away to crucify Him. LET US PRAY: O God, too often, what is good and holy is mocked by us who are Your followers. May we always show respect for every human life. We make our prayer through Christ Our Lord. Amen. "Our Father," "Hail Mary", "Glory be..." III. Jesus falls under the Cross.
"You are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes tasteless, what can make it salty again? You are the light of the world. No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on the lamp stand where it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way, your light must shine in the sight of men so they will praise God." (pause) LET US PRAY: O God, Father of us all, we often fail and become discouraged; help us to know that we represent You before others and must lead them to praise Your Name. We make our prayer through Christ Our Lord. Amen. "Our Father," "Hail Mary", "Glory be..." IV. Jesus meets His sorrowful Mother
As the Child's mother stood there wondering at the things that were being said, Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His Mother, "You see this Child; He is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is rejected, and a sword will pierce your soul, too, so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare." (pause) LET US PRAY: O God, Mary the Mother of Your Son was wounded and afflicted with each blow that struck Jesus. May we always turn sorrow to joy, so that we may pray like Simeon, "Now, Lord, You may dismiss Your servant in peace." We make our prayer through Christ Our Lord. Amen. "Our Father," "Hail Mary", "Glory be..." V. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the Cross
On their way out, they came across a man from Cyrene. Simon by name, and enlisted him to carry His Cross. (pause) LET US PRAY: O God, not only do we receive Your Blessing by carrying our crosses courageously, but even more do You bless us when we help others carry theirs. May we never shrink from the needs around us. We make our prayer through Christ Our Lord. Amen. "Our Father," "Hail Mary", "Glory be..." VI. Jesus meets Veronica
Tradition tells us that a woman of courage stepped forward to do what no one else dared to do. She wiped away the blood and spittle from His face, and received in return the imprint of His torment. (pause) LET US PRAY: O God, we know You call us in the torment of others. May we always see your holy face in the image of those who suffer. We make our prayer through Christ Our Lord. Amen. "Our Father," "Hail Mary", "Glory be..." VII. Jesus falls again under the Cross
"Anyone who does not take up his cross and follow in my footsteps is not worthy of Me. Anyone who finds his life will lose it; anyone who loses his life for My sake will find it." (pause) LET US PRAY: O God, as Christ falls to the ground, all seems to be in vain; yet He is the one Who brings us to fulfillment. May we always rise again when life seems to be lost and have no meaning. We make our prayer through Christ Our Lord. Amen. "Our Father," "Hail Mary", "Glory be..." VIII. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem.
Large number of people followed Him, and of women, too, who mourned and, lamented for Him. But Jesus turned to them and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, rather for yourselves and your children." (pause) LET US PRAY: O God, Jesus did not look for the sympathy and attention of the crowd. May we also come to our fulfillment giving attention to others. We make our prayer through Christ Our Lord. Amen. "Our Father," "Hail Mary", "Glory be..." IX. Jesus falls again.
One day when they were together in Galilee Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is 'going to be handed over into the power of men; they will put Him to death and on the third day He will be raised to life again." And great sadness came over them. (pause) LET US PRAY: O God, we know that if a grain of wheat does not die it remains only a single grain, that eternal life is the fulfillment of our difficult life on earth. May we always rise to the vision of eternity when we fall under sin. We make our prayer through Christ Our Lord. Amen. "Our Father," "Hail Mary", "Glory be..." X. Jesus is stripped of his clothes.
And He went out of the city to the Place of the Skull, or as it was called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified Him with two others. Pilate wrote out a notice to be fixed on the Cross, "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews". And they took His clothing and divided it in four shares, one for each soldier. His garment was seamless so they decided to throw dice for it. (pause) LET US PRAY: O God, Christ is mocked even disgraced in His Body, with soldiers throwing dice for His clothes. May we, in all the advances against the dignity and purity of our bodies, keep our eyes firmly fixed on the beauty of our destiny. We make our prayer through Christ Our Lord. Amen. "Our Father," "Hail Mary", "Glory be..." XI. Jesus is crucified.
When they reached the place of the Skull, they crucified Him there, and Jesus said, "Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing". One of the criminals abused Him, "Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us as well." But the other spoke up and rebuked him, "This Man has done nothing wrong. Jesus," he said, "Remember me when You come into Your Kingdom." Jesus responded, "Indeed, I promise, you today you will be with Me in Paradise." (pause) LET US PRAY: O God, we long to be with You when our time on earth is done. May we stay close to you by our virtuous living. We make our prayer through Christ Our Lord. Amen. "Our Father," "Hail Mary", "Glory be..." XII. Jesus dies on the Cross.
From the sixth hour, there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachtani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you deserted me?" When some of those who stood there heard this, they said, "This man is calling on Elijah", and one of them quickly ran to get a sponge which he dipped in vinegar and putting it on a reed, gave it to Him to drink. "Wait!" said the rest of them, "and see if Elijah will come to save Him." But Jesus, again crying out in a loud voice, yielded up His Spirit. (pause) LET US PRAY: O God, your son died because of his perfect love for others. May we share that love each day of our lives. We make our prayer through Christ Our Lord. Amen. "Our Father," "Hail Mary", "Glory be..." XIII. Jesus is taken down from the Cross.
It was Preparation Day, and to prevent the bodies remaining on the cross during the Sabbath - since that Sabbath was a day of special solemnity - the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken of the first man who had been with Him and then of the other. When they came to Jesus, they found He was already dead, and so instead of breaking His legs one of the soldiers pierced His side with a lance. After this, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus - though a secret one because he was afraid of the Jews - asked Pilate to let him remove the body of Jesus. Pilate gave permission, so they came and took it away. (pause) LET US PRAY: O God, Jesus' sad death reminds us of the sadness and suffering in our world. May we always be compassionate with those in pain. We make our prayer through Christ Our Lord. Amen. "Our Father," "Hail Mary", "Glory be..." XIV. Jesus is laid in the tomb.
They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with spices in linen cloths, following the Jewish burial custom. At the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in this garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been buried. Since it was the Jewish Day of Preparation and the tomb was near at hand, they laid Jesus there. (pause) LET US PRAY: O God, as Jesus is laid in the tomb we are reminded that in death life is changed not ended. May we build our lives on values that have no end. We make our prayer through Christ Our Lord. Amen. "Our Father," "Hail Mary", "Glory be..." XV. (Optional Station of the Cross) Standing before the altar
It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb and went running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb", she said, "and we don't know where they put him." So Peter set out wit the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together but the other disciple, running faster than Peter, reached the tomb first; he bent down and saw the linen cloths lying on the ground, along with the cloth that had been over His head. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and believed. Till this moment, they had failed to understand the teaching of the Scripture, that He must rise from the dead. The disciples then went home again. "Our Father," "Hail Mary", "Glory be..." Based on Holy Scripture (NAB) written by Rev. Thomas White, pastor St. Peter's Catholic Church Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
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