The Way of the Cross (Stations of the Cross) — Complete Guide

OPENING Act of Contrition: My Lord Jesus Christ, Thou hast made this journey to die for me with love unutterable, and I have so many times unworthily abandoned Thee. But now I love Thee with my whole heart, and because I love Thee I repent sincerely for having offended Thee. Pardon me, my God, and permit me to accompany Thee on this journey. At each station, genuflect and say: V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee. R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world. Then read the station, pause in silence, and pray: Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be. Have mercy on us, O Lord. Have mercy on us. THE FOURTEEN STATIONS I. Jesus is condemned to death. Innocent, He accepts the sentence. Teach me to bear unjust judgment without bitterness. II. Jesus takes up His Cross. He does not merely suffer it; He receives it. Let me take up mine today. III. Jesus falls the first time. Weakness is not defeat. Lift me when I fall. IV. Jesus meets His afflicted Mother. Two hearts meet in one sorrow. Let me not turn away from the grief of others. V. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the Cross. Pressed into service, he was given a gift. Make me willing to be interrupted. VI. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus. A small kindness, remembered for ever. Print Thy face upon my heart. VII. Jesus falls the second time. The same sin, the same fall. Give me the humility to rise again. VIII. Jesus consoles the women of Jerusalem. "Weep not for me, but for yourselves." Give me tears for my own sins. IX. Jesus falls the third time. At the end of His strength, He goes on. Let me not stop short of the end. X. Jesus is stripped of His garments. Everything is taken. Strip me of what I cling to instead of Thee. XI. Jesus is nailed to the Cross. Love holds Him there more firmly than nails. Fasten my will to Thine. XII. Jesus dies on the Cross. Kneel in silence. "Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit." XIII. Jesus is taken down from the Cross and laid in His Mother's arms. Receive my heart, O Mother, as thou didst receive His body. XIV. Jesus is laid in the tomb. The stone is rolled across. Teach me to wait in the dark for the morning. A fifteenth station, the Resurrection, is often added: He is not here; He is risen, as He said. CLOSING Let us pray: Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Passion and death are the sacrifice that unites earth and heaven. Grant that we who have walked this way in prayer may follow Thee also in life, and come at last to the joy of Thy Resurrection, who livest and reignest for ever and ever. Amen. Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be, for the intentions of the Holy Father.