The Stations of the Cross

Come and walk -- virtually -- as we pray the Stations of the Cross, also known as The Way of the Cross.

This devotion is an adaptation to local usage of a custom widely observed by pilgrims to Jerusalem: the offering of prayer at a series of places in that city traditionally associated with our Lord’s passion and death.

The number of stations, which at first varied widely, finally became fixed at fourteen. Of these, eight are based directly on events recorded in the Gospels. The devotions on this page use these eight.

The stations are usually made before a series of plain wooden crosses placed along the walls of the church or in some other convenient place. (At Christ Church, we have hanging banners made for this occasion). At each station, there is sometimes associated a pictorial representation of the event being commemorated. In the absence of such set-apart places, it is customary to simply lead a wooden cross in procession and stop along the way to make devotions.

The reflections offered here come from an online source, Creighton University’s Collaborative Ministry Office. The individual who wrote these reflections was not credited, but we give thanks for the offering. The complete fourteen station collection can be found at www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/stations.html.

In corporate worship, a leader — clergy or lay — is present for this service to carry the cross and lead the devotions and prayers. Additional leaders may be chosen to give the Readings and the Reflections. The People’s Response is spoken by all present, as is the Trisagion.

You are welcome to come to the church to walk the Way of the Cross individually or in groups whenever the parish office is open.

Opening Devotions

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Reading:
Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. Then he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.” And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.”

We will glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ:
In whom is our salvation, our life and resurrection.

	We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Reading:
As soon as it was morning, the chief priests, with the elders and scribes, and the whole council, held a consultation; and they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him to Pilate. And they all condemned him and said, "He deserves to die." When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat him down on the judgment seat at a place called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha. Then he handed Jesus over to them to be crucified.

Reflection:
As I view the scene, 
I become moved by both outrage and gratitude.
I look at Jesus.  
His face.  
The crown of thorns.  
The blood.  

His clothes stuck to the wounds on his back. 
Pilate washes his hands of the whole affair.  
Jesus' hands are tied behind his back.

This is for me.  
That I might be free.  
That I might have eternal life. 
As the journey begins I ask to be with Jesus.  
To follow his journey. I express my love and thanks.

People’s Response (spoken by all):  (Psalm 2:2, 7-8)
Why do the kings of the earth rise up in revolt, and the princes plot together,
Against the LORD and against his Anointed?
Let me announce the decree of the LORD:
He said to me, “You are my Son; this day have I begotten you.
As of me and I will give you the nations for your inheritance
And the ends of the earth for your possession.”

Prayer: 
All-powerful and eternal God, for proclaiming the truth your Son is condemned to death by crucifixion. Stir up your love in our hearts so that we might be ever faithful to all that you have told us. Amen.

	We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Reading:
Jesus went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. Like a lamb he was led to the slaughter; and like a sheep that before its shearers is mute, so he opened not his mouth. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.

Reflection:
I contemplate the wood of that cross.  
I imagine how heavy it is.  
I reflect upon all it means that Jesus is carrying it.
I look into his eyes.  
It's all there.

This is for me.  
So I place myself with him in this journey.  
In its anguish.  
In his freedom and surrender.  
In the love that must fill his heart.

With sorrow and gratitude, 
I continue the journey.  
Moved by the power of his love, 
I am drawn to him 
and express my love 
in the words that come to me.

People’s Response (spoken by all):  (Isaiah 53:1-3)
Who has believed what we have heard?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 
For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 
He was despised and rejected by others;
a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity;
and as one from whom others hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him of no account.

Prayer:
Father in heaven, your Son, Jesus Christ, still carries his Cross in his persecuted brothers and sisters throughout the world. Make us feel the needs of all persons so that we might as readily help them as we would help Jesus himself. Amen.

	We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Reading:
As they led Jesus away, they came upon a man of Cyrene, Simon by name, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross to carry it behind Jesus. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Reflection:
I look into his face and contemplate his struggle.  
His weariness and fragility.  
His powerlessness.
I see how he looks at Simon, 
with utmost humility and gratitude.

This is for me. 
So I feel anguish and gratitude. 
I express my thanks that he can continue this journey.  That he has help.  
That he knows my inability to carry my burden alone.

I say what is in my heart, with deep feeling.

 People’s Response (spoken by all):  (Psalm 142:1-5)
I cry to the LORD with my voice;
To the LORD I make loud supplication.
I pour out my complaint before him
And tell him all my trouble.
When my spirit languishes within me, you know my path;
In the way wherein I walk they have hidden a trap for me.
I look to my right hand and find no one who knows me;
I have no place to flee to, and no one cares for me.
I cry out to you, O LORD;
I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, help us to see in the sufferings and shortcomings of our lives a share in your Cross; strengthen and console us in the belief that we bear all things in union with you, who have taken upon yourself even our guilt. Amen.

	We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Reading:
There followed after Jesus a great multitude of the people, and among them were women who bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning to them said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.”

Reflection:
I look at their faces.  
So full of love and gratitude, 
loss and fear.  
I contemplate what words might have passed between them.
I remember all his tender, compassionate, 
merciful love for me.  
I place myself with these women and children to support him.

This is for me.  
So, I let this scene stir up deep gratitude.

People’s Response (spoken by all):  (Lamentations 1:12,16)
Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?
Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow,
which was brought upon me,
which the Lord inflicted on the day of his fierce anger. 
For these things I weep;
my eyes flow with tears;
for a comforter is far from me, one to revive my courage;
my children are desolate, for the enemy has prevailed.

Prayer:
Beloved Jesus, with tears of pity these women of Jerusalem responded to you, broken, bruised, and beaten, on the road to Calvary. Deepen our faith, so that we may see you in our brothers and sisters, bruised by our envy, beaten down by injustice, and broken by our greed and our indifference. Amen.

	We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Reading:
When they came to a place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull), they offered him wine to drink, mingled with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And they divided his garments among them by casting lots. This was to fulfill the scripture which says, “They divided my garments among them; they cast lots for my clothing.”

Reflection:
I pause to watch the stripping.  
I contemplate all that is taken from him.  
And, how he faces his death with such nakedness.
I reflect upon how much of himself 
he has revealed to me.  
Holding nothing back.

As I look at him in his humility, 
I know that this is for me, 
and I share my feelings of gratitude.

People’s Response (spoken by all):  (Psalm 69:19-23)
Hide not your face from your servant;
be swift and answer me, for I am in distress.
Draw near to me and redeem me;
because of my enemies deliver me.
You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor;
my adversaries are all in your sight.
Reproach has broken my heart, and it cannot be healed;
I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
for comforters, but I could find no one.
They gave me gall to eat,
and when I was thirsty, they gave me vinegar to drink.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, stripped of everything, you stood exposed to the jeers and contempt of the people whom you loved. Clothe us with genuine love of others, so that nothing we suffer may ever fill our hearts with hatred or bitterness. Amen.

	We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Reading:
When they came to the place which is called The Skull, there they crucified him; and with him they crucified two criminals, one on the right, the other on the left, and Jesus between them. And the scripture was fulfilled which says, “He was numbered with the transgressors.”

Reflection:
I make myself watch the nails being driven through his flesh.
And I watch his face.
I contemplate the completeness of his entry into our lives.
Can there be any pain or agony he would not understand?

This is for me.  
Nailed to a cross to forever proclaim liberty to captives.  
What sorrow and gratitude fill my heart!

People’s Response (spoken by all):  (Psalm 22:1-2, 14-16)
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
and are so far from my cry and from the words of my distress?
O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not answer;
by night as well, but I find no rest.
I am poured out like water; all my bones are out of joint;
my heart within my breast is melting wax.
My mouth is dried out like a pot-sherd; my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; and you have laid me in the dust of the grave.
Packs of dogs close me in, and gangs of evildoers circle around me; they pierce my hands and my feet; I can count all my bones.

Prayer:
Dearest Lord, you have told us that we too must accept crucifixion if we are to accept resurrection with you. Help us to rejoice in the sufferings that come with the fulfillment of our daily duties, seeing in them the royal road of the cross to resurrection. Amen.

	We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Reading:
When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And when Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, “It is finished!” And then, crying with a loud voice, he said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” And he bowed his head, and handed over his spirit.

Reflection:
I stand there, at the foot of the cross, 
side by side with all of humanity, 
and behold our salvation.
I carefully watch and listen to all that is said.
And then, 
I experience the one 
who gives life pass from life to death, for me.  
I console Mary and John and Mary.  
And let them console me.

People’s Response (spoken by all):  (Psalm 22:25-30)
The poor shall eat and be satisfied,
and those who seek the LORD shall praise him:
“May your heart live for ever!”
All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations shall bow before him.
For kingship belongs to the LORD;
he rules over the nations.
To him alone all who sleep in the earth bow down in worship;
all who go down to the dust fall before him.
My soul shall live for him;
my descendants shall serve him;
they shall be known as the LORD’S for ever.
They shall come and make known to a people yet unborn
the saving deeds that he has done. (Silence may be kept)

Prayer:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil. Amen.

	We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Reading:
When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock; and he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb.

Reflection:
I pause to contemplate this act of closure on his life.  
In solidarity with all humanity, 
his body is taken to its grave. 
I stand for a moment outside this tomb.  
This final journey of his life has shown me 
the meaning of his gift of himself for me.  
This tomb represents every tomb I stand before with fear,
in defeat, struggling to believe it could ever be empty.

In the fullness of faith in the Risen One, 
given by his own Holy Spirit, 
I express my gratitude for this way of the cross.  
I ask Jesus, whose hands, feet and side 
still bear the signs of this journey, 
to grant me the graces I need 
to take up my cross to be a servant of his own mission.

This is for me.

People’s Response (spoken by all):  (Psalm 30:1-6)
I will exalt you, O LORD, because you have lifted me up
and have not let my enemies triumph over me.
O LORD, my God, I cried out to you,               
and you restored me to health.
You brought me up, O LORD, from the dead;
you restored my life as I was going down to the grave.
Sing to the LORD, you servants of his;
give thanks for the remembrance of his holiness.
For his wrath endures but the the twinkling of an eye,
his favor for a lifetime.
Weeping may spend the night,
but joy comes in the morning.

Prayer:
Almighty and eternal God, on the edge of sadness when all seemed lost, you restored to us the Savior we thought defeated and conquered. Help us so to empty ourselves of self concern that we might see your hand in every failure and your victory in every defeat. These things we ask in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns forever with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The procession concludes at the altar.

Proclamation of the Cross
We glory in your cross, O Lord,
And praise and glorify your holy resurrection;
For by virtue of your cross
Joy has come to the whole world.

May God be merciful to us and bless us,
Show us the light of his countenance, and come to us.

Let your ways be known upon earth,
Your saving health among all nations.

Let the peoples praise you, O God; 
Let all the peoples praise you.

We glory in your cross, O Lord,
And praise and glorify your holy resurrection;
For by virtue of your cross
Joy has come to the whole world.

Almighty God, as we stand at the foot of the cross of your Son, may we know your love for us, that in humility, love and joy we may place at his feet all that we have and all that we are; through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

Merciful God, Creator of all the peoples of the earth and lover of souls: Have compassion on all who do not know you as you are revealed in your Son Jesus Christ; let your Gospel be preached with grace and power to those who have not heard it; turn the hearts of those who resist it; and bring home to your fold those who have gone astray; that there may be one flock under one shephed, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, we pray you to set your passion, cross, and death between your judgment and our souls, now and in the hour of our death. Give mercy and grace to the living; pardon and rest to the dead; to your holy Church peace and concord; and to us sinners everlasting life and glory; for you live and reign now and for ever.  Amen.

To Christ our Lord who loves us, and washed us in his own blood, and made us a kingdom of priests to serve his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen