~

A WAY OF
THE CROSS
IN A TIME OF
PANDEMIC
 OPENING PRAYER
Lord Jesus, as we walk with you on your Way of the
Cross, help us to see how your sacrifice gives meaning to our
own difficult times as we suffer In so many ways from this
worl.dwlde pandemic. Y.our cross stands in the center of history,
a towering sign that the God who created our world out of love
understands our pain and shares it with us. Amen.

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 FIRST STATION
JESUS IS
CONDEMNED
BY PILATE
Leader: We adore you 0
Christ and we praise you,

Re.s ponse: Because by your

holy cross and resurrectio:n
you have redeemed the
world.

For a while, it looked as

thoug:h PIiate might save
Jesus. He sent signals that
he would. But, ultimately we
see what Jesus already knew: There is no salvation on earth.
That adoring crowd from a week ago now shouts "Crucify him!#
His friends abandon him. Worldly power, In the person of Pon•
tius Pilate, will choose the crowd over what is right

PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, the pandemic has taught us the entire lesson you
already knew: The world may be beautiful and exciting, but it is
fallen and dangerous, too. May we learn from you that there is
only one who does not disappoint; the ground of being, God
himself. Amen.

Our Father... We know that whatever comes, the future Is safe In

your hands. Amen.

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 SECOND STATION
JESUS ACCEPTS HIS CROSS
Leader: We adore you O Christ and we praise you,

Response: Because by your holy cross and resurrection you have

redeemed the world.

Jesus Christ submitted entirely to the will of the Father, and so

when he was given a rough cross to carry to his own execution,
he embraced It. In some depictions he even kisses the cross. He
knew that the cross meant suffering, torture, and death, but he
trusted his Father and knew that God brings good from every
evil, even an evil as terrible as the cross.

PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, the pandemic Is a hard cross to accept. Who will get
sick? Who will die? Who will los.e their job? How will this reshape
the future? The only way to
accept It Is to trust, as you •
did, that the Father's care
will never end. Give u:s this
trust! Amen.

Our Father... We know that

whatever comes, the future
Is safe In your hands. Amen.

s
 THIRD STATION
JESUS FALLS FOR THE FIRST
TIME
Leader: We adore you O Christ
and we praise you,

Response: Because by your holy

cross and resurrection you have
redeemed the world.

Jesus fell under the weight of

the cross - under the weight of
our sins - and we are horrified
to se-e It. We repent what we
did that led to this. First, we re-
pent the way we sinned with
our pride and greed. We lived a
complacent life filled with
selfishness. We ran up debts to
please ourselves and Impress
the world Instead of saving for a n uncertain future . We put other
gods in the center of our lives instead of the one God.

PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, you do not directly cause suffering, but you allow It
because in your power and mercy, you can bring good out of It.
Help us remember in this pandemic, that we are not the center
of the universe. You are. We repent of our pride and greed!. May
we put our time, effort and resources where our heart truly is,
with you. Amen.

Our Father... We know that whatever comes, the future Is safe in

your hands. Amen.

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 FOURTH STATION
JESUS MEETS HIS MOTHER
Leader: We adore you O Christ and we praise you,

Response: Because by your

holy cross and resurrection
you have redeemed the
world .

Here Is Jesus, face to face

with his mother. When he
was a baby, she was told that
a sword would pierce his
heart. From the cross, he will
make her our mother. In be-
tween, she has had to walk a
rough road with her son. But
a.s they gaze at each other,
the love the two have is so
deep and sweet all of that is
forgotten .

PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, if we did not know before, the pandemic reveals
what your mother knew so well: this world is Ma valley of tears."
Thank you for the gift of your mother. Thank you for your fideli-
ty and the loving concern for us that she brings to you. Amen.

Our Father... We know that whatever comes, the future is s.1fe In

your hands. Amen.

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 FIFTH STATION
SIMON HELPS JESUS CARRY HIS
CROSS
Leader: We adore you O Christ and we praise you,

Response: Because by your holy cross and resurrection you have

redeemed the world.

A passerby., Simon of Cyrene, is compelled by the Romans to

help Jesus carry his cross. He stands for the corporal works of
mercy, serving the physical needs of others: Feeding the hungry,
clothing the sick, giving drink to the thirsty, sheltering the
homeless, burying the dead - and above all right now, visiting
prisoners (and shut-ins!), and visiting the sick.

PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, give us a heart
that cares and loves even In
times of fear and sorrow.
Show us opportunities
where we can concretely
help those who are suffer-
Ing from the pandemic.
Sometimes, llke Simon, we
have little choice but to
help. Sometimes we must
seek out those who nef!d
our assistance. Send us out,
an army ofSimons1 to light-
en the burdens around us.

Our Father... We know that

whatever comes, the future
is safe in your hands. Amen.

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 SIXTH STATION
VERONICA
WIPES THE
FACE OF JESUS
Leader: We adore you O Christ
and we praise you,

Response: Because by your ho-

ly cross and resurrection you
have redeemed the world_

Ignoring the complaints of the

Roman guards, Veronica
reaches out to comfort Jesus,
using her veil to wipe his face, and receiving his Image there In
retum. She stands for the spiritual worl<s of mercy: Instructing
the ignorant, admonishing sinners, forgiving offenses, counsel-
ing the doubtful, bearing wrongs patiently- and above all: right
now, comforting the afflict.ed and praying for the living and the
dead.

PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, when we reach out to the suffering, our efforts re-
store your Image in others, and Imprint your face on our lives.
Give us the words we need to give faith to the shaken and hope
to the hurting. Remind us always that even though we c.ould not
pray together physically as a Church, we as Domestic Churches
are ought to pray for one another, especially those for the front
liners In this battle. It Is in praying together that your Image will
continue to be Imprinted In our hearts and bring victory over our
fear a,nd this pestilence. Amen.

Our Father_.. We know that whatever comes, the future is safe In

your hands. Amen.

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 SEVENTH STATION
JESUS FALLS A SECOND TIME
Leader: We adore you O Christ and we praise you,

Response: Because by your holy cros.s and resurrection you have

redeemed the world.

The weight of our sins forces

Jesus to the ground again.
This time, It's our sins of an-
ger and envy that weigh him •1
down. Like the crowd that ;; ,.
was tantalized then scandal- ~
ized by Jesus, we have al-
lowed ourselves to become
,, ,_f/ - ~:,/ ~ /

petty and superficial, feed-

i ,.it
/
ing off the anger of the like- ~ ~ - "
minded and rejecting the ' q~
...·,,
humanity of those with
whom we disagree. We have l 1.
'
walled ourselves off into
halls of mirrors reflecting our
own image, where your
truth can no longer pene-
trate.

PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, It took a pandemic for us to see that we are all your
creatures, struggling to find o,ur way In the world. We repent of
our habits of anger and envy. Teach us to see the dignity of eve-
ryone we meet, and to listen and respond to their lives with your
love. Amen.

Our Father... We know that whatever comes, the future is safe in

your hands. Amen.

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 EIGHTH STATION
JESUS MEETS THE WOMEN OF
JERUSALEM
Leader: We adore you O Christ and we praise you,

Response; Because by your holy cross and resurrection you have

redeemed the world.

Jesus faces the crowd of

women who are weeping in
sadness for his plight. But he
says, "Do not weep for me,
but weep for yourselves and
for your children." The ulti-
mate tragedy of Jesus'
suffering is not the pain he
endures, but the many peo-
ple who will refuse to accept
the offer of salvation that Is
the reason for his pain.

PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, help us see In
this pandemic not Just a
tragedy of human suffering,
but a tragedy of human
souls. Help us to weep not just for the difficulties the world fac-
es, but for the sins the world commits. We offer you the only
consolation you want: Our lives offered back to you. Meet us in
our pains and fears, and direct our lives once more to you.
Amen.

Our Father... We know that whatever comes, the future is safe in

your hands. Amen.

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 NINTH STATION
JESUS FALLS A THIRD TIME
Leader: We adore you O Christ and we praise you,

Response: Because by your holy cross and resurrection you have

redeemed the world.

Ome last time - even as the end is in sight - Jesus falls onc.e
again into the dirt. This time he Is knocked down by our sins of
sloth and lust. He struggles up to Calvary for us, but we so often
cannot be bothered to do even the minimum for him. He calls us
to greatness; we want only comfort. He offers his body to the
Father; we pamper our bodies. We realize in horror that he died
for the very people whose bodies we have treated as objects for
our pleasure.

PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, in this pan-
demic, we repent of our
sloth and lust. As those
around us suffer sickness,
ec.onomic hardship, and
death, give us the purity of
heart to see the true worth
of everyone we meet.
Grant us the grace to re-
pent of our past sins, and
to honor and defend your
image In others. Amen.

Our Father... We know·

th at whatever comes, the
future is safe In your
hands. Amen.

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 TENTH STATION
JESUS IS STRIPPED
Leader: We adere yeu O Christ and we praise you,

Response: Because by your holy cross and resurrection you have

redeemed the world.

Jesus .g oes to his Father

as he came into the
world. He has ne fine
clothes, ne mighty airs -
he is stripped bare before
God and man, with noth-
ing to hide his scars and
pain, showing the whole
werld that that while,
yes, Jesus Christ Is fully
God, he is also fully hu-
man. He Is one of us.

PRAYER
Lord Jesus, this pandem-
1.c has. stripped us of our
illusions. We were llke
the Emperor with no
clothes, putting on airs
and ignering our real predicament, imagining we were invinci-
ble.. May we learn from you to see o.urselves humbly and honest-
ly, stripped of preconceptions, and to see that our true worth is
that we are loved by Yeu. Amen.

Our Father... We know that whatever comes, the future is safe In

your hands. Amen.

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 ELEVENTH STATION
JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS
Leader: We adore you 0
Christ and we praise you,

Response: Because by your

holy cross and resurrection
you have redeemed the
world.

Here Is the last torture of

the mighty King: He is
pinned, helpless, to a
cross. The hands that cre-
ated the universe clutch at
the heads of nails. The feet
that walked on water,
stream blood onto a wood-
en block.

PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, the pandemic has left us feeling helpless In front of
the awful reality of suffering and pain. We are helpless to avoid
the suffering that keeps coming, pinned to the cross of clrcum-
stahce. We have no cure, no vaccine, and we lack resources to
heal and protect ourselves. We do not know where to go any-
more, guide us to you, who is our only assurance and hope. We
know when we are most helpless, w.e find you, embracing us.
Grant us cure, grant us medicine, and grant us your love. Amen.

Our Father... We know that whatever comes, the future is safe In

your hands. Amen.

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 TWELFTH STATION
JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS
Leader: We adore you 0
Christ and we praise you,

Response: Because by
your holy cross and resur-
rection you have re-
deemed the world.

And then It happens. The

unthinkable. The last
cries of anguish, the com-
missioning of his spirit to
God, and then the mighty
head that spoke such
beautiful words falls silent
and limp. The King has
died. This Is a greater fear
than any we could have
imagined, and It Is sud-
denly all too real: Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity,
is dead on a cross.

PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, none of us knows what we face In this pandemic. We
fear the worst. We fear death. And for some of us, that fear will
be realized. However, you have yourself suffered the thing that
is our greatest fear to reassure us that even If you call us there,
we will find you waiting, filled with love. Embrace us In our fear,
strengthen us In our weakness, may your death be truly our sal-
vation. Amen.

Our Father... We know that whatever comes, the future is safe in

your hands. Amen.

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 THIRTEENTH STATION
JESUS IS TAKEN DOWN FROM
THE CROSS
Leader: We adore you O Christ and we praise you,

Response: Because by your holy cross and resurrection you have

redeemed the world.

The pain stops at last when Jesus Christ has given the full meas-
ure of lave. He has carried the burden, he has been pushed and
prodded and driven to his death. There, at the end of the road,
his body ends where It began, In the laving embrace of his
mother.

PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, we have a long
road ahead of us In this pan-
demic. We will walk It ta the
end and though we do not
know what we will find, we
will walk by It with faith and
we will never give up, know-
ing that every road leads to
you. Grant us the grace to
be embraced by Your Moth-
er, as you have entrusted to
her. May Mary our Mother,
the star of the stormy sea
guide us safely to the shore
of hea.lth and goodness.
Amen.

Our Father... We know that

whatever c.emes, the future is safe In yaur hands. Amen.

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 FOURTEENTH STATION
JESUS IS BURIED
Leader: We adore you O Christ
and we praise you,

Response; Because by your holy

cross and resurrection you have
redeemed the world.

In the end, Jesus is buried in a

cave, and a rock Is pushed across
the mouth of the tomb. He is left
to rot. So often, the world has
done the same thing: Hidden
Jesus away, sealed him off from
polite society, and given up on his
love.. But our Lord will not decompose in the tomb. He will rise
again and will make himself present in the sacraments of the
Church: baptism, confession, the Eucharist, confirmation, our
marriages, holy orders and the sacrament of the sick. He is there
In the simple gestures of love, of care and of solidarity.

PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, so often the world has counted you down and out.
We hid you and took you for granted because we have so many
things we want to achieve. However, you always rise again. In
this time of pandemic, we pray for the physical cure our bodies
need, but thank you with all our heart for the spiritual cure that
you gave us on Easter. May Your victorious love protect and
strengthen those In the frontllnes of this battle against COVID-
19. May our pre.sent suffering lead us to love you even more in
your Church. Amen.

Our Father... We know that whatever comes, the future is safe in

your hands. Amen.

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 CONCLUSION

Hlsto.ry can verify that Jesus died but only faith recognizes the
Resurrection. There are different responses to the Resurrection:
the joyful women; the amazed Peter and John who run to the
tomb; and the doubtful Thomas who needs proof of real physi-
cal contact. We still get sick and die but Jesus has conquered all
of the.s e. Through His suffering, He shows us t he way, He teach-
es us the truth, and His offers us life eternal.
Jesus' message to the disciples was "Do not be afraid!" Seeing
the ris en Christ confirms the hope and the light after the dark-
ness of the passion and death. The personal experience of the
resurrection convinces the disciples that death has not t ri-
umphed o r ended their real and still living relationship with the
Lord. Evil and suffering will never triumph over good and love.

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 CLOSING PRAYER

At the conclusion of your way of the cross, we ask you, Lord, to

teach us to keep watch, together with your Mother and the
women who stood by you on Calvary, In expectation of your res-
urrection. Lord Jesus, these are such difficult and painful times.
We have walked your Way of the Cross with you, remembering
your sacrifice. Now we ask that you walk our Way of the Cross
with us, filling our liv,es with your love. We know that whatever
t:omes, the future Is safe In your hands. In the victory of the res-
urrection you have given us hope and strength. Grant healing
and speedy recovery for those who are sick, protection and
strength for our frontllners, enlightenment for those who are
searching for the cure, and the safety and peace of your people.
We ask these prayers with trust and humility. Amen.

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