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THE WAY OF THE CROSS

MEDITATION GUIDE A moment of silence before the start of the meditation.

ON THE Leader: In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
All: Amen.
Leader: In going this way of the cross with You, O Jesus, we wish to reflect on
what You endured to redeem us. We wish to realize more fully that You
are the One Mediator between God and men, giving Yourself as ransom
PASSION
for all (1 Tm 2:5), the Mediator of the new covenant through whom we
receive an eternal inheritance (Hb 9:15). Through Your blood, we have
OF THE our redemption, the remission of sins, according to the riches of Your
grace (Ep 1: 7,8).
CROSS All: Power went out from You, and You healed all when the crowd endeavored
to come in touch with You (Lk 6:19). Let Your power go out to us now as
we endeavor to come in touch with You in this holy devotion...
Leader: Our Father…
All: Give us this day…
Leader: Lord Jesus crucified.
All: Have mercy on us.
IMPORTANT PRAYERS Song: At the cross her station keeping, stood the mournful mother weeping, close
to Jesus to the last.
The Lord’s Prayer st
Our Father who are in heaven. Holy be Your name. Your kingdom come Your The 1 Station: JESUS IS CONDEMNED TO DEATH
will be done on earth as it is in heaven… Leader: We adore You O Christ and we praise You;
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who All: Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world!
sin against us. Do not bring us to the test but deliver us from evil. Amen. Leader: Pilate spoke to them again, wishing to release Him. But they kept shouting:
"Crucify him! Crucify him!" Yet a third time he spoke to them. "Why? what
Hail Mary evil has this man done? I find no crime deserving of death in Him." But they
Hail Mary full of grace the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and persisted with loud cries, demanding that He should be crucified. And their
blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus… cries prevailed (Lk 23: 20-23).
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. All: My voice, too, was in that cry. It must now be a voice of repentance and
Amen. reparation. "Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice."
For with You is forgiveness and plenteous redemption (Ps 129). With the
Glory Be psalmist I plead: "Have mercy on me, O God, in Your goodness; in the
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit… greatness of Your compassion wipe out all my offenses. Thoroughly wash
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. me from my guilt, and of my sin cleanse me (Ps 50: 3,4).
Leader: Our Father…
All: Give us this day…
Leader: Lord Jesus crucified.
All: Have mercy on us.
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Song: At the cross her station keeping, stood the mournful mother weeping, close Song: At the cross her station keeping, stood the mournful mother weeping, close
to Jesus to the last. to Jesus to the last.
nd th
The 2 Station: JESUS TAKES UP HIS CROSS The 4 Station: JESUS MEETS HIS AFFLICTED MOTHER
Leader: We adore You O Christ and we praise You; Leader: We adore You O Christ and we praise You;
All: Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world! All: Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
Leader: And so they took Jesus and led Him away" (Jn 19:16). The hard, dead Leader: She had accompanied Him on several of His apostolic journeys; now she
wood of the cross was laid on Him. He accepted it willingly, even eagerly. wanted to accompany Him on His sacrificial journey to Calvary. She was
For on this dead wood of the cross He would bring forth life, the associated with Him in His mysteries, in that of His sacred passion. She
supernatural life for countless souls. His death on the cross would be the insisted on going with Him all the way.
ransom for the life of the world. All: Go also with us, Mother Mary, on our earthly journey to bring us ever
All: One with the wood of the cross is the Son of God who has been given to closer to your Divine Son. Do not abandon us, banished children of Eve.
us. Now "He who has the Son has life" says St John (1 Jn 5:12); for He You are full of grace, the Virgin most faithful and powerful, our Mother most
came into this world that we may have life and have it in abundance (Jn amiable and admirable, the consolation of the afflicted, the help of
10:10). Hence, we should be able to say with St Paul, "It is now no longer I Christians. He who finds you finds life and wins favor with the Lord (Pr
that live, but Christ lives in me" (Gal 2:20). 8.35).
Leader: Our Father… Leader: Our Father…
All: Give us this day… All: Give us this day…
Leader: Lord Jesus crucified. Leader: Lord Jesus crucified.
All: Have mercy on us. All: Have mercy on us.
Song: At the cross her station keeping, stood the mournful mother weeping, close Song: Through her heart His sorrow sharing, all His bitter anguish bearing, now at
to Jesus to the last. length the sword had passed.
rd th
The 3 Station: JESUS FALLS THE FIRST TIME The 5 Station: THE CROSS IS LAID ON SIMON OF CYRENE
Leader: We adore You O Christ and we praise You; Leader: We adore You O Christ and we praise You;
All: Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world! All: Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
Leader: However, eager He was to carry the cross, He soon felt its persistent Leader: “And they forced a certain passer-by, Simon of Cyrene, coming from the
pressure. For the cross was a heavy burden and the rough road made country to take up His Cross" (Mk 15:21). For Simon the cross was a
every step unsteady. Overcome by the oppressive burden and the haste detestable thing, and to carry it, an outrageous imposition. But as it was, he
with which they lashed Him on, He fell to the ground. carried the cross of Christ, the precious instrument of our salvation.
All: We are burdened in body and mind. Illness and weariness, and the haste All: “The doctrine of the cross is foolishness to those who perish, but to those
of our day, the obligations of our walks in life, are the burdens we have to who are saved, it is the power of God" (1 Cor 1:18). Hence, we must learn
carry. But they should not dishearten us. For Jesus calls to us. "Come to to say with St Paul: "God forbid that I should glory except in the cross of
Me all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. For My our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world is crucified to me, and I to
yoke is easy and My burden light (Mt 11:28,30)". And while "each one has the world" (Gal 6:140). In every tribulation that comes to us, we must
his own load to carry," we should also "help bear one another's burdens" recognize the cross of Christ.
(Gal 6:2,5). Leader: Our Father…
Leader: Our Father… All: Give us this day…
All: Give us this day… Leader: Lord Jesus crucified.
Leader: Lord Jesus crucified. All: Have mercy on us.
All: Have mercy on us.. Song: Through her heart His sorrow sharing, all His bitter anguish bearing, now at
length the sword had passed.
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th
The 6 Station: VERONICA WIPES THE FACE OF JESUS Leader: In the large crowd of people to follow Jesus were devoted women who
Leader: We adore You O Christ and we praise You; bewailed and lamented their beloved Master. Jesus turned to them and
All: Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world. gave them salutary words of warning and instructions on what was to
Leader: When she caught sight of Him, staggering under the cross, she hastened overtake the ungrateful city of Jerusalem (Lk 23::27, 30).
to bring Him relief. Mindful of the singular benefits He had showered upon All: Let me ever hear and obey Your words, O Jesus, in the teachings of the
her people and brooking no opposition, she rushed through the crowd and Church and Sacred Scripture. "He who is of God," You declared, "hear the
wiped His bloody and grimy face with her veil. Word of God" (Jn 8:47). And Your heavenly Father told us to listen to You
All: I can render a similar service to our Lord by performing the corporal and (Mt 17:5). Therefore, "Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening" (1 Kings
spiritual works of mercy for my fellowmen, for He said: "As long as you did 3:9). "I am a way-farer of earth, hide not Your commands from me" (Ps
it for one of these, the least of My brethren, you did it for Me" (Mt 25:40). In 118:29).
dealing with my neighbor I must resemble Jesus who said that He came Leader: Our Father…
into the world, not to be served but to serve (Mk 10:45). All: Give us this day…
Leader: Our Father… Leader: Lord Jesus crucified.
All: Give us this day… All: Have mercy on us.
Leader: Lord Jesus crucified. Song: Oh, how sad and sore distressed was that mother highly blessed of the
All: Have mercy on us. sole begotten one!
Song: Through her heart His sorrow sharing, all His bitter anguish bearing, now at
th
length the sword had passed. The 9 Station: JESUS FALLS THE THIRD TIME
Leader: We adore You O Christ and we praise You;
th
The 7 Station: JESUS FALLS THE SECOND TIME All: Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
Leader: We adore You O Christ and we praise You; Leader: His strength failed Him. He had sweat blood in the Garden of Gethsemani;
All: Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world. He had been dragged before Caiphas and Pilate; He had been scourged
Leader: “We have gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; but the Lord and crowned with thorns. And all the while, He was harassed and deprived
laid upon Him the guilt of us all" (Is 53:6). "For our sake, God made Him of nourishment. Utterly exhausted, He now lay prostrate on the ground.
who knew no sin, the bearer of sin so that in Him, we might become All: Keep me, O Lord, from becoming spiritually exhausted. To uphold me, You
bearers of God's holiness" (2 Cor 5;21). So, laden with sin, Jesus fell have provided me with the power and refreshment of the Sacraments; and
again. You assured the Apostle that "strength is made perfect in weakness" (2
All: Sin is the enemy of God. It denies the holiness and supremacy of God and Cor 12:9). I must realize that "my strength and my courage is the Lord" (Ps
refuses Him the honor due to Him. Sin is also our Chief enemy. Lord, let us 117:14), and that "They who hope in the Lord will renew their strength; they
share in the lot of saints, and rescue us from the power of darkness and will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint" (Is 40:81).
transfer us into Your kingdom, where our redemption, the remission of our Leader: Our Father…
sins (Col 1:12,13). All: Give us this day…
Leader: Our Father… Leader: Lord Jesus crucified.
All: Give us this day… All: Have mercy on us.
Leader: Lord Jesus crucified. Song: Oh, how sad and sore distressed was that mother highly blessed of the
All: Have mercy on us. sole begotten one!
Song: Through her heart His sorrow sharing, all His bitter anguish bearing, now at
th
length the sword had passed. The 10 Station: JESUS IS STRIPPED OF HIS GARMENTS
Leader: We adore You O Christ and we praise You;
th
The 8 Station: THE WOMEN OF JERUSALEM WEEP OVER JESUS All: Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
Leader: We adore You O Christ and we praise You;
All: Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
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23:46) [a moment of silence ... pray… "Greater love than this no one has,
Leader: They tore the garments from His body and so renewed the thousand that one lay down his life for his friends" (Jn 15:13).
wounds inflicted on Him in the cruel scourging. Then "They divided His All: “In this we have come to know His love, that He laid down His life for us" (1
garments among them by drawing lots" (Lk 23:34). Jesus was stripped of Jn 3:16). Lord, You said that once You were lifted up from the earth, You
His garments; He was stripped of all honor, condemned as He was to die would draw all men to Yourself (Jn 12:32). Draw me to Yourself and make
on the cross. "He was classed with wrongdoers" (Mk 15:28). me radiate your love to all I come in contact with. May Your love ever impel
All: I must strip myself of all that is unsightly in the eyes of God as well as of all me, for we no longer live for ourselves, but for You who died for us all (2
doings and singularities which are offensive in the eyes of my fellowmen, I Cor 5:14,15).
must heed the words of the Apostle "You are to put off your old self, with its Leader: Our Father…
former habits, and put on the new self which has been created according All: Give us this day…
to God in justice and holiness of truth" (Eph 4:22,24). Leader: Lord Jesus crucified.
Leader: Our Father… All: Have mercy on us.
All: Give us this day… Song: Christ above in all torment hangs, she beneath behold the pangs, of her
Leader: Lord Jesus crucified. dying glorious son.
All: Have mercy on us.
th
Song: Oh, how sad and sore distressed was that mother highly blessed of the The 13 Station: THE BODY OF JESUS IS TAKEN
sole begotten one! DOWN FROM THE CROSS
Leader: We adore You O Christ and we praise You;
th
The 11 Station: JESUS IS CRUCIFIED All: Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
Leader: We adore You O Christ and we praise You; Leader: "Now there stood beside the cross His mother" (Jn 19:25). She wanted to
All: Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world. be with Him to the end. When His body was taken from the cross, she
Leader: And when they reach the place called Golgotha or “the Skull”, they received it into her arms. She was His Mother, and now she was also our
crucified Him there (Lk 23:33). Christ delivered Himself for us as an Mother, given to us by her dying Son.
offering to God, a sacrifice that has an agreeable fragrance (Eph 5:2). He All: Show yourself our Mother, blessed Virgin Mary, and be with us to the end.
who had joy set before Him endured the cross (Heb 12:2). "Christ, our Turn then, most gracious advocate, your eyes of mercy toward us, and
paschal victim, has been crucified!" (1 Cor 5:7). after this our exile show us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus. O
All: The sacrifice of the cross is renewed on our altars. In every mass, Jesus clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. You are full of grace, and the Lord
offers Himself anew for us to His heavenly Father. To make the Mass is with you. Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
meaningful, I have to lead a sacrificial life, ever willing to spend myself for Leader: Our Father…
Christ, His Church, and my fellowmen. The Apostle exhorts us to present All: Give us this day…
our bodies as a sacrifice, living, holy, pleasing to God (Rom 12:1). Leader: Lord Jesus crucified.
Leader: Our Father… All: Have mercy on us.
All: Give us this day… Song: Christ above in all torment hangs, she beneath behold the pangs, of her
Leader: Lord Jesus crucified. dying glorious son.
All: Have mercy on us.
th
Song: Christ above in all torment hangs, she beneath behold the pangs, of her The 14 Station: THE BODY OF JESUS IS LAID IN THE TOMB
dying glorious son. Leader: We adore You O Christ and we praise You;
All: Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
th
The 12 Station: JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS Leader: Joseph of Arimathea "took Him down from the cross, wrapped Him in a
Leader: We adore You O Christ and we praise You; linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut out of the rock" (Lk 23:53). "It is now
All: Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world. completed," said Jesus on the cross (Jn 19:30). Completed was the
Leader: At last, Jesus cried out with a loud voice and said, "Father, into Your hands sacrifice of our redemption; restored was the honor and glory of God.
I commend my Spirit". Having said this, He expired (Lk
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All: I must always strive to do everything for the honor and glory of God. For ISAIAH 55
"All things, humans are like grass, and all their glory like the bloom of
grass" (1 Pt 1:24). Therefore, "Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your
name give glory" (Ps 133:1). "Worthy are You, O Lord our God, to receive 1-2 All you who are thirsty, come to the water!
glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will You who have no money, come, receive grain and
they came into being" (Apoc 4:11).
Leader: Our Father… eat; Come, without paying and without cost, drink
All: Give us this day… wine and milk! Why spend your money for what
Leader: Lord Jesus crucified. is not bread; your wages for what fails to
All: Have mercy on us.
Song: Who is Christ's dear Mother gazing, pierced by anguish so amazing, born satisfy? Heed me, and you shall eat well, you
of woman, would not weep? shall delight in rich fare.
Leader: We adore You O Christ and we praise You;
All: Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
6 Seek the LORD while he may be found, call him
Closing Prayer while he is near.
(all together)

Having gone with You on the Way of the Cross, O Jesus, we have come to realize 8- 9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor
that we are redeemed, not with perishable goods, but with Your precious blood (1 are your ways my ways, says the LORD. As high
Pet 1:18). You became "a merciful and faithful high priest before God to expiate the
sins of the people" (Heb 2:17). You laid down Your life for us, and You took up again
as the heavens are above the earth, so high are
(Jn 10:18), when You rose gloriously from the dead. my ways above your ways and my thoughts above
your thoughts.
We will take up our cross daily and follow You, convinced that if we share in Your
suffering, we shall also share in the glory of Your resurrection (Phil 3:10,11). For if
we have been united with Him in the likeness of His death, we shall be so in the 10-11 For just as from the heavens the rain and
likeness of His resurrection also" (Rm 6:5). AMEN. snow come down And do not return there till
Leader: Lord Jesus crucified. they have watered the earth, making it fertile
All: Have mercy on us. and fruitful, Giving seed to him who sows and
Leader: Our final blessing, all together: bread to him who eats, So shall my word be
All: May the Lord bless us and keep us; may the Lord let His face shine upon
us and be gracious unto us; may the Lord lift up His countenance upon us that goes forth from my mouth; It shall not
and grant us peace. return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving
Leader: In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
All: AMEN.
the end for which I sent it.