Before the Stations
O MERCIFUL Saviour, grant that while we follow Thy blessed footsteps along this Way of Sorrow, our hearts may be so touched with true contrition that Thou mayest turn our weeping into gladness by giving us remission of all our sins. Amen.
or
O JESUS, our blessed Saviour, behold us prostrate at Thy feet, imploring thy mercy for ourselves and for the souls of all the faithful departed. Vouchsafe to apply to us the infinite merits of thy passion, upon which we are now about to meditate. Grant that, while we trace this path of sighs and tears, our heart(s) may be so touched with contrition and repentance, that we may be ready to embrace with joy all the crosses and sufferings and humiliations of this our life and pilgrimage. Amen
And the following may be added:
O MOST sorrowful Mother Mary, we pray thee lead us as we follow the way of the cross that thou first didst walk, and may the Most Glorious Trinity, receive and accept, in reparation of our sins, and the sins of the whole world, the expressions of sorrow and love, with which we intend, with God’s help, to perform this holy exercise. Amen.
After each Station say:
Act of Contrition
O GOD, we love thee with our whole hearts and above all things and are heartily sorry that we have offended thee. May we never offend thee any more. O, may we love thee without ceasing, and make it our delight to do in all things thy most holy will.
OUR Father …
HAIL, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art 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 Ghost: As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
V. Have mercy upon us, O Lord.
R. Have mercy upon us.
† May the souls of the faithful, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
+ FIRST STATION +
JESUS IS CONDEMNED TO DEATH
V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee.
R. Because by thy Holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
LEAVING the house of Ciaphas where he had been blasphemed, and the house of Herod where he had been mocked, Jesus is dragged before Pilate, his back torn with scourges, his head crowned with thorns; and he who on the last day will judge the living and the dead, is himself condemned to a shameful death.
It was for us that thou didst suffer, O blessed Jesus; it was for our sins thou wast condemned to die. Oh, grant that we may detest them from the bottom of our hearts, and by this repentance obtain Thy mercy and pardon.
Act of Contrition, etc.
Be the Cross sad vigil keeping,
Stood the Mother, doleful weeping,
Where her Son extended hung.
+ SECOND STATION +
JESUS RECEIVES THE CROSS
V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee.
R. Because by thy Holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
A HEAVY cross is laid upon the bruised shoulders of Jesus. He receives it with meekness, nay with a secret joy, for it is the instrument with which he is to redeem the world. What efforts do we make, on the other hand, to escape all suffering as far as we can?
O Jesus, grant us, by virtue of thy cross, to embrace with meekness and cheerful submission the difficulties of our state and to be ever ready to take up our cross and follow Thee.
Act of Contrition, etc.
For her soul of joy bereaved,
Smit with anguish, deeply grieved,
Lo, the piercing sword hath wrung.
+ THIRD STATION +
JESUS FALLS THE FIRST TIME UNDER THE WEIGHT OF THE CROSS
V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee.
R. Because by thy Holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
BOWED down under the weight of the Cross Jesus slowly sets forth on the way to Calvary, amidst the mockeries and insults of the crowd. His agony in the garden has exhausted his body; he is sore with blow and wounds; his strength fails him, he falls to the ground under the Cross.
O Jesus! Who for our sins didst bear the heavy burden of the cross and fall under its weight, may the thought of thy sufferings make us watchful over ourselves, and save us from any grievous fall into sin.
Act of Contrition, etc.
Oh, how sad and sore distressed
Now, was she that Mother blessed
Of the sole-begotten One!
+ FOURTH STATION +
JESUS MEETS HIS BLESSED MOTHER
V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee.
R. Because by thy Holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
STILL burdened with his cross, and wounded yet more by his fall, Jesus proceeds on his way. He is met by his Mother. What a meeting must that have been! What a sword of anguish must have pierced that Mother’s bosom! What must have been the compassion of that Son for his holy Mother!
O Jesus! by the compassion which thou didst feel for thy Mother, have compassion on us and give us a share in her intercession. O Mary, most afflicted Mother! Intercede for us, that through the sufferings of thy Son we may be delivered from the wrath to come.
Act of Contrition, etc.
Woe begone with heart’s prostration,
Mother, meek, the bitter Passion
Saw she of her glorious Son.
+ FIFTH STATION +
THE CROSS IS LAID ON SIMON OF CYRENE
V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee.
R. Because by thy Holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
AS the strength of Jesus fails, and he is unable to proceed, the executioners seize and compel Simon of Cyrene to carry His cross. The virtue of that cross changed his heart, and from being a compulsory task it became a privilege and joy.
O Lord Jesus! may it be our privilege also to bear thy cross; may we glory in nothing else; by it may the world be crucified unto us and we unto us and we unto the world; may we never shrink from suffering, but rather rejoice if we be counted worthy to suffer for thy Name’s sake.
Act of Contrition, etc.
Who on Christ’s fond Mother looking,
Such extreme afflictionbrooking,
Born of a woman, would not weep?
+ SIXTH STATION +
ST. VERONICA WIPES THE FACE OF JESUS
V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee.
R. Because by thy Holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
AS Jesus proceed on the way, covered with the sweat of death, a woman moved with compassion makes her way through the crowd and wipes his face with her veil. As a reward of her piety, the impression of his sacred countenance is miraculously imprinted upon the veil.
O Jesus! may the contemplation of thy suffering move us with the deepest compassion, make us to hate our sins, and kindle in our hearts more fervent love of thee. May thy image be graven on our minds, until we are transformed into thy likeness.
Act of Contrition, etc.
Who on Christ’s fond Mother thinking,
With her Son in sorrow sinking,
Would not share her sorrows deep?
+ SEVENTH STATION +
JESUS FALLS THE SECOND TIME
V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee.
R. Because by thy Holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
THE pain of his wounds and the loss of blood increasing at every step of his way, again his strength fails him and Jesus falls to the ground a second time. Our pride has caused his fall, it is our insolent haughtiness which crushes him to the earth.
O Jesus! falling again under the burden of our sins, and of thy sufferings for our sins, how often have we grieved thee by our repeated falls in to sin! Oh, may we rather die than offend thee again!
Act of Contrition, etc.
For His People’s sins rejected,
She her Jesus unprotected
Saw with thorns, with scourges rent.
+ EIGHTH STATION +
THE WOMEN OF JERUSALEM MOURN FOR OUR LORD
V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee.
R. Because by thy Holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
AT the sight of the sufferings of Jesus, some holy women in the crowd were so touched with sympathy that they openly bewail and lament him. Jesus, knowing the things that were to come to pass, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.”
O Lord Jesus, we mourn and will mourn both for thee and for ourselves, for thy sufferings and for our sins which caused them. Oh, teach us so to mourn that we may be comforted, and escape those judgments prepared for all who reject thee.
Act of Contrition, etc.
Saw her Son from judgment taken,
Her beloved in death forsaken,
Till his Spirit forth he sent.
+ NINTH STATION +
JESUS FALLS THE THIRD TIME UNDER THE CROSS
V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee.
R. Because by thy Holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
JESUS has now arrived almost at the summit of Calvary, but before he reached the spot where he was to be crucified, his strength again fails him and he falls the third time, to be again dragged up and goaded onward by the brutal soldiery.
O Lord Jesus, we entreat thee, by the merits of this thy third most painful fall, to pardon our frequent relapses and our long continuance in sin; and may the thought of these thy sufferings make us hate our sins more and more.
Act of Contrition, etc.
Fount of love and holy sorrow,
Mother, may my spirit borrow
Somewhat of thy woe profound.
+ TENTH STATION +
JESUS IS STRIPPED OF HIS GARMENTS
V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee.
R. Because by thy Holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
ARRIVED at last at the place of sacrifice they prepare to crucify him. His garments are torn from his bleeding body, and he, the Holy of holies, stands exposed to the vulgar gaze of the rude and scoffing multitude.
O Lord Jesus, thou didst endure this shame for our most shameful deeds. Strip us, we beseech thee, of all false shame, conceit and pride, and make us so to humble ourselves voluntarily in this life, that we may escape everlasting shame in the world to come.
Act of Contrition, etc.
Unto Christ with pure emotion
May I raise my heart’s devotion,
Love to read in every wound.
+ ELEVENTH STATION +
JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS
V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee.
R. Because by thy Holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
THE cross is laid upon the ground and Jesus is stretched upon his bed of death. At one and the same time he offers his bruised limbs to his heavenly Father in behalf of sinful men, and to his fierce executioners to be nailed by them to the shameful wood. The blows are struck! The Precious Blood streams forth!
O Jesus! nailed to the cross, fasten our hearts there also, that they may be united to thee until death shall strike us with its fatal blow, and with our last breath we shall have yielded up our souls to thee.
Act of Contrition, etc.
Those five wounds of Jesus smitten,
Mother! In my heart be written,
Deep as in thine own they be.
+ TWELFTH STATION +
JESUS DIES UPON THE CROSS
V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee.
R. Because by thy Holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
FOR three hours has Jesus hung upon his pierced hands; his blood has run down in streams; and in the midst of excruciating sufferings, he has pardoned his murderers, promised the bliss of Paradise to the good thief, and committed his blessed Mother and Beloved Disciple to each other’s care. All is now finished; and meekly bowing his head, he gives up the ghost.
O Jesus! we devoutly embrace that honored cross where though didst love us even unto death. In that death we place all our confidence. Henceforth let us live only for thee; and in dying for thee let us dies loving thee.
Act of Contrition, etc.
Thou, my Saviour’s Cross who bearest,
Thou, thy Son’s rebuke who sharest,
Let me share them both with thee.
+ THIRTEENTH STATION +
JESUS IS TAKEN DOWN FROM THE CROSS
V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee.
R. Because by thy Holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
THE multitude have left the heights of Calvary and none remain save the Beloved Disciple and the holy women, who at the foot of the cross are striving to stem the grief of Christ’s most loving Mother. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus take the body of her divine Son from the cross, and deposit it in her arms.
O Mary, blessed Mother of my God, thou bearest in thine arms thing only Son, now dead, who often rested his head in sleep upon thy breast. Pray for us, that as thou holdest him lifeless in death, he may bear us up in the hour of our death in his everlasting arms.
Act of Contrition, etc.
Mine with thee be that sad station,
There to watch the great salvation
Wrought upon the atoning tree.
+ FOURTEENTH STATION +
JESUS IS LAID IN THE SEPULCHRE
V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee.
R. Because by thy Holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
THE body of her dearly beloved Son is taken from his mother, and laid by the disciples in the tomb. The tomb is closed, and there the lifeless body remains until the hour of its glorious resurrection.
We too, O God, will descend into the grave whenever it shall please thee, as it shall please thee, and wheresoever it shall please thee. Suffer our sinful bodies to return to their parent dust; but do thou, in thy great mercy, receive our immortal souls, and when our bodies have risen again place them likewise in the kingdom, that we may love and bless thee forever and ever. Amen.
Act of Contrition, etc.
To my parting soul be given
Entrance at the gate of Heaven,
And in Paradise a place.
Then the following Antiphon and prayer are said:
Antiphon. Christ became obedient unto death for us, even the death of the Cross.
Let us pray.
ALMIGHTY God, we beseech thee graciously to behold this thy family for which our Lord Jesus Christ was contented to be betrayed, and given up into the hands of wicked men, and to suffer death upon the Cross; Who now liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, ever, one God, world without end. Amen.
