THE WAY OF THE CROSS dead, is himself condemned to a disgraceful

death.
Preparatory Prayers
Prayer
O Jesus, our adorable Savior, we now
contemplate Your sacred passion. Help us to It was for us that You did suffer, O Blessed
understand that the sufferings of our life are the Jesus. It was for our sins that You were
continuation of Your passion. We ask for condemned to die. Oh, grant that we may detest
strength of our souls to go through our passion, our sins from the bottom of our hearts, and
in the spirit with which You went through obtain your mercy and pardon by repentance.
Yours. Amen. Our Father. . . May the soul . ..
Lord Jesus crucified have mercy on us.
Have mercy on us, O Lord.
Most merciful Lord, with a contrite heart and May the soul of the faithful departed . .
penitent spirit I bow down before Thy divine
Majesty. I adore Thee as my supreme Lord and Station 2 Jesus is laden with the Cross
Master. I believe in Thee, I hope in Thee, I
love Thee above all things. I am heartily sorry We adore You, . .
for having offended Thee, my only and Because by Your Holy Cross .. .
supreme God. I firmly resolve to amend my
life; and although I am unworthy to obtain Reflection: A heavy cross is laid upon the
mercy, yet looking upon Thy holy Cross I am bruised shoulders of Jesus. He receives it with
filled with peace and consolation. I will, meekness and with a sense of commitment, for it
therefore, meditate on Thy sufferings, and visit is the instrument with which he is to redeem the
the Stations in company with Thy sorrowful world and to accomplish the mission for which
Mother and my holy Guardian Angel, to his heavenly Father has sent him.
promote Thy honor and to save my soul. *
Prayer
I desire to gain all indulgences granted to this O Jesus, grant us, by virtue of your cross, to
holy exercise * for myself and for the souls in embrace with meekness and cheerful submission
Purgatory. the difficulties of our life, and to be ever ready
to take up our cross and follow You.
O Loving Jesus, inflame my cold heart with
Thy love, that I may perform this devotion as Our Father
perfectly as possible, and that I may live and die Lord Jesus crucified .. ..
in union with Thee. Amen. May the soul of the faithful departed . . .

Station 1 Jesus is condemned to death

Station 3 Jesus falls for the first time
We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You.
We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You . . .
Because by Your Holy Cross, You have .
redeemed the world. Reflection: Bowed down under the weight of the
cross, Jesus slowly sets forth on the way to
Reflection: Leaving the house of Caiaphas, Calvary, amidst the mockeries and insults of the
where he had been blasphemed, and the house of crowd. His agony in the garden has exhausted
Herod, where he had been been mocked, Jesus is his body. He is lacerated with blows and
dragged before Pilate, his back torn with wounds; his strength fails Him. He falls to the
scourges, his head crowned with thorns; and he, ground under his cross.
who on the last day will judge the living and the
Prayer
O Jesus, who for our sins did bear the heavy Prayer
burden of the cross and did fall under its weight, O Lord Jesus, may it be our privilege to bear our
may the thoughts of your suffering make us cross. May we glory in nothing else; by the
watchful over ourselves and save us from any cross, may the world be crucified unto us, and
grievous fall into sin. Our Father . . . we unto the world. Help us not to complain of
our own suffering but to take it as our humble
Lord Jesus crucified . . . offering for Your own intention and for the
May the soul .. . spread of your kingdom and your reign. Our
Father
Station 4 Jesus meets his Blessed Mother Lord Jesus crucified
May the soul of the faithful departed
We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You . ..
Station 6 Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
Reflection: Still burdened with his cross, and
wounded yet more by his fall, Jesus continues We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You...
His way to calvary. His loving mother meets
Him amid an impious rabble who drag Him to a Reflection: As Jesus proceeds along the way
cruel death, wounded, torn by stripes, crowned covered with the sweat of blood, a woman,
with thorns, streaming with blood , bearing His moved with compassion, makes her way through
heavy cross. What must have Jesus felt at seeing the crowd, and wipes his face with a
the grief of her sorrowful mother. The prophesy handkerchief. As a reward for her piety, the
of Simeon that sword shall pierce her heart and impression of His sacred countenance is
soul for the fall and the resurrection of many in miraculously imprinted upon the handkerchief.
Israel.
Prayer
Prayer
O Jesus, may the contemplation of your
O Jesus, by the compassion which You did feel sufferings move us with deep compassion. Make
for You Mother, have compassion on us, and us hate our sins and kindle in our hearts, more
give us a share in her intercession. O Mary, most fervent love for You. May your image be graven
afflicted mother, intercede for us that, through on our minds until we are transformed into Your
the sufferings of your Son, we may be delivered likeness.
from eternal death. Our Father .. .
Our Father .. . Lord Jesus crucified
Lord Jesus crucified May the soul of the faithful departed . . .
May the soul of the faithful departed . . .

Station 5 Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to Station 7 Jesus falls beneath His cross, the
carry the cross second time

We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You... We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You

As the strength of Jesus fails, and he is unable to Reflection: The pain of his wounds; and the loss
proceed, the executioners seize and compel of blood increasing at every step of his way,
Simon of Cyrene to carry His cross. The grace weakens him; and Jesus falls to the ground for
of that cross changes the Cyreneans heart and the second time.
from the compulsory task, it becomes a privilege
and joy.

Prayer
O Jesus, who did fall a second time beneath the sin. May the thought of Your sufferings make us
load of our sins and of your suffering for our hate our sins more and more.
sins, how often have we grieved you by our Our Father .. .
repeated falls into sin! Have mercy on us. Give Lord Jesus crucified
us strength and the courage to rise again every May the soul of the faithful departed . . .
time we fall because of our sin.
Our Father .. . Station 10 Jesus is stripped of His garments
Lord Jesus crucified
May the soul of the faithful departed . . . We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You

Station 8 Jesus consoles the women of Reflection: Jesus at last arrives at Golgotha and
Jerusalem they prepare to crucify Him. Theystrip Him of
His garments and mock Him.
We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You...
Prayer
Reflection: At the sight of the sufferings O Jesus, strip us of all false esteem, conceit and
of Jesus, some holy women in the crowd were pride and make us humble like you in this life,
so touched with sympathy that they openly so that we share your glory with you in the life
bewailed and lamented for Him. Jesus, knowing to come.
the things that would befall Jerusalem because Our Father .. .
of its rejection of him, turned to them and said, Lord Jesus crucified
Daughters of Jerusalem, weep for yourselves May the soul of the faithful departed . . .
and for your children.
Station 11 Jesus is nailed to the cross
Prayer
We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You
O Jesus, we mourn and will always mourn for
you and for ourselves, for your sufferings and Reflection: The cross is laid upon the ground
for our sins which caused them. Oh, teach us to and Jesus is stretched upon His bed of death.
mourn, so that we may repent and be saved from With divine dignity and forgiveness, he lets
the dreadful end to those who reject or neglect himself be nailed to the cross. The blows are
you, their God and their all. struck! The blood gushes forth!
Our Father .. .
Lord Jesus crucified Prayer
May the soul of the faithful departed . . . O Jesus, nailed to the cross, fasten our hearts to
the cross, so that we may be united with you
Station 9 Jesus falls beneath His cross the until we yield up our souls to you.
third time Our Father .. .
Lord Jesus crucified
We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You May the soul of the faithful departed . . .

Reflection: Jesus has almost arrived at the Station 12 Jesus dies on the cross
summit of Calvary, but before he reaches the
spot where he is to be crucified, his strength We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You...
again fails Him, and he falls the third time. All: Because by Your Holy Cross, You have
redeemed the world.
Prayer For three hours, Jesus has hung upon His pierced
O Jesus, we entreat you by the merit of this your hands. His blood has run in streams down his
third and most painful fall, to pardon our body, and onto the ground. In the midst of
frequent relapses and our long continuance in excruciating suffering, he has pardoned his
murderers, given heaven to the good thief, and
committed his blessed mother to his beloved
disciples care. His mission of love has been We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You
accomplished. He bows his head and gives up
his Spirit to God. Reflection: The Virgin Mary accompanied her
Son Jesus all the way of the cross, while those
Prayer with little faith fled, believing that everything had
O Jesus, we devoutly embrace your saving cross, come to an end. They thought that the one in
on which you died so that we may have eternal whom they had put their trust was now at the
life. We hail your cross, and lovingly accept our point of death. At the end of his painful agony,
own. his time had arrived. He bent his head and he
Our Father .. . died (Jn 19: 30). Joseph of Arimathea took his
Lord Jesus crucified body and buried it in honour. Mary accompanied
May the soul of the faithful departed . . . the sacred body of her Son to the grave, and
saw how they closed the tomb with a big stone.
Station 13 Jesus is taken down from the
cross
We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You Prayer
Lord, Your suffering is over. You have
Reflection: The multitudes have left the hill of triumphed, though in the eyes of men, you may
Calvary. There is no one except the beloved seem to have failed. Sin, death and hell have
disciple of Jesus and the holy women with Mary, been conquered. The world is Yours, I am
the mother of Jesus. Joseph of Arimathea, a Yours. Be the King of my heart. I surrender
disciple of Jesus but secretly because he feared myself to your Holy Will. May Your kingdom
the Jews and Nicodemus, the one who once come.
visited Jesus at the night take down the body of
Jesus from the cross and place him in the arms O Mary, who suffered greatly, we come before
of his afflicted mother. The two of them you as our refuge and our shield so that you
wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. may intercede for us. We offer you our Church
This was in accordance with Jewish burial so that you can intervene in all the difficulties it
customs. (Jn 19: 38-40)
is going through: the discouragement of the
faithful, especially those you have chosen to be
Prayer
your beloved in a particular way, the persecution
O Mary, mother of Jesus, your grief was so
of the faithful in various parts of the world, the
great, being a helpless witness to the savage way
constant decline of faith among Christians.
your Son was put to death. By his death and
resurrection, we have become your children in
Jesus. Help us by your intercession to be like
Our Father .. .
your son Jesus.
Lord Jesus crucified
Mary, mother of incarnate Word, obtain for me
May the soul of the faithful departed . . .
from your Son the grace of faith.
Mary, mother of sorrows, obtain for me from
Concluding Prayer
your Son the grace of perseverance.
Mary, mother of sorrows, give me the grace to Heavenly Father, we have contemplated your
accept the cross in my life as a gift from God Son, Jesus, on his Way of the Cross, in his Spirit
which you have gifted to us. We accept our way
Our Father .. . of the cross. We know it will lead us to, where it
Lord Jesus crucified led him to, our resurrection with him. We thank
May the soul of the faithful departed . . . You for the joy of this vision of faith.
Station 14 Jesus is laid in the Holy For the intention of Pope Francis: Our Father
Sepulchre
Prayer to the Holy Cross

Oh, Adorable Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, You have suffered death on the
Cross for our sins.
Oh, Holy Cross of Jesus, be my true light!
Oh, Holy Cross, fill my soul with good thoughts.
Oh, Holy Cross, ward off from me all things that are evil.
Oh, Holy Cross, ward off from me all dangers and deaths and give me life
everlasting!
Oh, Crucified Jesus of Nazareth, have mercy on me now and forever.
In honor of the Precious Blood of Jesus, his death, resurrection and
ascension which leads to everlasting life; true as Jesus was born on
Christmas Day; true as Jesus was crucified on Good Friday; true as Joseph
and Nicodemus took Jesus down from the cross and buried Him; true as
Jesus ascended into Heaven; may He preserve me from my enemies visible
and invisible forever.
Oh, Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me! Mary and Joseph pray for me.
Lord Jesus Christ, through Your suffering the Cross grant me strength to
bear my Cross without fear or dread and give me the grace that I may follow
You. Amen.