SCRIPTURAL
WAY OF THE CROSS
FIRST STATION: THE LAST SUPPER (Matt
26:26-29)
All: We adore you, O Christ,
and we praise you,
because by your holy cross you have redeemed
the world.
Reader: Now as they were eating, Jesus took
some bread, and when he had said the blessing he broke it and gave it to the
disciples. “Take it and eat;” he said, “this is my body.” Then he took a cup,
and when he had returned thanks he gave it to them. ”Drink all of you from
this”, he said, “for this is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which is to
be poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. From now on, I tell you, I
shall not drink wine until the day I drink the new wine with you in the kingdom
of my Father.”
Response: Jesus, you permit me to share in
your supper. You come to me through the Eucharist. With the blessing you bring,
I will be more conscious of your support, as I take up my cross daily. In the
strength of your Spirit, I shall follow the path you have laid out for me.
SECOND STATION: THE
All: We adore you, O Christ,
and we praise you,
because by your holy cross you have redeemed
the world.
Reader: Then Jesus came with them to a
small estate called
Response: Lord Jesus, awaken me; make me
aware of my frailty; strengthen my will so that I may not sleep as the
disciples did, but keep you company. Help me to see clearly what you would like
me to do. I submit myself to you, my Lord and my God.
THIRD STATION: JESUS BEFORE THE SANHEDRIN (Lk 22:66-71)
All: We adore you, O Christ,
and we praise you,
because by your holy cross you have redeemed
the world.
Reader: When day broke there was a meeting
of the elders of the people, attended by the chief priests and scribes. He was
brought before their council, and they said to him, “If you are the Christ,
tell us”. “If I tell you”, he replied, “you will not believe me, and if I
question you, you will not answer. But from now on, the Son of Man will be
seated at the right hand of the Power of God.” Then they all said, “So you are
the Son of God then?” He answered, “It is you who say I am”. “What need of
witnesses have we now?” they said. “We have heard it for ourselves from his own
lips.”
Response: Jesus, your words found no place in
their hearts. Anxious to condemn you, they showed no love for your teaching.
Where are those who love you? Here I am, Lord, ready to follow you, to rejoice
in your ways, and to be an example to those around me.
FOURTH STATION: JESUS BEFORE PILATE (Jn
All: We adore you, O Christ,
and we praise you,
because by your holy cross you have redeemed
the world.
Reader: “So you are a king then?” said
Pilate. “It is you who say it”, answered Jesus. “Yes, I am a king. I was born
for this, I came into the world for this: to bear witness to the truth; and all
who are on the side of truth listen to my voice.”
Response: Pilate wilted under pressure, and
gave into evil. Lord, I too plead guilty. I try so often to justify my evil
ways under the guise of good. Give me the courage and wisdom to recognise evil
the moment it appears on my horizon and to dispel it in your holy Name. I will
not just wash my hands and turn away from you. My God, strengthen me to love
you.
FIFTH STATION: JESUS
IS WHIPPED AND CROWNED WITH THORNS
(Jn
19:1-2, 9-11)
All: We adore you, O Christ,
and we praise you,
because by your holy cross you have redeemed
the world.
Reader: Pilate then had Jesus taken away
and scourged; and after this, the soldiers twisted some thorns into a crown and
put it on his head, and dressed him in a purple robe. Pilate said, “Where do
you come from?” But Jesus made no answer. Pilate then said to him, “Are you
refusing to speak to me? Surely you know I have power to release you and I have
power to crucify you?” “You would have no power over me,” replied Jesus, “if it
had not been given you from above.”
Response: Jesus, Lord of the universe and
Judge of all people, you stand silent and allow a mere creature to be your
judge. Pilate’s saying that he has the power to eliminate you jolts me into
realising that I too have that power in the freedom of will that you have given
me. Dare I, too, judge you? My decision is not to turn you away but to open the
depths of my inner self to you. I accept my baptism and recognise it as my
incorporation into your body of faithful followers, Lord Jesus.
SIXTH STATION: JESUS CARRIES HIS CROSS (Jn
All: We adore you, O Christ,
and we praise you,
because by your holy cross you have redeemed
the world.
Reader: From that moment Pilate was anxious
to set him free, but the Jews shouted, “If you set him free you are no friend
of Caesar’s; anyone who makes himself king is defying Caesar.” Hearing these
words, Pilate had Jesus brought out, and seated himself on the chair of
judgement. “Here is your king”, said Pilate to the Jews. “Take him away, take
him away!” they said. “Crucify him!” “Do you want me to crucify your king?”
said Pilate. The chief priests answered, “We have no king except Caesar.” So in
the end Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. They then took charge
of Jesus, and carrying his own cross he went out of the city.
Response: Lord Jesus, I see evil and
injustice at work here. It is almost unbelievable that God’s people would be so
blind and so overwhelmed by evil as to demand your extermination, and that in
God’s name! Lord, I grieve that there is still so much evil and injustice in
the world, in our nation, and in me. Cleanse me that I may be a worthy disciple
of yours and set a good example to those around me.
SEVENTH STATION: JESUS
IS HELPED BY SIMON THE CYRENEAN
(Matt
27:30-31. Lk 23:26-27)
All: We adore you, O Christ,
and we praise you,
because by your holy cross you have redeemed
the world.
Reader: And they spat on him and took the
reed and struck him on the head with it. And when they had finished making fun
of him, they took off the cloak and dressed him in his own clothes and led him
away to crucify him. As they were leading him away they seized on a man, Simon
from
Response: Jesus, I see myself as one of the
large number of people following you. Am I walking with your mourners, or
keeping a distance from them? No, my Lord, I will not be ashamed of you. I will
help you as Simon did and take some of the weight off you by readily accepting
the daily crosses that I carry for you.
EIGHTH STATION: JESUS
SPEAKS TO THE WOMEN OF
(Lk
23:27,31)
All: We adore you, O Christ,
and we praise you,
because by your holy cross you have redeemed
the world.
Reader: Large numbers of people followed
him, and of women too, who mourned and lamented for him. But Jesus turned to
them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep rather for
yourselves and for your children. For if men use the green wood like this, what
will happen when it is dry?”
Response: Jesus, you turn from your
immeasurable sufferings to console the lamenting women. You speak to them
graciously and warn them of the infectious power of evil. Under the weight of
the cross, you still show kindness and selflessness. I see now how selfish I
often am, unwilling to accept the little hurts of life and to extend kindness
and encouragement. My strength lies in your love for me. Help me in my daily
living to project that love to others.
NINTH STATION: JESUS
IS STRIPPED AND NAILED TO THE CROSS
(Lk
23:33. Jn 19:28-29)
All: We adore you, O Christ,
and we praise you,
because by your holy cross you have redeemed
the world.
Reader: When they reached the place called
The Skull, they crucified him there and the two criminals also, one on the
right, the other on the left. After this, Jesus knew that everything had now
been completed, and to fulfil the scripture perfectly he said: “I am thirsty.”
A jar full of vinegar stood there, so putting a sponge soaked in the vinegar on
a hyssop stick, they held it up to his mouth.
Response: Jesus, your call, “I thirst”,
reaches me loud and clear: you thirst for the love of your people. Do I dare to
offer you vinegar through the misdeeds of my living? Help me to spread the love
you have shown to me, and to emulate you in your tolerance, kindness and
compassion for those around me.
TENTH STATION: JESUS BLESSES THE REPENTANT THIEF (Lk
All: We adore you, O Christ,
and we praise you,
because by your holy cross you have redeemed
the world.
Reader: One of the criminals hanging there
abused him. “Are you not the Christ?” he said, “Save yourself and us as well.”
But the other spoke up and rebuked him. “Have you no fear of God at all?” he
said, “You got the same sentence as he did, but in our case we deserved it: we
are paying for what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong. Jesus”, he
said, “remember me when you come into your kingdom.” “Indeed, I promise you,” he replied, “today
you will be with me in paradise.”
Response: My Lord Jesus, as you hang there in
shocking pain, you still show compassion to the self-accused. He has asked you
to remember him, and you have not refused. I too accuse myself and ask, as the
condemned man did. I believe you will not refuse me. Strengthen my courage and
my will to follow you.
ELEVENTH STATION: JESUS SPEAKS TO MARY AND JOHN (Jn
All: We adore you, O Christ,
and we praise you,
because by your holy cross you have redeemed
the world.
Reader: Near the cross of Jesus stood his
mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala.
Seeing his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her, Jesus said to
his mother, “Woman, this is your son”. Then to the disciple he said, “This is
your mother”. And from that moment the disciple made a place for her in his
home.
Response: Jesus, near you stood John and your
mother. How horribly grief-stricken Mary must have been, seeing her son so
cruelly treated, yet standing her ground, refusing to turn away despite the
agonising pressure on her maternal heart. John was representing your followers.
You charged your mother to be mother to him, and so mother to us. May Mary
intercede for us all, here and now, so that, like your mother, we may be always
loyal to you.
TWELFTH STATION: JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS (Lk
All: We adore you, O Christ,
and we praise you,
because by your holy cross you have redeemed
the world.
Reader: It was now about the sixth hour
and, with the sun eclipsed, darkness came over the whole land until the ninth
hour. The veil of the temple was torn right down the middle; and when Jesus had
cried out in a loud voice, he said, “Father, into your hands I commit my
spirit”. With these words he breathed his last.
Response: Jesus, your mission on earth was
completed, but our mission was only beginning. Lord, you offered your life so
that we would be acceptable to your heavenly Father. In
THIRTEENTH STATION: JESUS IS BURIED (Jn
All: We adore you, O Christ,
and we praise you,
because by your holy cross you have redeemed
the world.
Reader: Jesus had said, “I tell you most
solemnly, unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a
single grain; but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest. If a man serves me, he
must follow me; wherever I am, my servant will be there too. If anyone serves
me, my Father will honour him.” When it was evening, there came a rich man of
Arimathea, called Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Joseph
took the body, wrapped it in a clean shroud and put it in his own new tomb,
which he had hewn out of the rock.
Response: Jesus, your followers showed deep
love and loyalty as they took care of your dead body. Their hearts were
grieving as they paid their last respects, believing the end had come. But we
know differently and should have no qualms. Yet, how half-heartedly do I show
respect and reverence for you, especially when I come into your eucharistic
presence in a church. Open my eyes of faith so that I may reverently recognise
you and bow down before you, in silence.
FOURTEENTH STATION: JESUS RISES FROM THE DEAD (Matt 28:1-7)
All: We adore you, O Christ,
and we praise you,
because by your holy cross you have redeemed
the world.
Reader: After the Sabbath, and towards dawn
on the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala and the other Mary went to visit
the sepulchre. And all at once there was a violent earthquake, for the angel of
the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled away the stone and sat on it.
His face was like lightening, his robe white as snow. The guards were so
shaken, so frightened of him, that they were like dead men. But the angel
spoke; and he said to the women, “There is no need for you to be afraid. I know
you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen,
as he said he would. Come and see the place where he lay, and then go quickly
and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead and now he is going before
you to
Response: Jesus, through your death and
resurrection, you have shown that you are truly our Lord and Saviour. Your
message has reached us: “Go, and make disciples of all the nations, and know
that I am with you always.” I have known you too little. Enliven my inclination
to know you better by reading the Scriptures. May I be a better informed and
loving disciple, and not be afraid to talk about you with others.
FINAL BLESSING
Leader:
The Father of mercies has given us an example
of unselfish love in the sufferings of his only Son. Through your service of
God and neighbour, may you receive his countless blessings. All: Amen.
You believe that Jesus, in his dying, destroyed
death forever. May he give you everlasting life.
All: Amen.
Jesus humbled himself for us. May you follow
his example and share in his resurrection.
All: Amen.
May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the
Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All: Amen.
FAREWELL
Leader: Go, take up your cross and follow
the Lord in joy and peace.
All: Thanks be
to God.
(Based on the text composed by Jack Sobb, Marmong Point NSW)