A SPIRITUAL VIA DOLOROSA
Walk with Christ on the way to His cross
The Stations of the Cross are an ancient form of Christian devotion; in participating on this virtual pilgrimage we recall and reflect on the key moments of Jesus’ journey to the cross. Through this ancient form of prayer we draw ever closer to God and the sacrifice made by His Son opening for us the way to eternal salvation.
We begin our journey with an Act of Contrition:
O my God, my Redeemer, behold me here at your feet.
From the bottom of my heart I am sorry for all my sins,
because by them I have offended you,
Who are infinitely good.
I pray that you will strengthen me
to turn away from sin and not offend you again.
The first Station: Jesus is condemned to death
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
‘The son of man is going to be delivered into the power of men; they will put Him to death and on the third day he will be raised again.’ (Mt 17:22-23).
Pilate could find no fault in Jesus, but he was a weak and fearful leader and so he handed him over to the people. It made no difference to Pilate whether one Jew lived or died. We might like to think that we are not part of the crowd, but truth to tell every time we turn away from Jesus we become part of the crowd which cries ‘crucify him’.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth,
As it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
The power, and the glory,
For ever and ever.
Amen.
The second Station: Jesus carries His cross
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
And He said to all, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his Cross and follow me.”’ (Matt. 16.24)
When we look on the 2nd station we must be mindful that each time we sin, each time we are not faithful to God’s purpose, not only do we separate ourselves from God, but so too do we add to the weight of the burden of the cross. As we look on the 2nd station let us seek to not add to the burden, but to accept the responsibility of taking up the Christian cause of the Kingdom of God and where we can, to carry the burdens of others following in the footsteps of Christ.
Glory be to the Father
and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit
As it was in the beginning, is now,
and ever shall be world without end...Amen
The third Station: Jesus falls the first time
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
‘Though he was in the form of God, Jesus did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.’ (Phil. 2.6-7)
As we look on the 3rd station we are reminded that God did not forsake his only Son; we must also know in our hearts that however far away God seems to be, he never forsakes us – he is always faithful to us as we must be faithful to him.
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.
The Fourth Station: Jesus meets his mother
We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee.
Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
“Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Where you die I shall die, and there I shall be buried.” (Ruth 1.16-17)
Mary sees Jesus stumbling under the weight of the cross after he has been flogged and humiliated. She had brought him up through many hardships, cared for him as a loving mother and she sees him being led to his death when he is a little over 30years of age. Mary has not deserted him. She would stand at the foot of the cross seeing him die; as she does Jesus confides the disciple whom he loved to her motherly care and as we look on the fourth station we see Jesus meet his mother and are reminded not only of his suffering, but that we are confided to her motherly care.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth,
As it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
The power, and the glory,
For ever and ever.
Amen.
The fifth Station: Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry his cross
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
“God is no respecter of persons.” (Acts 10.34)
In Simon carrying the cross we see how he came to share in the weight of the cross and we are reminded that whatever the cross we bear we do not have to carry it alone because for us Jesus is always present in our lives and will take the weight of the cross from us if we do but let him. Only the day before his arrest and being condemned to death the disciples had insisted they would remain faithful to him whatever happened and yet we know that they fell asleep when Jesus asked them to pray and then ran away when he was arrested. Words and empty promises are not enough, it is words and actions that count. Like Simon we must take up our cross, and through Christ walk with others who are burdened and so share in Christ’s passion in our daily lives.
Glory be to the Father
and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit
As it was in the beginning, is now,
and ever shall be world without end...Amen
The sixth Station: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
‘It is your face, O Lord, that I seek: hide not your face.’ (Ps. 26.8-9)
Veronica was one of the hundreds of people, just a face in the crowd, as Jesus passed, walking through the streets of Jerusalem, carrying his cross on the way to Golgatha. Veronica, "moved with pity," stepped out of the crowd, and wiped his face of its sweat and blood. The legend tells us that when Veronica returned home, she realised a mirror image of Christ’s face was imprinted on the cloth. Veronica reminds us that it was no small thing, this sacrifice the Son of God made, and it’s not to be taken lightly. Here we have Veronica, a person who was ready to take a risk to comfort the bloody, dying man-God. And she was generously rewarded. As Jesus said “In truth I tell you, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me”. Such are the acts of kindness shown by Jesus to us, such are the acts of kindness shown by us to Jesus.
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.
The seventh Station: Jesus falls the second time
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
‘For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning.’ (Heb. 4.15)
Jesus under the weight of the cross falling for a second time. Despair, desolation, despondent, yes, those are the human emotions that like us passed through his pain wracked body, and yet he knew that if he was to fulfil his Father’s will there was only one thing he could do – carry on, carry on this horrendous journey. Sometimes we too feel that life has dealt us a terrible blow, that we too cannot carry on because the burden of life is too great, quite simply things are hopeless. Like Jesus we too have God’s work to do, we too have our purpose in life and when we turn to God he enables us to do that which lies ahead, no matter how difficult or impossible it may seem.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth,
As it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
The power, and the glory,
For ever and ever.
Amen.
The eighth Station: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
‘And there followed him a great multitude of the people, and of women who bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning to them said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but for yourselves and your children.”’ (Lk. 23.27-28)
Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem, pious women who began to weep for Jesus, to pray for him, to console him in his suffering and to let him know that not everyone who lined the streets were there simply out of the glorification of his death. Jesus told them not to weep for him, but for themselves and for their children. When we feel rejected or badly treated, we must remember this example of Jesus. All too often we are so self-absorbed that we overlook the suffering and the needs of others. The example Jesus gives, the way of life He advocated enables us to emulate him in our lives. In consoling the women of Jerusalem, rather than looking of consolation for himself Jesus reminds us that he came to serve, not to be served.
Glory be to the Father
and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit
As it was in the beginning, is now,
and ever shall be world without end...Amen
The ninth Station: Jesus falls a third time
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
‘Consider me, O Lord my God; lighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I totter.’ (Ps. 12.3-4)
There are times in everyone’s life when, that which we face seems too much for people to cope with, when it seems we can no longer carry on. In the moment of our greatest challenge, our greatest fall we must not lose hope. The occasions when Jesus falls under the weight of the cross reminds us that it is the burden of sin weighing down upon him that is heavy, just as it is heavy in our hearts when we labour under its weight. Jesus did not lose hope and neither must we lose hope, we must get up as Jesus did and continue on our earthly journey with faith in God’s merciful love for us and for all people.
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.
The tenth Station: Jesus is stripped of his clothes
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
‘And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife garments of skins, and clothed them.’ (Gen. 3.21)
In his first letter to Timothy, S. Paul tells us that ‘We brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it; but as long as we have food and clothing, we shall be content with that.’ In this 10th Station of the Cross we see Jesus further humiliated by his tormentors and persecutors. Here we see the Son God, human and divine further abused and degraded as he is stripped of his clothes before he is nailed to the cross. In this self-divestment Jesus is showing us the deepest nature of God. Just as Jesus knew that His Father would not abandon Him so too we know that God will not leave us alone, he is our strength even when life is at its bleakest - God makes haste to help us. He does not leave us alone in our distress when we turn to him and approach him with humble and contrite hearts. God’s will is that we give ourselves completely to him, and, as that sacrifice implies naked vulnerability in the face of a hostile world, he shows us a courageous and steadfast love.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth,
As it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
The power, and the glory,
For ever and ever.
Amen.
The eleventh Station: Jesus is nailed to the cross
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
‘And when they came to the place which is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and one on the left.’ (Lk. 23.33)
The nailing to the cross is the last brutal act of the soldiers. Here he is placed between two criminals and his humiliation is complete before those who bayed for his death and those who remain with him throughout his life and now look on helpless to do anything but to witness this final act of his earthly, human life. His self-abasement was now complete, the love he showed for us knew no limits, yes even to dying for us. As we look at Jesus on the cross, arms outstretched, we see him bid everyone to come to him. His arms are outstretched, much as we would open our arms when we meet a loved one from whom we have been separated, to enfold and embrace them. He enfolds us and draw us to Himself when we come to him. Those acts of love remind us too that, just as Jesus forgave the criminal and the executioners, just he draws us to Himself, so he always forgives us when we sin and as such so too must we forgive others who wrong us; when we do we shall indeed be rich and know true peace – the richness and true peace of Christ.
Glory be to the Father
and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit
As it was in the beginning, is now,
and ever shall be world without end...Amen
The twelfth Station: Jesus dies on the cross
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but I find no rest.’
In his crucifixion Jesus embraced death so that we might not die forever. In his death on the cross he showed his selfless love for us. He had hung on the cross for only a short time – the mental and physical torments that he had endured had sapped his strength. ‘I thirst’ he cried out, he hungers and thirsts for what is right, he hungers and thirsts for all who are abused and against whom all sorts of calumny is spoken. He demonstrates that true love and in this supreme moment of his life he is ‘making peace by the blood of his cross’. Many thought that Jesus had failed in his earthly ministry and mission, in fact his mission and ministry was just beginning. Christ died so that we could live and continue that ministry in His name. When Jesus dies on the cross a soldier pierced his side and out flowed blood and water and it was that blood and water that was to seal the new and everlasting covenant between God and the world.
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.
The thirteenth Station: Jesus is taken down from the cross
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
‘One of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness – his testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth – that you also may believe.’ (Jn. 19.34-35)
Our journey along the way of the cross or the Via Dolorosa is almost over. Jesus has suffered brutal treatment at the hands of his torturers, he has struggled to carry the cross, he has been nailed to the wood of the cross and has died - now he is taken down from the cross. The soldiers have gone, the crowds have faded away, silence has descended on Calvary. Jesus’ lifeless body is carried in the arms of his mother, as once she carried his unborn body in her womb. As he lies in the arms of his mother we see the wounds form the crucifixion – the holes in his hands and feet made by the nails, the wound in his side made by the spear thrust into his flesh by the soldiers to make sure he was dead, the wound from which flowed blood and water. It is this blood which gives us life, the lifeblood given to us in the Eucharist. The focus in this thirteenth station is as much Mary his mother as it is Jesus. From the cross He confided us to her care as he said ‘behold your mother’. As we look at the thirteenth station we are alongside Mary and the few friends of Jesus who remain to ensure his lifeless body is treated in accordance with the rites of the time. Our hearts are torn to shreds as we see the truth of man’s brutal inhumanity. As we look on His body we remember too the words in S. John’s gospel – ‘There is no greater love than this, to give one’s life for his friends’ (Chapter 15 verse 13). This was the fulness of Jesus’ love for us.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth,
As it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
The power, and the glory,
For ever and ever.
Amen.
The fourteenth Station: Jesus is laid in the tomb
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
‘Unless a grain of wheat should fall upon the ground and die, it remains just one grain; but if it die, it bears much fruit.’ (Jn. 12.24)
Is this the end? Jesus, beaten, bruised and abused is dead, and yet, even in death those he has challenged are still afraid which is why they insist on the tomb being sealed so that Jesus’ followers cannot take the body away. In the gathering darkness and obscurity the body of Jesus is brought to the tomb. It is wrapped in a shroud rather like a chrysalis in which something new will be created, from which something wonderful will emerge. For Christ to realise his purpose He had to be buried so He could rise again. In the same way we too have to die and be buried with Christ in the waters of baptism so that we can shed the old life and rise to new life in Him. The secret of this transformation into the new life is trust – trust in God which paves the way for a new way of life. Let us then try to live that risen, transformed life here on earth, so that when our time comes to die, we may pass through the gates of death to new and everlasting life in Jesus.
Glory be to the Father
and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit
As it was in the beginning, is now,
and ever shall be world without end...Amen
O God, who by the Precious Blood of Thy only-begotten Son didst sanctify the Standard of the Cross, grant, we beseech Thee, that we who rejoice in the glory of the same holy Cross may at all times and places rejoice in Thy protection through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.