The Stations of the Cross

Meditation: Consider how Jesus, after being scourged and crowned with thorns, was unjustly condemned by Pilate to die on the cross.

Prayer: My adorable Jesus, it was not Pilate; no, it was my sins that condemned You to die. I beseech You, by the merits of this sorrowful journey, to assist my soul in its journey towards eternity.

(Pray: 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, 1 Glory Be)

Meditation: Consider how Jesus, in making this journey, carried on His shoulders the heavy cross which my sins made for Him.

Prayer: My most beloved Jesus, I embrace all the tribulations You have destined for me until death. I beg You, by the merits of the pain You did suffer in carrying Your cross, to give me the necessary help to carry mine with perfect patience and resignation.

(Pray: 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, 1 Glory Be)

Meditation: Consider this first fall of Jesus under His cross. His flesh was torn by the scourges, His head crowned with thorns, and the heavy cross caused Him to fall under its weight.

Prayer: My Jesus, it is not the weight of the cross, but of my sins, which has made You suffer so much pain. Ah, by the merits of this first fall, deliver me from the misfortune of falling into mortal sin.

(Pray: 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, 1 Glory Be)

Meditation: Consider the meeting of the Son and the Mother, which took place on this journey. Jesus and Mary looked at each other, and their looks became as so many arrows to wound those hearts which loved each other so tenderly.

Prayer: My most sweet Jesus, by the sorrow You did feel in this meeting, grant me the grace of a truly devoted love for Your most holy Mother. And you, my Queen, who wast overwhelmed with sorrow, obtain for me by your intercession a continual and tender remembrance of the Passion of your Son.

(Pray: 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, 1 Glory Be)

Meditation: Consider how the soldiers, seeing that Jesus was on the point of expiring, and fearing He would die on the way, constrained Simon the Cyrenian to carry the cross behind our Lord.

Prayer: My beloved Jesus, I will not refuse the cross as the Cyrenian did; I accept it; I embrace it. I accept in particular the death You have destined for me; with all the pains that may accompany it; I unite it to Your death, I offer it to You.

(Pray: 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, 1 Glory Be)

Meditation: Consider how the holy woman named Veronica, seeing Jesus all afflicted, His face bathed in sweat and blood, presented Him with a towel, with which He wiped His adorable face, leaving on it the impression of His holy countenance.

Prayer: My most beloved Jesus, Your face was beautiful before, but in this journey it has lost all its beauty, and wounds and blood have disfigured it. Alas, my soul also was once beautiful, when it received Your grace in Baptism; but I have disfigured it since by my sins; You alone, my Redeemer, can restore it to its former beauty. Do this by Your Passion, O Jesus.

(Pray: 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, 1 Glory Be)

Meditation: Consider the second fall of Jesus under the cross; a fall which renews the pain of all the wounds of the head and members of our afflicted Lord.

Prayer: My most gentle Jesus, how many times You have pardoned me, and how many times have I fallen again, and begun again to offend You! Oh, by the merits of this new fall, give me the necessary helps to persevere in Your grace until death.

(Pray: 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, 1 Glory Be)

Meditation: Consider how those women wept with compassion at seeing Jesus in such a pitiable state, streaming with blood, as He walked along. But Jesus said to them: 'Weep not for Me, but for your children.'

Prayer: My Jesus, laden with sorrows, I weep for the offences I have committed against You, because of the pains they have deserved, and still more because of the displeasure they have caused You, Who hast loved me so much. It is Your love, more than the fear of hell, which causes me to weep for my sins.

(Pray: 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, 1 Glory Be)

Meditation: Consider the third fall of Jesus Christ. His weakness was extreme, and the cruelty of His executioners was excessive, who tried to hasten His steps when He had scarcely strength to move.

Prayer: Ah, my outraged Jesus, by the merits of the weakness You did suffer in falling the third time, give me strength sufficient to conquer all human respect, and all my evil passions, which have caused me to despise Your friendship.

(Pray: 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, 1 Glory Be)

Meditation: Consider the violence with which the executioners stripped Jesus; His inner garments adhered to His torn flesh, and they dragged them off so roughly that the skin came with them. Compassionate your Saviour thus cruelly treated.

Prayer: My innocent Jesus, by the merits of the torment You did feel, help me to strip myself of all affection to things of earth, in order that I may place all my love in You, Who art so worthy of my love.

(Pray: 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, 1 Glory Be)

Meditation: Consider how Jesus, after being thrown on the cross, extended His hands, and offered His life to His Eternal Father for our salvation. These barbarians fastened Him with nails, and then, raising the cross, left Him to die with anguish on this infamous gibbet.

Prayer: My Jesus! Loaded with contempt, nail my heart to Your feet, that it may ever remain there, to love You, and never more to leave You.

(Pray: 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, 1 Glory Be)

Meditation: Consider how Jesus, after three hours’ Agony on the cross, consumed at length with anguish, abandons Himself to the weight of His body, bows His head, and dies.

Prayer: O my dying Jesus, I kiss devoutly the cross on which You did die for love of me. I have merited by my sins to die a miserable death; but Your death is my hope. Ah, by the merits of Your death, give me grace to die, embracing Your feet, and burning with love for You.

(Pray: 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, 1 Glory Be)

Meditation: Consider how, after the death of our Lord, two of His disciples, Joseph and Nicodemus, took Him down from the cross, and placed Him in the arms of His afflicted Mother, who received Him with unutterable tenderness, and pressed Him to her bosom.

Prayer: O Mother of sorrow, for the love of this Son, accept me for your servant, and pray to Him for me. And You, my Redeemer, since You have died for me, permit me to love You; for I wish but You, and nothing more.

(Pray: 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, 1 Glory Be)

Meditation: Consider how the disciples carried the body of Jesus to place it in the tomb, prepared for Him by Joseph of Arimathea. They closed the tomb, and all withdrew.

Prayer: Ah, my buried Jesus, I kiss the stone that encloses You. But You didst rise again the third day. I beseech You, by Your resurrection, to make me rise glorious with You at the last day, to be always united with You in heaven, to praise You and love You forever.

(Pray: 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, 1 Glory Be)

O God, whose Only Begotten Son, by His life, Death, and Resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grant, we beseech Thee, that meditating upon these mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary and Way of the Cross, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.