The First Station: Jesus is Condemned
Jesus, you know what it’s like to be taken captive by soldiers. You spoke the truth and were condemned by the people in power. When Peter responded with his sword, you told him to put it away, saying “Those who use the sword are sooner or later destroyed by it” (Matt. 26:52).
Give me courage to speak out against injustice wherever I may find it. Strengthen my conviction to support others in their struggle for justice. Help me to deal with conflict your way, the way of peace and non-violent resistance.
The Second Station: Jesus Carries the Cross
Jesus, you were made to carry a heavy cross. You chose to pay the price of love. When I think of how I complain over little things that upset me, I feel very small. Teach me to choose love, justice, and life, that I may carry my crosses with patience and dignity.
The Third Station: Jesus Falls the First Time
Jesus, the weight of the cross crushed you to the ground. Yet, knowing that death lay ahead, you still got up and went on. When burdens of sorrow weigh heavily upon me, I often find it difficult to go on with my life. When I stumble and fall, when I mourn for what is lost, give me your strength to rise and walk anew.
The Fourth Station: Jesus Meets his Mother
Jesus, when you met your mother Mary on the road to Calvary, you felt her pain in seeing you suffer. Each of you wanted to ease the suffering of the other. Yet, through this sorrow, you knew her broken heart would become a source of comfort to mothers in other times and places. Open my heart so that when, like Mary, I see a loved one suffer, I may become a source of compassion to others.
The Fifth Station: Simon Helps Jesus
How often Lord, do I take for granted the backbreaking labor of others to produce the food I eat or the clothes I wear? How many times have I passed you by in the struggling person whom I didn’t stop to help? Simeon was forced to help you when the soldiers pulled him from the crowd. Yet when Simeon lifted your cross, he knew the gift of a burden shared.
The Sixth Station: Veronica Wipes Jesus’ Face
Jesus, Veronica saw your pain and felt it very deeply. She dared to break through the crowd to take some of your pain away. Touched by her compassion, you left the imprint of your face on her cloth, while you carried the imprint of her loving gesture in your heart. Teach me to let go of things that hold me back from reaching out to others. Give me the courage of Veronica to be willing to risk all in the name of compassion.
The Seventh Station: Jesus Falls a Second Time
Lord, none of us is perfect. We all have disabilities – some are physical, others are emotional or psychological. When living conditions seem difficult, it is hard to keep going. I sometimes want to quit, to give up. Help me to have the virtue of perseverance. Give me your spirit, Jesus, and help me to continue in spite of difficult odds.
The Eighth Station: Jesus Comforts the Women
Jesus, your strength shines forth in these sorrowing women. When I am called to speak out and stand up for others, I sometimes hold back. I’m afraid of what others may think. Give me your courage, Jesus, in situations that call for my taking a risk. Help me to remember that your spirit is within me always, comforting me in time of opposition.
The Ninth Station: Jesus Falls a Third Time
Lord, when did I see your face in the least likely, the homeless, the outcast, the abandoned, and pass you by? Open my eyes to daily opportunities to help those in need.
The Tenth Station: Jesus is Stripped
Jesus, you come to us every day in the disguise of those who are hungry, homeless, and suffering. You visit us in each person who has been stripped of dignity, each person who is deprived of the basic human rights of food, shelter and clothing. Give me new eyes to recognize you in the poor and destitute. Give me a new heart and new hands to work toward alleviating others’ suffering.
The Eleventh Station: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross
While accepting the blessing of old age, we must also accept the cross of weakness and infirmity that sometimes accompanies old age. Human bodies wear out; they were not designed to last forever. We will all face this reality someday. Jesus, each time we ignore the elderly, we nail you to the cross of indifference. Give us the insight to appreciate their wisdom. Give us the patience to accept limitations.
The Twelfth Station: Jesus Dies on the Cross
Every day we are faced with our own difficult choices. To seek the truth or the easy way out, to forgive or hold a grudge, to be honest with ourselves or blame someone else. The list is endless. We read in Scripture, “Choose life that you …. may live…” (Deut. 30:19). Jesus, you chose a life of justice, love, and truth. You accepted death on the cross so that we might live. Fill me with your spirit. Help me to choose life in all situations and be a source of hope for others.
The Thirteenth Station: The Body of Jesus is Taken Down
Jesus, after you died, only a few friends stayed behind to take your body down from the cross. Some of your followers turned away in disappointment; others fled in fear. Give me the strength to be a faithful friend. Help me to be consistent in my love for others, so that I may stand by them in good times and bad, in joy and sorrow, and in their struggle for justice.
The Fourteenth Station: Jesus is Buried
Jesus, when your body was taken down from the cross, your friends reverently placed it in a borrowed tomb. Help me always to remember that each person is a sacred object to be treated with reverence, both in life and in death. Lord, through me, your love reaches out to others. When I respect myself and others, I am recognizing and praising the beauty of your creation.
The Fifteenth Station: Alleluia! Jesus is Risen
Jesus, help me to walk with you on the path of justice, love, and truth, one day at a time. I trust in your promise, “I have come that you may have life and have it to the full “(John 10:10). I know that you are the source of all life and hope and will transform this world, beginning with me, beginning now.