Scriptural Stations of the Cross
Most of God's people in America are starving spiritually. Although the spiritual nourishment of God's word and Holy Communion are more available than ever, we starve ourselves because we have become spiritually anorexic. We have indulged our carnal desires and lost our appetite for the things of God (see Prov 13:19; Gal 5:17). The Scriptural Stations of the Cross will feed us spiritually. Several Scripture passages are quoted for each station. We give little or no commentary but let the Scriptures speak for themselves. You can choose one or more passages as a basis for your prayer on each station. The Scriptures chosen are not the most obvious ones so as to give us a new, richer, and prophetic experience of God's word.
THE FIRST STATION
Jesus Is Condemned To Death
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
Jesus Who never rejected anyone was rejected more than anyone else.
"There is no condemnation now for those who are in Christ Jesus." —Romans 8:1
"God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him." —John 3:17
"No one who comes will I ever reject." —John 6:37
"He was spurned and avoided by men, a Man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity, One of those from Whom men hide their faces, spurned, and we held Him in no esteem." —Isaiah 53:3
"All deserted Him and fled." —Mark 14:50
Prayer: Jesus, I repent of rejecting You by rejecting others (Lk 10:16). May I forgive those who have rejected me.
At the Cross her station keeping,
Stood a mournful Mother weeping,
Close to Jesus to the last.
SECOND STATION
Jesus Takes Up The Cross
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
"Jesus said to all: 'Whoever wishes to be My follower must deny his very self, take up his cross each day, and follow in My steps." —Luke 9:23
"It is your privilege to take Christ's part — not only to believe in Him but also to suffer for Him." —Philippians 1:29
"I wish to know Christ and the power flowing from His resurrection; likewise to know how to share in His sufferings by being formed into the pattern of His death." —Philippians 3:10
"Even now I find my joy in the suffering I endured for you. In my own flesh I fill up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of His body, the Church." —Colossians 1:24
"It is for His kingdom you suffer." —2 Thessalonians 1:5
"Never be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for His sake; but with the strength which comes from God bear your share of the hardship which the gospel entails." —2 Timothy 1:8
Prayer: Jesus, I rejoice in the measure that I share Your sufferings (1 Pt 4:13).
Christ above in torment hangs,
She beneath beholds the pangs
Of her dying, glorious Son.
THIRD STATION
Jesus Falls The First Time
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
The First Sin
"The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it." —Genesis 3:6
The First Sin in the New Testament
"Once Herod realized that he had been deceived by the astrologers, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys two years old and under in Bethlehem." —Matthew 2:16
The First Sin against Jesus in His public ministry
"At these words the whole audience in the synagogue was filled with indignation. They rose up and expelled Him from the town, leading Him to the brow of the hill on which it was built and intending to hurl Him over the edge." —Luke 4:28-29
Prayer: Jesus, thank You for having mercy on me and forgiving me of my first serious sin.
Is there one who would not weep,
'Whelmed in miseries so deep
Christ's dear Mother to behold?
FOURTH STATION
Jesus Meets His Sorrowful Mother
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
"Come, all you who pass by the way, look and see whether there is any suffering like my suffering." —Lamentations 1:12
"Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother: 'This Child is destined to be the Downfall and the Rise of many in Israel, a sign that will be opposed — and you yourself shall be pierced with a sword — so that the thoughts of many hearts may be laid bare.'" —Luke 2:34-35
"Near the cross of Jesus there stood His mother." —John 19:25
"Because she was with child, she wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth." —Revelation 12:2
Prayer: Jesus, thank You for giving me Mary to mother me. Mary, pray for me to love Jesus as You do.
Can the human heart refrain
From partaking in her pain,
In that mother's pain untold?
Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled,
She beheld her tender Child,
All with bloody scourges rent.
FIFTH STATION
Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus To Carry The Cross
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
"As they led Him away, they laid hold of one Simon the Cyrenean who was coming in from the fields. They put a crossbeam on Simon's shoulder for him to carry along behind Jesus." —Luke 23:26
"Insult has broken My heart, and I am weak, I looked for sympathy, but there was none; for comforters and I found none." —Psalm 69:21
"The Lord saw this, and was aggrieved that right did not exist. He saw that there was no one, and was appalled that there was none to intervene." —Isaiah 59:15-16
"The twelve accompanied Him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and maladies; Mary called the Magdalene, from whom seven devils had gone out, Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who were assisting them out of their means." —Luke 8:1-3
"Roam the streets of Jerusalem, look about and observe, search through her public places to find even one who lives uprightly and seek to be faithful, and I will pardon her!" —Jeremiah 5:1
Prayer: Father, I offer my life to help complete Your plan of salvation.
O dear Mother, fount of love,
Touch my spirit from above;
Make my heart with yours accord.
Make me feel as you have felt;
Make my soul to glow and melt
With the love of Christ, my Lord.
SIXTH STATION
Veronica Wipes The Face Of Jesus
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
"Since then no prophet has arisen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face." —Deuteronomy 34:10
"If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." —2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV
"Even as many were amazed at Him — so marred was His look beyond that of man, and His appearance beyond that of mortals — So shall He startle many nations, because of Him kings shall stand speechless." —Isaiah 52:14-15
"His face became as dazzling as the sun." —Matthew 17:2
"Now we see indistinctly, as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face." —1 Corinthians 13:12
"They shall see Him face to face and bear His name on their foreheads." —Revelation 22:4
Prayer: Jesus, may I have the love and courage to "seek Your face."
Holy Mother, pierce me through;
In my heart each wound renew
Of my Savior crucified.
SEVENTH STATION
Jesus Falls The Second Time
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
"Later on, Jesus found him in the temple precincts and said to him: 'Remember, now, you have been cured. Give up your sins so that something worse may not overtake you.'" —John 5:14
"For when men have once been enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift and become sharers in the Holy Spirit, when they have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to make them repent again, since thy are crucifying the Son of God for themselves and holding Him up to contempt." —Hebrews 6:4-6
"If we sin willfully after receiving the truth, there remains for us no further sacrifice for sin — only a fearful expectation of judgment and a flaming fire to consume the adversaries of God." —Hebrews 10:26-27
"When men have fled a polluted world by recognizing the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and then are caught up and overcome in pollution once more, their last condition is worse than their first. It would have been better for them not to have recognized the road to holiness than to have turned their backs on the holy law handed on to them once they had known it." —2 Peter 2:20-21 (see also Lk 11:24-26)
Prayer: Jesus, by Your grace may I never sin another time.
Let me share with you His pain,
Who for all our sins was slain,
Who for me in torments died.
EIGHTH STATION
Jesus Meets The Weeping Women Of Jerusalem
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
"Jesus wept." —Luke 19:41
"My tears are stored in your flask; are they not recorded in your book?" —Psalm 56:9
"Oh, that My head were a spring of water, my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night over the slain of the daughter of my people!" —Jeremiah 8:23
"Let my eyes stream with tears day and night, without rest, over the great destruction which overwhelms the virgin daughter of my people." —Jeremiah 14:17
"Thus says the Lord: 'In Ramah is heard the sound of moaning, of bitter weeping! Rachel mourns her children, she refuses to be consoled because her children are no more.' Thus says the Lord: 'Cease your cries of mourning, wipe the tears from your eyes. The sorrow you have shown shall have its reward,' says the Lord, 'they shall return from the enemy's land. There is hope for your future.'" —Jeremiah 31:15-17
Prayer: Jesus, give me the gift of tears. May I weep for the same reason You did.
Let me mingle tears with thee,
Mourning Him Who mourned for me,
All the days that I may live.
NINTH STATION
Jesus Falls the Third Time
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
"Jesus replied: 'I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow today until you have three times denied that you know Me.'" —Luke 22:34
"A third time Jesus asked him, 'Simon, son of John, do you love Me?' Peter was hurt because He had asked a third time, 'Do you love Me?' so he said to Him: 'Lord, you know everything. You know well that I love You.' Jesus said to him, 'Feed My sheep.'" —John 21:17
"Those who accepted his message were baptized; some three thousand were added that day." —Acts 2:41
"He will revive us after two days; on the third day He will raise us up." —Hosea 6:2
Prayer: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You. Thank You, Jesus for rising from the third fall and rising on the third day. May I be transformed by my faith that You will raise me from the dead.
By the cross with you to stay
There with you to weep and pray,
This I ask of you to give.
TENTH STATION
Jesus Is Stripped Of His Garments
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
"Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves." —Genesis 3:17
"She gave birth to her first-born Son and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger." —Luke 2:7
"There was a young man following Him who was covered by nothing but a linen cloth. As they seized him he left the cloth behind and ran off naked." —Mark 14:51-52
"Then the disciple Jesus loved cried out to Peter, 'It is the Lord!' on hearing it was the Lord, Simon Peter threw on some clothes — he was stripped— and jumped into the water." —John 21:7
"We groan while we are here, even as we yearn to have our heavenly habitation envelop us. This it will, provided we are found clothed and not naked. While we live in our present tent we groan; we are weighed down because we do not wish to be stripped naked but rather to have the heavenly dwelling envelop us, so that what is mortal may be absorbed by life." —2 Corinthians 5:2-4
Prayer: Father, "strip away everything vicious, everything deceitful; pretenses, jealousies, and disparaging remarks of any kind" (1 Pt 2:1). Then clothe me in righteousness.
Virgin of all virgins blest,
Listen to my fond request;
Let me share your grief divine.
ELEVENTH STATION
Jesus Is Nailed To The Cross
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
"He was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins, upon Him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by His stripes we were healed." —Isaiah 53:5
"I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and petition; and they shall look on Him Whom they have thrust through, and they shall mourn for Him as one mourns for an only son, and they shall grieve over Him as one grieves over a first-born." —Zechariah 12:10
"As He said this He showed them His hands and feet." —Luke 24:40
"See, He comes amid the clouds! Every eye shall see Him, even of those who pierced Him. All the peoples of the earth shall lament Him bitterly. So it is to be! Amen!" —Revelation 1:7
Prayer: Father, pierce me with love and repentance when I look at the crucifix.
Let me, to my final breath,
In my body bear the death
Of that dying Son of thine.
TWELFTH STATION
The Death Of Jesus
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
"Silence before Him, all the earth!" —Habakkuk 2:20
"Silence in the presence of the Lord God!" —Zephaniah 1:7 (see Zech 2:17)
Prayer: Jesus, You gave Your life for me; I give my life for You.
Wounded with his ev'ry wound,
Steep my soul till it has swooned
In His very blood away.
THIRTEENTH STATION
Jesus Is Taken Down From The Cross
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
"No one has gone up to heaven except the One Who came down from there — the Son of Man (Who is in heaven)." —John 3:13
"He ascended" —what does that mean but that He had first descended into the lower regions of the earth? He Who descended is the very One Who ascended high above the heavens, that He might fill all men with His gifts." —Ephesians 4:9-10
"Rather, He emptied Himself and took the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men. He was known to be of human estate, and it was thus that He humbled Himself." —Philippians 2:7-8
Prayer: Father, may I humble myself (Mt 23:12),
Be to me, O Virgin, nigh,
Lest in flames I burn and die
In His awful judgment day.
FOURTEENTH STATION
Jesus Is Buried
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
"Through baptism into His death we were buried with Him, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live a new life." —Romans 6:4
"In baptism you were not only buried with Him but also raised to life with Him because you believed in the power of God Who raised Him from the dead." —Colossians 2:12
"It was in the Spirit also that He went to preach to the spirits in prison." —1 Peter 3:19 (see 1 Pt 4:6)
Prayer: Father, in Jesus my old life is buried. Now all is new! (2 Cor 5:17)
Christ, when You shall call me hence,
Be Your Mother my defense;
Be Your cross my victory.
FIFTEENTH STATION
The Resurrection Of Jesus
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
"I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in Me, though he should die, will come to life; and whoever is alive and believes in Me will never die." —John 11:25
"If we have been united with Him through likeness to His death, so shall we be through a like resurrection." —Romans 6:5
"Death is swallowed up in victory." — 1 Corinthians 15:54
"There is nothing to fear. I am the First and the Last and the One Who lives. Once I was dead but now I live — forever and ever. I hold the keys of death and the nether world." —Revelation 1:17-18
Prayer: Alleluia! Jesus is risen! "This is the day the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it." (Ps 118:24) He's alive! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia forever!
While my body here decays,
May my soul Your goodness praise,
Safe in heav'n eternally. Amen.
Alleluia!
Scripture references are taken from The New American Bible, copyright 1970 by the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C., and are used by permission of the copyright holder. All rights reserved.
Nihil obstat: Reverend Ralph
J. Lawrence, February 11, 1991.
Imprimatur: † Most Reverend James H. Garland, Auxiliary
Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, February 14, 1991.