Stations of the Cross, A prayer

First Station: Jesus is condemned to death
Lord, as you stood before Pilate, accused of false crimes, you said nothing. You trusted in your Father to conduct His will through you.
“But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on [your] right cheek, turn the other one to him as well.” Matthew 5:39
In that trust, you saved the world. How many times have I made situations worse by trying to defend myself? How many times have I accused people of wrongdoings and have been incorrect? And does it matter if I’m right or wrong? Why do I think that my judgment would mean anything? I beg for forgiveness for the times I have been in the crowd ready to throw a stone. I beg for strength to stand tall in my virtues despite what is being whispered about me. Lord, I want to be like you.

Second Station: Jesus carries His cross
Your burden, your cross was more than just the wood you carried up the hill; it was the sins of an entire world, the sins of the very people for whom you died. The soldiers pierced your skin with thorns, with nails, with a sword. Our sins pierced your very heart. When will we learn our lesson? When will we stop sinning against you whom we should love above all others? My sins pierce your heart. Please forgive me for my weaknesses, for my crimes. If I keep you in my heart and mind at all times, I will sin less. My heart is filled with gratitude for your sacrifice. Bless all of the martyrs who have suffered the same fate and have been born into a life with you in heaven. Lord, bless my actions, bless my words, and bless me when I sin. Lord, I want to be like you.

Third Station: Jesus falls the first time
You stumbled from exhaustion and fell, the weight of the cross hurting you more. I imagine that those watching you struggle cringed at the sight. Lord, so many people are struggling under the weight of their own crosses. Help me to help them; fill my mind with your words of encouragement. And when I stumble, I will turn to you for my strength. When I suffer, I will suffer for you. I give you all my burdens Lord, that they may help me to appreciate and understand the cross you carried. Lord, I want to be like you.

Fourth Station: Jesus meets his mother
Oh, the sorrows of a mother watching her Son suffer.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:44
When my own children cry, I want to cry too. When they fall, my skin burns with pain too. Mary, how did you manage to watch your Son die for all our sins? How did you keep quiet and allow your Son to do the will of the Father. How did you walk among those who were killing him and not lash out? Oh, that I would have that same strength; to give my children the space they need to fulfill God’s will for them. Mary, you always followed God’s plan for you and then for your Son. Your reward was heaven. Mary, pray for me in my own struggles. Bring my pain to God. Mary, I want to be like you; holy and compassionate; obedient and prayerful.

Fifth Station: Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry his cross
Finally, some help for you, Lord Jesus. Finally, the soldiers give you a little rest. But was it out of kindness?
No.
It was their eagerness to reach the top of that hill that caused them to have someone else to carry your cross.
Why didn’t one of the soldiers do it for you?
They wouldn’t lower themselves to you.
But what a mistake! To think that helping you – or anyone – would be a bend in our back, a lowering of our station. Lord, take away my pride that my acts of kindness are compassion filled. More so, when I am in need of help, of charity, take away my pride that I might accept the help from others who do so in your name. Lord, charity and compassion were lessons from you. Lord, I want to be like you.

Sixth Station: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
Veronica is such a brave woman! She saw your suffering, she saw your need. Despite the soldiers, she came to you and offered you comfort and wiped your face dry of sweat and blood.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Matthew 5:7
Lord, give me courage to do the same with those people in my life who are in need. Help my eyes see when people are in pain and give my prayers the words to wipe their brows dry of the pain of suffering. I want to be brave for you, Jesus. Take away my fears of other people’s criticisms and replace that with courage – courage to do the right thing, courage to comfort you and those you love. Lord, I want to be like Veronica.

Seventh Station: Jesus falls the second time
How many times have I fallen under the same sin? How many times will I trip over my pride…my sorrow…my weakness? Thanks to you, Lord Jesus, I can get up each time and ask forgiveness. For you paved our lives in the blood of your sacrifice and marked a narrow path to salvation. That I may balance on that path and reach for your steady hand when I fall; then I too may find my eternal soul in your presence when my earthly pilgrimage is complete.
Lord, I know I will fall, I know I have fallen short of your glory. But in those falls, I pray that I will renew my resolve to follow you. You told us that Your forgiveness knows no bounds; I trust you in that. Lord, let me have strength to go on even in the face of death.

Eighth Station: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
The women came to you in grief for what was being done to you. In your everlasting compassion, you asked them to not weep for you, but for their children. How selfless! How loving that you would set aside your own extreme pains and direct these women to pray for their children.
Lord, guide me on this path to prayer for others and not just for myself. Help me to see the needs of other people and give me the courage and the strength to follow through in that help. Lord, let not my afflictions hinder my prayer for others; like you, I want to have perfect prayers.

Ninth Station: Jesus falls a third time
My goodness! How many times must I sin before I understand what this does to you? My sins hurt you like the thorns on your head. My sins erase the goodness of your sacrifice. Lord, I’m so sorry for my sins. I pray that I will keep you in my heart and mind at all times, for when you are with me Lord, I don’t sin. When you are with me – and I see you – I don’t sin. It is my own distractions, my own busy-ness, that pushes you out of my mind. Lord, I pray that I can keep my eyes, my heart, my mind, my soul focused on you.

Tenth Station: Jesus clothes are taken away
This act, the soldiers tearing away your clothing makes me so angry!
“Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before the swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.” Matthew 7:6
But that is exactly what they did – You, our heavenly pearl, was ripped to shreds. Your skin had been cut with the flogging and your blood had dried to your clothes. When they took away your clothing, they opened all those wounds again. Your blood flowed freely once more. How many times must they cause you pain?
But I do it too, don’t I, Lord? I re-open things that have been forgiven. I use words that scar your skin. I tear off other people’s “clothing” and get right down to the bloody issues that make them bleed. Lord, I don’t want to be that person. Keep my curiosity away so my questions don’t make others bleed. Help me to keep my expressions pure and holy so no one may misunderstand my face – or worse, see my face and know that I am judging them!
Maybe my prayer should be to be stripped of the clothes that bind me to the earth. The possessions I have, should they be taken away from me, would that make me bleed? I have nothing in this world so important to me as my soul and Your love. Even my children, the beautiful blessings that they are, are nothing in this world. It is the next world for which I am trying to live. Strip me of my earthly possessions and see if I bleed. If I do, then I am not worthy of this life. Lord, I want to be like Job, in love with You no matter what this life deals me.
“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 10:37

Eleventh Station: Jesus is nailed to the cross
The pain! The stabbing pain and the fear! When will the pounding end? When will these people understand that every drop of blood comes at a great price? Lord, Your suffering is beyond my comprehension! Even my worst pain, my worst headache, the labor of giving birth was nothing compared to Your sufferings; for all my suffering has ended with a peace, a freedom of pain, a child. Your suffering ended with death and hell.
Lord, I offer you all my suffering for Your glory. May my pain bring me closer to you.

Twelfth Station: Jesus dies on the cross
Blackness covered the earth the moment you died. Your followers believed that everything was at an end. You had told them that you would die and be raised, but they didn’t understand. Oh, the sorrow of that moment. The earth shook. The temple veil was torn. All these things happened, but no one understood them until later.
How many times has my life seemed to end with a tragedy? I can see all the pieces of sorrow, but I am unable to link them together into a tapestry of joy until much later. Lord, help me to focus on finding the joy. And in that, allow me to welcome the pain of sorrow, so that the joy may feel more complete. Lord, when all seems lost, let me remember You and Your promise to make all things good in God.

Thirteenth Station: The body of Jesus is taken down from the cross
With such tenderness they brought you down, the empty shell of your body. Your mother, Mary, how she must have held you and wept! Was there anything to console her? Did she try to hide her anguish?
Lord, in our day, we have many ways to cover up sad feelings. Our society is afraid to feel anything but happiness and contentment. What are we missing? Why do we feel that feeling discomfort and grief are bad?
Lord, I want to rid my life of all the drugs, the band-aids, the pain-relievers that keep me from feeling every emotion God has given mankind. I ask for bravery, that I may endure these emotions and understand what it means to feel, to be alive, to suffer and then to resurrect the feelings of joy, peace, and happiness.

Fourteenth Station: Jesus is laid in the tomb
All things must come to an end; so true for good and evil. Your ministry ended when they killed you. All who loved you thought their mission was a failure. I have felt this way too. All the good things I can do must someday come to an end. And what can I leave behind? Change can be a good thing, but right now, in this country, change is very frightening.
Lord, give us endurance when the boulder of the tomb traps us inside. Turn our hearts to You, to prayer, to fasting and almsgiving. This season of Lent is our annual desert that ends – temporarily in a tomb. Your followers didn’t know that the tomb would be wrenched open, just as we don’t understand that God the Father can make all “ends” into new beginnings. Lord, as we grieve our losses, I pray that you will stand next to us, pointing the way to the angels who declare the goodness of the Lord, the way to everlasting life. Every life must have a desert. But every life can end in the radiance of Your light, if we follow you.


“Blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” Matthew 13:16-17