The New Way of the Cross

The New Way of the Cross

In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Opening Prayer

Leader: O Jesus, our adorable Saviour, behold us prostrate at your feet, imploring your mercy for ourselves, and for the souls of all the faithful departed. Bestow on us the infinite merits of your passion, on which we are now about to meditate. Grant that while we trace this path of sights and tears, our hearts may be so touched with contrition and repentance, that we may be ready to embrace with joy all the crosses, sufferings, and humiliations of our life and pilgrimage.

All: Amen

1st Station: The Lord’s Supper Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. (Genuflect) All: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. While they were eating, Jesus took a piece of bread, gave a prayer of thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples. “Take and eat it,” he said; “this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks to God, and gave it to them. “Drink it, all of you,” he said; “this is my blood, which seals God’s covenant, my blood poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will never again drink this wine until the day I drink the new wine with you in my Father’s Kingdom.” (Matthew 26:26-29) Our Father.., Hail Mary.., Glory Be.. Leader: Have mercy on us, O Lord. All: Have mercy on us. Holy Mother, pierce me through! In my heart, each wound renew, Of my Savior crucified. Through her heart, his sorrows sharing, All his bitter anguish bearing, Now at length the sword had passed. 2nd Station: Jesus’ Agony at Gethsemani Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. (Genuflect) All: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. Jesus left the city and went, as he usually did, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples went with him. When he arrived at the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” Then he went off from them about the distance of a stone’s throw and knelt down and prayed. “Father,” he said, “if you will, take this cup of suffering away from me. Not my will, however, but your will be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. (Luke 22:39-43) Our Father.., Hail Mary.., Glory Be.. Leader: Have mercy on us, O Lord. All: Have mercy on us. Holy Mother, pierce me through! In my heart, each wound renew, Of my Savior crucified. Oh, how sad and sore distressed Was that Mother highly blessed, Of the sole-begotten one. 3rd Station: Jesus Before the Sanhedrin Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. (Genuflect) All: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. The High Priest stood up in front of them all and questioned Jesus, “Have you no answer to the accusation they bring against you?” But Jesus kept quiet and would not say a word. Again the High Priest questioned him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed God?” Jesus answered: “I am, and you will all see the Son of Man seated on the right of the Almighty and coming with the clouds of heaven!” The High Priest tore his robes and said, “We don’t need any more witnesses! You heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” They all voted against him: he was guilty and should be put to death. (Mark 14:55-64) Our Father.., Hail Mary.., Glory Be.. Leader: Have mercy on us, O Lord. All: Have mercy on us. Holy Mother, pierce me through! In my heart, each wound renew, Of my Savior crucified. Christ above in torment hangs, She beneath beholds the pangs, Of her dying glorious Son. 4th Station: The Crowning with Thorns Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. (Genuflect) All: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. Then Pilate’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s palace, and the whole company gathered round him. They stripped off his clothes and put a scarlet robe on him. Then they made a crown out of thorny branches and placed it on his head, and put a stick in his right hand; then they knelt before him and mocked him. “Long live the King of the Jews!” they said. They spat on him, and took the stick and hit him over the head. When they had finished mocking him, they took the robe off and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him out to crucify him. (Matthew 27:27-31) Our Father.., Hail Mary.., Glory Be.. Leader: Have mercy on us, O Lord. All: Have mercy on us. Holy Mother, pierce me through! In my heart, each wound renew, Of my Savior crucified. Is there one who would not weep, Whelmed in miseries so deep, Christ’s dear Mother to behold? 5th Station: The Carrying of the Cross Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. (Genuflect) All: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. When they had finished mocking him, they took the robe off and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him out to crucify him. (Matthew 27:31) Our Father.., Hail Mary.., Glory Be.. Leader: Have mercy on us, O Lord. All: Have mercy on us. Holy Mother, pierce me through! In my heart, each wound renew, Of my Savior crucified. Can the human heart refrain From partaking in her pain, In that Mother’s pain untold. 6th Station: The Falling of Jesus Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. (Genuflect) All: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. He was pierced for our offences, crushed for our sins. Upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed. We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way. But the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all. Though he was harshly treated, he submitted, and opened not his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth. (Isaiah 52:5-7) Our Father.., Hail Mary.., Glory Be.. Leader: Have mercy on us, O Lord. All: Have mercy on us. Holy Mother, pierce me through! In my heart, each wound renew, Of my Savior crucified. For the sins of his own nation, She saw him hang in desolation, Till his spirit forth he sent. 7th Station: Simon of Cyrene Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. (Genuflect) All: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene named Simon, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. (Matthew 27:32) Our Father.., Hail Mary.., Glory Be.. Leader: Have mercy on us, O Lord. All: Have mercy on us. Holy Mother, pierce me through! In my heart, each wound renew, Of my Savior crucified. O my Mother, found of love, Touch my spirit from above, Make my heart with yours accord. 8th Station: The Women of Jerusalem Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. (Genuflect) All: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. A large crowd of people followed him; among them were some women who were weeping and wailing for him. Jesus turned to them and said, “Women of Jerusalem! Don’t cry for me, but for yourselves and your children. For the days are coming when people will say, ‘How lucky are the women who never had children, who never bore babies, who never nursed them!’ That will be the time when people will say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Hide us!’ For if such things as these are done when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” (Luke 23:27-31) Our Father.., Hail Mary.., Glory Be.. Leader: Have mercy on us, O Lord. All: Have mercy on us. Holy Mother, pierce me through! In my heart, each wound renew, Of my Savior crucified. Make me feel as you have felt, Make my soul to glow and melt, With the love of Christ, my Lord. 9th Station: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. (Genuflect) All: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. When they came to the place called “The Skull,” they crucified Jesus there, and the two criminals, one on his right and the other on his left. Jesus said, “Forgive them, Father! They don’t know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:32-34) Our Father.., Hail Mary.., Glory Be.. Leader: Have mercy on us, O Lord. All: Have mercy on us. Holy Mother, pierce me through! In my heart, each wound renew, Of my Savior crucified. Holy Mother, pierce me through! In my heart, each wound renew, Of my Savior crucified. 10th Station: The Good Criminal Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. (Genuflect) All: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. One of the criminals hanging there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” The other one, however, rebuked him, saying, “Don’t you fear God? You received the same sentence he did. Ours, however, is only right, because we are getting what we deserve for what we did; but he has done no wrong.” And he said to Jesus, “Remember me, Jesus, when you come as King!” Jesus said to him, “I promise you that today you will be in Paradise with me.” (Luke 23:39-43) Our Father.., Hail Mary.., Glory Be.. Leader: Have mercy on us, O Lord. All: Have mercy on us. Holy Mother, pierce me through! In my heart, each wound renew, Of my Savior crucified. Let me share with you his pain, Who for all my sins was slain, Who for me in torment died. 11th Station: Mary and John Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. (Genuflect) All: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. Standing close to Jesus’ cross were his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene. Jesus saw his mother and the disciple he loved standing there; so he said to his mother, “He is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “She is your mother.” From that time the disciple took her to live in his home. (John 19:25-27) Our Father.., Hail Mary.., Glory Be.. Leader: Have mercy on us, O Lord. All: Have mercy on us. Holy Mother, pierce me through! In my heart, each wound renew, Of my Savior crucified. Let me mingle tears with you, Mourning him who mourned for me, All the days that I may live. 12th Station: Jesus Dies on the Cross Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. (Genuflect) All: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. Jesus knew that by now everything had been completed; and in order to make the scripture come true, he said, “I am thirsty.” A bowl was there, full of cheap wine; so a sponge was soaked in the wine, put on a stalk of hyssop, and lifted up to his lips. Jesus drank the wine and said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and died. (John 19:28-30) Our Father.., Hail Mary.., Glory Be.. Leader: Have mercy on us, O Lord. All: Have mercy on us. Holy Mother, pierce me through! In my heart, each wound renew, Of my Savior crucified. By the cross with you to stay, There with you to weep and pray, Is all I ask of you to give.

13th Station: Jesus is Laid in the Tomb

Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. (Genuflect) All: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. When it was evening, a rich man from Arimathea arrived; his name was Joseph, and he also was a disciple of Jesus. He went into the presence of Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate gave orders for the body to be given to Joseph. So Joseph took it, wrapped it in a new linen sheet, and placed it in his own tomb, which he had just recently dug out of solid rock. Then he rolled a large stone across the entrance to the tomb and went away. (Matthew 27:57-60) Our Father.., Hail Mary.., Glory Be.. Leader: Have mercy on us, O Lord. All: Have mercy on us. Holy Mother, pierce me through! In my heart, each wound renew, Of my Savior crucified. While my body here decays, May soul your goodness praise, Safe in paradise with you. 14th Station: The Resurrection Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. (Genuflect) All: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. Very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, carrying the spices they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the entrance to the tomb, so they went in; but they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. They stood there puzzled about this, when suddenly two men in bright shining clothes stood by them. Full of fear, the women bowed down to the ground, as the men said to them, “Why are you looking among the dead for one who is alive? He is not here; he has been raised. Remember what he said to you while he was in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, be crucified, and three days later rise to life.'” (Luke 24:1-6) Our Father.., Hail Mary.., Glory Be.. Leader: Have mercy on us, O Lord. All: Have mercy on us. Holy Mother, pierce me through! In my heart, each wound renew, Of my Savior crucified. Jesus risen be our lover, In your food and in our brother, Lead us home to paradise. Final Prayer: (after the 14th Station) O Lord Jesus Christ, help me to see in the cross the lengths to which man’s sin will go. Help me to see in the cross that sin is enmity to you, that sin is the destroyer of all beauty, and the enemy of all loveliness. Help me to see in the cross the lengths to which your love will go, that you did love us so much that you kept nothing back. Help me to see in the cross the horror of sin, and to depart for ever from it. Help me to see in the cross the wonder of your love and to surrender forever to it. I ask you this through your sorrowful mother. Amen. May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.