The Stations of the Cross By: Grace Anne Lake, Galen Lee, and Lily Rogers

The First Station: Jesus is Condemned to Death. Leader: We Adore you, O Christ, and we Praise you. Respond: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. Jesus stands before a crowd where he is being condemned. He receives the mean words of those in the crowd without any hatred towards those yelling these words. Yet these people in the crowd are not alone in their condemnation of Jesus. How often do we gossip or speak poorly of those around us? How often do I ignore the people in need of a friend? We fail to see Jesus in everyone around us. In condemning others, we are also condemning Jesus. *7 Let Us Pray: God, give me the strength to act as your son acted in the midst of his persecution. Help me to endure my personal moments of persecution in my daily life. Lord, help me to not judge or condemn others. Give me the strength to stand up to those who persecute others. Lord, please forgive me for the condemning I have done.

The Second Station: Jesus carries the Cross. Leader: We Adore you, O Christ, and we Praise you. Respond: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. Jesus has been beaten, stripped, abused, and betrayed by his friends; now he is being forced to carry a cross. Jesus accepts this cross without hesitation. He does not complain or try to escape this punishment. This cross is not just a wooden splintery burden. This cross represents the sin of the world. Believe it or not, we all add to that cross Jesus carried. We are lustful, prideful, and greedy. We sin on a daily basis, adding more weight to Jesus’ cross. Let Us Pray: Lord, help me to accept my crosses as your son accepted his. We all have our own crosses to bear and you know my struggles. Through these hardships, help me follow the path that leads me to you. I am very thankful that your son took up his cross for my sins. Allow me to realize when I have sinned so I may take the burden off of your son.

The Third Station: Jesus falls for the first time. Leader: We Adore you, O Christ, and we Praise you. Respond: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. Jesus has the weight of the cross on his shoulders on top of his open wounds. The pain soon becomes unbearable. The journey comes to a sudden stop. Jesus has fallen to the ground, but he finds it within himself to get back up and continue his journey. In a soccer game if the fall is too hard, a player gets taken out of the game. Jesus did not have that option. He got back up and kept going. We often times fall down and do not get back up because staying down is much easie r. Let Us Pray: Lord, help us when we fall spiritually in our daily lives. Help us when we fail at doing what is right. Give us the strength to get back up when we do fall. Allow us to look at you and persevere. Lord, I pray that you will guide us along the path to you.

The Fourth Station: Jesus meets his mother. Leader: We Adore you, O Christ, and we Praise you. Respond: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. Mary is in the crowd watching and wishing. Wishing she could help carry the cross for her son. The only thing she can do is to be there for him as a parent. Yet, this is enough for Jesus to keep pushing on. The truest love is the love from a parent. We often times go through hard times as teenagers. We struggle with bullies. We cannot always keep up with schoolwork, but we should always know: we are never alone. Our parents will always love us no matter what. Let Us Pray: Lord, give us the ability to stay strong in our faith when life gets hard. Give us the strength to keep pushing on like your son did. I ask that you will give us the ability to see our parents love at this time in our lives. Thank you for always being here for us when we need you. Thank you for giving us parents that love us like you do.

The Fifth Station: Simon helps Jesus carry the Cross. Leader: We Adore you, O Christ, and we Praise you. Respond: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. Jesus’ progress begins to slow down. Simon is grabbed from the crowd. He is ordered to help Jesus carry the cross. Jesus must have been so relieved to have help carrying that cross. Many times we fail to help others we see in need. We do not help the teacher passing out papers, or the kid who dropped his books. Do we not help because it will hurt our popularity? Do we not help because we do not have the time? Let Us Pray: Lord, help us help others. Give us the strength to stand up and help others even though we may be criticized or condemned. Give us Simon’s strength. Allow us to be like Simon and help others burdens. Lord forgive us if we have ever failed at succeeding in taking up your burden.

The Sixth Station: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus. Leader: We Adore you, O Christ, and we Praise you. Respond: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. Blood, sweat, and tears are running down Jesus’ face. He cannot even see at this point. The soldiers and crowd spit in His face. Veronica comes forth with her cloth. Ever so gently, she reaches out and wipes his face. Jesus is now being treated like a human rather than an animal being spit on and yelled at. We often degrade people around us to animals by name-calling instead of wiping their faces like Veronica did. Veronica dared to be different in such a large crowd. Do we ever dare to be different despite what our friends are doing? Let Us Pray: Lord, help us be like Veronica. Help us console and comfort others when they are in need. Allow us to stand up and help others even when we are scared we will be criticized. Lord, help give us the strength to be like Veronica. I ask that you will help me be a consoler.

The Seventh Station: Jesus falls a second time. Leader: We Adore you, O Christ, and we Praise you. Respond: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. After this fall the soldier’s anger grows. They yell and beat Jesus even more. Jesus could have easily put an end to all of this but He chose not to. Jesus chose to get up and continue on. He wanted to keep his promise to God. We often times break our promises that we make. The promises we break pale in comparison to the promise Jesus kept to God. Why do we choose to break a simple promise when our Savior kept the greatest promise of all time? Why do we choose to be so weak alone when we have the power to be strong with the Lord? Let Us Pray: Lord, help us when we fall. Give us the strength to get back up. Allow us to be like Jesus and continue with our struggles. Allow us to look to you when we are in times of need. Help us be like Jesus, and get up when we are forced down. Help us look to you first when we need help.

The Eighth Station: Jesus meets the Women. Leader: We Adore you, O Christ, and we Praise you. Respond: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. Women come forward on to Jesus’ path. The women are crying tears for Jesus. They know he is about to be crucified and see the suffering in his face. Yet, instead of being comforted by the women, Jesus comforts the women. He tells them, “Do not weep for me.” Do we ever get led off the path of goodness? How often do we miss God’s message? How often do we get caught up in the process of things rather than taking a step back and viewing the bigger picture? Let Us Pray: Lord, help us make time for you. Help us pray more often and receive your message. Help us to stay of the right path to you. Give us the strength to keep our ears open. Lord, help us listen to your message for us.

The Ninth Station: Jesus falls for the third and final time. Leader: We Adore you, O Christ, and we Praise you. Respond: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. Physically, it is nearly impossible for Jesus to get up after the third fall. Knowing the task at hand, Jesus finds it in his heart to get back up. Jesus was both fully man and fully divine. The full man in him feels the pain and suffering. The full divineness knows that it has to be finished. Often times we choose what seems pleasurable physically knowing it is sinful spiritually. As teenagers, we tend to forget our spiritual journeys. Do we fall for the third and final time, but not get back up? Let Us Pray: Lord, we fall everyday. Give us the strength to get back up. Let us remember how Jesus fell. Let us look to you for help. Help us Lord when we fall and keep us on the right path. As teenagers we face sin everyday and help us to not fall to sin.

The Tenth Station: Jesus is stripped of his garments. Leader: We Adore you, O Christ, and we Praise you. Respond: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. Jesus is now stripped of all his garments in front of everyone. He is torn down in every single way possible by now. Jesus’ dignity as a man is stripped. Some animals have a less painful and more moral death. We often judge people by their clothes, or what is on the outside. When we use harsh words, we are tearing their clothes off much like the soldiers did to Jesus. How many times have we judged somebody by what they wear? How many times do we choose our friends based on what he or she is wearing? Let Us Pray: Lord, help me respect other’s dignity. Give me the strength to reject society and look at someone’s heart. Allow me to look to you when I have been stripped of everything I have. Help me look to you when my people treat me wrongly because of what they see. Lord, forgive me for judging people and making them worthless.

The Eleventh Station: Jesus is nailed to the cross. Leader: We Adore you, O Christ, and we Praise you. Respond: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. Jesus is laid upon the cross and nails pierce his hands and feet. The pain is unimaginable. He feels pain throughout his entire body. The soldiers do not stop despite Jesus’ screams and cries for help. Many times we are the soldiers nailing Jesus to the cross. We choose to sin despite Jesus’ cries for help. We choose to drive the nails into Jesus. Jesus is endured this suffering for the salvation of all. Let Us Pray: Lord, help us understand the pain your son felt. Allow us to keep that feeling in our mind when we start to hurt others. Help us to realize that some act is wrong. Give us the strength to stop when we find ourselves caught up in a bad act. Lord, forgive me when I have hurt others.

The Twelfth Station: Jesus dies on the Cross. Leader: We Adore you, O Christ, and we Praise you. Respond: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. Jesus says, “it is finished.” At this time, we see that Jesus’ journey has been complete. The pain and suffering are now over. Even through suffering Jesus somehow still shows love and compassion to the world. How often do we use the name of God in vein? How often do we make fun of the kid with no friends sitting alone at lunch? Is this what Jesus died for? Are we devoting our lives to Jesus like he devoted his life to us? Let Us Pray: Lord, help us fully realize how vital Jesus was for the salvation of everyone. Help us understand how important your plan is for us. Help us lead a life like Christ. Give me the strength to live like you want me to live despite criticism from today’s society. Help me turn away from the bad things that spiritually kill us. Help me stay on the path that leads to you.

The Thirteenth Station: Jesus is taken down from the Cross. Leader: We Adore you, O Christ, and we Praise you. Respond: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. Jesus is now in the arms of his mother again. She gently takes him down from the cross as she sees the suffering is over. Mary is heart broken to see her only son die. Jesus is no longer there to comfort her. At this point it all seems hopeless to Mary. For whom did Jesus give his life for? Sometimes like Mary, we lose hope too. How often do we want to give up because everything seems hopeless? How often do we forget that it is all part of God’s plan? Let Us Pray: Lord, when we lose hope, give us reassurance. Help us have faith in the hardest times. Help us to pray when it is hardest to pray. Give us strength to understand your plan. Give us strength to not ask why and to just have faith. You are the author of my life.

The Fourteenth Station: Jesus is placed in the tomb. Leader: We Adore you, O Christ, and we Praise you. Respond: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. The people Jesus loves place him in the tomb. The stone is now rolled over the entrance. The only thing on their minds is the death of Jesus. At this point in our lives, we have all lost somebody we loved. Did we mourn over their deaths for our own sadness? How often do we forget that our loved ones are much happier in after life with God? We forget that we have not truly lost these loved ones though. Do we tell the loved ones still with us how important they are to us on a regular basis? Let Us Pray: Lord, in these situations help us look to you for comfort. Give us the strength to realize our love ones that have died are in a much better place. Help me show my love for my love ones before it is too late. Help me not miss a moment to tell them I love them. Lord, comfort my family when it is my time to go and give them peace.

The Fifteenth Station: Resurrection of Jesus. Leader: We Adore you, O Christ, and we Praise you. Respond: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. After three days, Jesus rises. The stone that was in front of the tomb is now moved. The tomb in which Jesus was placed in is now empty. Jesus has conquered death and his prophecy has been fulfilled. Jesus has proved all those who doubted him and crucified him wrong. When we accomplish our goals, do we forget to give the credit to God? Do we only look to God when we need him? Do we praise God and give him thanks when we experience success? Let Us Pray: Lord, your plan is fulfilled. Your son has died for my sins. He has saved me from sin and given me a new life within you. Lord, help me to remember this everyday and to act the way you want me to act. Help me fulfill your plan for my life.