1. Stations
of the cross
Leader: We gather together to pray the Stations of the Cross. We remember Jesus on his way to Calvary. We also remember our sisters and brothers around the world who live in extreme poverty.
People like Mahinur from Bangladesh.
Mahinur’s husband walks with difficulty using crutches and cannot work, so she is the main earner for the family. She usually catches fish to sell but since the river dried up earlier in the year, there are no fish to catch. Mahinur cooks and cleans in neighbours’ homes for a bit of cash but it’s never enough. There are days the family have nothing to eat.
Let us pray that these Stations will move our hearts to know God’s mercy and to share it with others so that everyone can live life to the full.
Image: Mahinur from Bangladesh. After 20 minutes of fishing in the river outside her home, she has caught just one small fish.
Picture credit: CAFOD (2018)

2. The first Station: Jesus is condemned to death
Suggested action: Light a candle near an open Bible at the front of the space.
Listen:
Jesus is alone before Pontius Pilate.
Jesus has done nothing wrong.
He has spent his whole life doing only good.
Jesus is condemned to death.
Think:
Think about a time when you have felt alone. How does that feel?
Prayer:
Jesus, you know what it means to stand alone
in front of those who reject you and don’t understand you.
Walk with us.
When we feel that we can’t make a difference, help us to keep going.
Teach us to share your love.
Image: Discarded lifejackets on a beach in Greece, left by refugees and migrants, many of whom were fleeing conflict and the threat of death in their own countries. Caritas Greece, part of CAFOD’s global network, gave out emergency items. The global refugee crisis continues.
Picture credit: Caritas International (2015)

3. The second Station: Jesus carries his cross
Suggested action: Place a cross, as large as you can find, at the front of the space.
Listen:
The soldiers give Jesus a heavy wooden cross to carry.
Jesus knows that the way will not be easy and that it will lead to his death.
Jesus takes the cross and carries it along the way.
Think:
Think about a time that you were treated unfairly. How does that feel?
Prayer:
Jesus, you picked up your cross,
even though you did not deserve it.
Walk with us.
When we feel afraid, help us to be brave.
Give us the courage to speak out to change our world,
so that all our sisters and brothers
can experience justice.
Image: In 2015 an earthquake destroyed or made unsafe 89 per cent of classrooms in this district of Nepal. 13-year-old Nirjala is walking to her newly built, earthquake-resilient school which Caritas Switzerland, part of CAFOD’s global network, helped to rebuild.
Picture credit: Caritas Switzerland

4. The third Station: Jesus falls for the first time
Suggested action: Each person bends down and touches the ground.
Listen:
Jesus is tired. He falls, face to the ground.
He struggles to get up.
Jesus keeps trying until he is up on his feet.
Think:
Think about the times when you are really tired but you have to do something. How does that feel?
Prayer:
Jesus, you know how it feels to struggle and to fall.
Walk with us.
Show us how to walk with others
to know what it feels like to be in another’s shoes.
You reach out to us with caring hands.
Show us how to join our hands with communities around the world
who are bringing hope to their people.
Image: In 2017, drought and conflict brought millions of people across East Africa to the brink of famine. This parched earth is in Kenya. Thanks to CAFOD supporters, we were able to respond to this emergency, reaching children and families most in need. 
Picture credit: CAFOD (2017)

5. The fourth Station: Jesus meets his mother
Suggested action: Pray a Hail Mary together.
Listen:
Jesus sees his mother, Mary.
Mary reaches out to Jesus but the soldiers push him on.
Jesus looks into Mary’s eyes and he finds strength.
Think:
Think about the people you love. How do they help you when things are difficult?
Prayer:
Jesus, you looked through the crowd
and saw your mother’s eyes.
Her love gave you the strength to carry on.
Walk with us.
When we don’t want to listen, open our ears to hear.
When it would be easier to look away, open our eyes to see.
Image: The Altiplano, high in Bolivia, has poor soil and increasingly unpredictable storms. Elizabeth struggled to feed her children nutritious food. CAFOD’s local experts gave her family high-quality seeds, along with training about good nutrition and how to grow vegetables and make organic pesticides and fertiliser. Now that the family can grow more nutritious food, Elizabeth’s children are healthier and growing well.
Picture credit: CAFOD (2016)

6. The fifth Station: Simon of Cyrene carries the cross
Suggested action: Each person places a hand on the shoulder of the person next to them for a few seconds.
Listen:
Jesus is weak.
The soldiers make a foreigner called Simon help Jesus to carry the cross.
Simon carries the cross with Jesus.
Think:
Simon didn’t want to help at first. But he did his best and soon he was glad to be helping Jesus. Think about a time when you needed someone’s help. How did you feel?
Prayer:
Jesus, you know what it means to depend on someone and to need their help.
Walk with us.
When my friends need help, teach me to work with them to lighten their burden.
Show me how to listen carefully so that I can offer what they need.
We are your global family of many different colours, cultures and religions.
Make us one family united in you.
Image: 12-year-old Rabiul (right) on his way to school in Bangladesh. His journey involves rowing across the river, then a ten-minute walk, mostly along muddy tracks. Rabiul usually walks with a friend, because he has a physical disability and can be unsteady on his feet and fall over.
Picture credit: CAFOD(2018)

7. The sixth Station: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
Suggested action: Place a bowl of water and a cloth at the front of the space near the cross.
Listen:
A woman called Veronica walks towards Jesus with a cloth.
She wants to comfort him.
She gently wipes the face of Jesus.
The soldiers push her back.
Think:
Veronica was very brave to ignore the soldiers in order to comfort Jesus. When have you reached out to comfort a vulnerable person, like a child or someone who is unwell?
Prayer:
Jesus, you know how it feels
to be hurt and to cry out in pain and fear.
Walk with us.
Show us how to walk together with others.
Show us how to love the people around us
And to be there for those who need us.
Image: Bristi, 12, collecting water a five minute walk from her home in Bangladesh. Bristi’s family received support from Action on Disability and Development, part of CAFOD’s global network.
Picture credit: Phil Knox/Purple Flame (2013)

8. The seventh Station: Jesus falls for the second time
Suggested action: Each person bends down and touches the ground.
Listen:
Jesus is becoming weaker.
He falls again.
Even with Simon’s help, he struggles to get up.
Jesus continues on his way.
Think:
Think about Jesus struggling to get up. Sometimes when things feel too difficult we have to keep trying. How do you think Jesus felt?
Prayer:
Jesus, you stumbled and fell.
You lost strength and became tired.
And yet you carried on.
Walk with us.
When we find it hard to keep going,
give us the strength we need to finish our work as well as we can and show love to others.
Image: When Lokwii Richard, was shot by cattle rustlers near his home in Uganda, his leg had to be amputated. Simple tasks became much more difficult and he thought he would never work again. Caritas Moroto, part of CAFOD’s global network, trained Lokwii how to build a toilet in his home: “Now I have privacy. Privacy is important because it removes the shame I might feel.” Now Lokwii trains others in his village to build toilets and is on the water committee that maintains the village borehole.
Picture credit: CAFOD (2015)

9. The eighth Station: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
Suggested action: For one minute, share with the person next to you one way that you could use your voice to make the world a better place.
Listen:
There are some women in the crowd who feel so sorry for Jesus that they are crying.
Jesus stops and talks to them.
Think:
Even at this difficult time, Jesus was not thinking of himself. Remember a time when you thought only of yourself rather than what was best for others. How could you speak up for others?
Prayer:
Jesus, you cared and spoke out, even on the road to your death.
You knew and felt the suffering of others.
Walk with us.
As we hear the stories of our sisters and brothers who live in poverty,
give us the courage to raise our voices, so that together we can work for change.
Image: These women at a refugee camp in Kenya are waiting patiently to receive CAFOD-funded dignity kits. Having access to clean sanitary products keeps women healthy in times of emergency and in refugee camps where they would otherwise have to use whatever fabric they could find, often leading to disease.
Picture credit: CAFOD (2018)

10. The ninth Station: Jesus falls the third time
Suggested action: Each person bends down and touches the ground.
Listen:
Jesus has almost no strength left.
He is tired, in pain, and is pushed on by the soldiers.
Jesus climbs a hill carrying the heavy cross.
He falls again. And again he gets up.
Think:
When you feel like you can’t keep trying, when things feel too difficult, who would you turn to?
Prayer:
Jesus, you felt the darkness around you,
the crowds surrounded you.
You fell once more.
Walk with us.
When we lose hope, when everything is just too difficult,
show us how to reach out to each other and hold hands, so that none of us have to do everything on our own.
Help us to know that you walk alongside us even when we feel most alone.
Image: 17-year-old Dennis from Mbala, Zambia, was thrown out of his home when he was 13. He grew crops to earn money to return to school. He is now a successful farmer and is also learning to grow fruit trees at the orchard in his school, which is run by part of our global network.
Picture credit: CAFOD (2016)

11. The tenth Station: Jesus is stripped of his garments
Suggested action: Each person draws/writes a prized possession on a card. Collect the cards and place at the front.
Listen:
Jesus reaches the top of the hill.
The soldiers remove his clothes.
They laugh at Jesus.
Now Jesus possesses nothing in this world.
Think:
Think of your most prized possessions. How would you feel if you were asked to give everything away? 
Prayer:
Jesus, you sacrificed everything and endured mockery for our sake.
Walk with us.
When we value possessions more than people,
or look down on someone who has less,
Show us your face in theirs.
Image: Beauty Nanyangwe from Mbala, Zambia, is a single mother who struggled to grow enough food. She joined a women’s group supported by some of CAFOD’s local experts, where she learned new farming and business skills. Beauty is now a successful farmer, selling her excess crops.
Picture credit: CAFOD (2016)

12. The eleventh Station: Jesus is nailed to the cross
Suggested action: Play/make the sound of three nails being hammered into wood. This could be done out of sight by one of the adult leaders.
(Ask your local CAFOD volunteer centre whether there is a Lampedusa Cross, like this one, available to borrow in your diocese).
Listen:
The soldiers make Jesus lie down on the cross. 
They nail his hands and feet to the cross.  
Think:
Sometimes we say or do hurtful things to others. How could we make them feel better?
Prayer:
Jesus, you cry out in pain.
Walk with us.
Challenge us -
when we hold people back,
when we look down on them,
when we don’t treat them with respect.
Help us to remember that everyone is equal,
that we are all made in the image of God.
Image: In 2013, a boat set sail for Europe with more than 500 refugees fleeing Eritrea and Somalia. The boat caught fire and sank near the Italian island of Lampedusa; 311 people perished. Mr Tuccio, a local carpenter, collected broken pieces of wood that had washed ashore and made crosses to offer a small but powerful symbol of hope for each of the survivors. The Lampedusa Cross is a story of solidarity and love.
Picture credit: CAFOD (2016)

13. The twelfth Station: Jesus dies on the cross
Suggested action: If appropriate, switch off the lights or extinguish a candle during this station. Invite each person to come forward to touch the cross and say a silent prayer.
Listen:
Jesus asks his Father to forgive those who are killing him.
Then Jesus gives everything to his Father.
A few moments later Jesus says: "It is finished." Jesus dies. (If you can, pause briefly to genuflect at this point) 
It was daylight, 3.00pm, but suddenly the sky turned dark, and the earth shook.
Think:
Even at the last minute Jesus is thinking of others, he asks for them to be forgiven. Do I show love and kindness to others only when I’m in a good mood?
Prayer:
Jesus, you know what it’s like to feel alone,
lost and afraid, betrayed and abandoned.
Walk with us. 
And show us how to walk with others,
who live in fear and face death through hunger, thirst, violence and war.
Show us how to pray for sisters and brothers that we have never met,
but who are always loved by you.
Image: A woman holds a lamp during a candlelit vigil in London to pray for refugees. In 2017, with war, persecution, natural disaster and poverty still forcing millions of people from their homes, Pope Francis launched the global Share the Journey campaign, calling on governments to protect the human dignity of people on the move.
Picture credit: Marcin Mazur (2015)

14. The thirteenth Station: Jesus’ body is taken down from the cross
Suggested action: Each person brings a photo of a family member or friend. Ask each person to hold their photo and appreciate that person. Alternatively, each person can write the name of a loved one on a piece of paper.
Listen:
Everybody goes away.
But Mary stays at the foot of the cross with her son.
Two friends come and gently take Jesus down from the cross.
Mary holds Jesus.
Think:
Mary held Jesus as she did when he was a baby, remembering all the happy days they had shared. Think about the friends and family that make you happy. What does it mean to be a really good friend?
Prayer:
Jesus, you know what it means to have friends,
who risked their own lives to take your body from the cross.
Walk with us.
Show us how to be friends to those close to us and to those far away.
Teach us to see you in everybody,
to be kind, loving and strong.
To be like you.
Image: This community in El Salvador are praying an outdoor Stations of the Cross. It's difficult growing enough in the soil here, the extreme weather is wiping out crops and farmers often can't grow enough to support themselves. CAFOD’s local experts gave farmers a variety of native seeds that don't require costly pesticide and insecticide, along with training and other support.
Picture credit: CAFOD (2017)

15. The fourteenth Station: Jesus is laid in the tomb and covered in incense
Suggested action: Keep the lights out/candle unlit. Close the Bible when the reader says “…end of the story”.
Listen:
Jesus is buried in a tomb.
A stone is rolled across the entrance.
Think:
Jesus’ disciples think it is the end of the story. (Pause) Jesus will no longer be there to teach them, eat with them or pray with them. But Jesus is always with us. Can you think of a time you have turned to Jesus to help you? 
Prayer:
Jesus, in the darkness of the tomb
those who loved you felt sad and alone.
They did not know what to do. 
Walk with us.
Guide us in difficult times,
so that we can share you with our sisters and brothers when they feel sad and alone.
Image: Some the volunteers in Sierra Leone who risked their lives to provide safe and dignified burials to victims of Ebola. CAFOD trained six teams of ten people each, including women and men. Sierra Leone was finally declared Ebola free on 7 November 2015.
Picture credit: CAFOD (2015)

16. The fifteenth Station: Jesus rises from the dead
Suggested action: Switch the lights back on/relight the candle. Open the Bible and place it near the candle. You could end by sharing the sign of peace.
Listen:
Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead.
Think:
Jesus is risen from the dead. His message of love and hope is still alive in the world today. He has shown us that he is the Son of God and he is a light for all who follow him. How will you share this light with others?
Prayer:
Jesus, you share your life, your light and your peace with us all.
Walk with us.
Show us how to live out your love
so that our sisters and brothers,
here and around the world,
may know the joy of new life
And we may all be changed by living in your light.
Image: Pupils at a school for orphaned children in Mbala, Zambia which is run by the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, part of CAFOD’s global network.
Picture credit: CAFOD (2016)