The Way of the Cross

Stations of the Cross

Walk with the sorrowful Mother, meditation by meditation, from Pilate's judgment to the sealed tomb.

By the method of Saint Francis of Assisi

Preparatory Prayer

Most merciful Lord, with a contrite heart and penitent spirit I bow down before Thy divine Majesty. I adore Thee as my supreme Lord and Master. I believe in Thee, I hope in Thee, I love Thee above all things. I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee. I will meditate on Thy sufferings, and visit the Stations in company with Thy sorrowful Mother and my holy Guardian Angel, to promote Thy honor and to save my soul. O loving Jesus, inflame my cold heart with Thy love, that I may perform this devotion as perfectly as possible, and that I may live and die in union with Thee. Amen.

Ecce Homo — Antonio Ciseri(1871)

Station I

Jesus is Condemned to Death

Iesus a Pilato morte damnatur

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee. R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Meditation · Matthew 27:22-26

Jesus, the most innocent of beings, is condemned to death — yes, to the shameful death of the Cross. To remain a friend of Caesar, Pilate delivers Him into the hands of His enemies. Let me rather displease the whole world than displease Thee, O Jesus.

Stabat Mater

At the cross her station keeping, Stood the mournful Mother weeping, Close to Jesus to the last.

Christ Carrying the Cross — El Greco(c. 1580)

Station II

Jesus Carries His Cross

Iesus crucem suam accipit

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee. R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Meditation · John 19:17

When our divine Redeemer beheld the Cross, He willingly reached out to it with His bleeding arms. He embraced it lovingly, kissed it tenderly, and carried it joyfully. I cannot be Thy friend and follower if I refuse to carry my cross.

Stabat Mater

Through her heart, His sorrow sharing, All His bitter anguish bearing, Now at length the sword had passed.

The Fall of Christ on the Way to Calvary — Raphael(1516–1517)

Station III

Jesus Falls the First Time

Iesus primum sub cruce cadit

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee. R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Meditation · Isaiah 53:4-5

Carrying the Cross, our dear Saviour was so weakened by its weight that He fell exhausted to the ground. The Cross was light to Him, but our sins made it heavy. Should I not bear my light burden in union with Thee?

Stabat Mater

O, how sad and sore distressed Was that Mother, highly blest, Of the sole-begotten One!

Mater Dolorosa — Titian(c. 1550)

Station IV

Jesus Meets His Blessed Mother

Iesus occurrit Matri suae

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee. R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Meditation · Luke 2:34-35

How sad and painful for Mary to behold her beloved Son laden with the Cross, covered with wounds and blood, driven through the streets by savage executioners. How earnestly did she desire to die instead of Him, or at least with Him.

Stabat Mater

Christ above in torment hangs, She beneath beholds the pangs Of her dying glorious Son.

Simon of Cyrene — Titian(c. 1560)

Station V

Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus

Simon Cyrenaeus Iesum adiuvat

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee. R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Meditation · Mark 15:21

Simon was forced to help our exhausted Saviour carry His Cross. How pleased Christ would have been had Simon offered his services freely. He says to you: "Take up your cross and follow Me." Do not recoil, do not carry it grudgingly.

Stabat Mater

Is there one who would not weep, Whelmed in miseries so deep, Christ's dear Mother to behold?

The Veil of Veronica — Domenico Fetti(c. 1618)

Station VI

Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus

Veronica sudarium Iesu porrigit

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee. R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Meditation · Isaiah 53:2-3

Moved by compassion, Veronica presents her veil to wipe His disfigured face. He imprints on it His holy countenance. Every act of mercy toward your neighbor is a service rendered unto Him.

Stabat Mater

Can the human heart refrain From partaking in her pain, In that Mother's pain untold?

Christ Falling Under the Cross — Jean Fouquet(c. 1455)

Station VII

Jesus Falls the Second Time

Iesus iterum sub cruce cadit

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee. R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Meditation · Psalm 21:15-16

Overwhelmed by the weight of the Cross, Jesus falls again. The cruel executioners do not permit Him to rest. Remember, compassionate soul, that your sins caused Him this painful fall. From this moment I will strive never to sin again.

Stabat Mater

Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled, She beheld her tender Child, All with bloody scourges rent.

Christ Meeting the Women of Jerusalem — Eugène Delacroix(c. 1850)

Station VIII

Jesus Speaks to the Women of Jerusalem

Iesus mulieres Ierosolymitanas alloquitur

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee. R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Meditation · Luke 23:27-28

Moved by compassion, the devout women weep over our suffering Saviour. But He turns to them and says: "Weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves and your children." You also must weep over your sins.

Stabat Mater

For the sins of His own nation, Saw Him hang in desolation, Till His spirit forth He sent.

The Third Fall — James Tissot(c. 1890)

Station IX

Jesus Falls the Third Time

Iesus tertio sub cruce cadit

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee. R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Meditation · Lamentations 3:19-20

Exhausted at the foot of Calvary, Jesus falls for the third time. His wounds are reopened by these repeated falls. And how enormous must my sins be, to cause Him to fall so painfully. Enkindle in me, dear Jesus, a sincere desire to amend my life.

Stabat Mater

O sweet Mother! font of love, Touch my spirit from above, Make my heart with thine accord.

Christ Stripped of His Garments — El Greco(1577–1579)

Station X

Jesus is Stripped of His Garments

Iesus vestibus exuitur

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee. R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Meditation · John 19:23-24

Arriving on Calvary, Jesus is cruelly deprived of His garments. How painful the stripping, for the garments cling to His mangled flesh. He is stripped that He may die possessed of nothing. How happy shall I die after laying aside my evil habits.

Stabat Mater

Make me feel as thou hast felt; Make my soul to glow and melt With the love of Christ my Lord.

Nailing to the Cross — Fra Angelico(1440s)

Station XI

Jesus is Nailed to the Cross

Iesus cruci affigitur

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee. R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Meditation · Luke 23:33-34

Stripped of His garments, Jesus is violently thrown on the Cross. His hands and feet are nailed in the most cruel way. Jesus remains silent — He suffers patiently because He suffers for you. Crucify, O Lord, my flesh with its evil desires.

Stabat Mater

Holy Mother, pierce me through, In my heart each wound renew Of my Saviour crucified.

Christ Crucified — Diego Velázquez(c. 1632)

Station XII

Jesus Dies on the Cross

Iesus in cruce moritur

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee. R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Meditation · John 19:28-30

Behold Jesus crucified! Behold His wounds received for love of you. His head is bent to kiss you. His arms are extended to embrace you. His heart is open to receive you. Jesus dies on the Cross to save you from eternal death.

Stabat Mater

Let me share with thee His pain, Who for all my sins was slain, Who for me in torments died.

The Descent from the Cross (Pietà) — Michelangelo(1498–1499)

Station XIII

Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross

Iesus a cruce deponitur

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee. R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Meditation · Luke 23:53

Jesus did not descend from the Cross but remained on it till His death. Taken down, He rested on the bosom of His beloved Mother, as He had so often done in life. Persevere in your good resolutions; do not flee from the Cross.

Stabat Mater

Let me mingle tears with thee, Mourning Him who mourned for me, All the days that I may live.

The Entombment of Christ — Caravaggio(1603–1604)

Station XIV

Jesus is Laid in the Tomb

Iesus in sepulcro conditur

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee. R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Meditation · Matthew 27:59-60

The body of Jesus is laid in a stranger's tomb. He who in this world had nowhere to rest His head would have no grave of His own after death. Depart from me, deceitful world; henceforth I walk the way of the Cross to my heavenly home.

Stabat Mater

By the cross with thee to stay, There with thee to weep and pray, Is all I ask of thee to give.

Concluding Prayer of Saint Francis

Almighty and eternal God, merciful Father, who hast given to the human race Thy beloved Son as an example of humility, obedience, and patience, to precede us on the way of life, bearing the cross: graciously grant us that we, inflamed by His infinite love, may take up the sweet yoke of His Gospel together with the mortification of the cross, following Him as His true disciples, so that we shall one day gloriously rise with Him and joyfully hear the final sentence: "Come, ye blessed of My Father, and possess the kingdom which was prepared for you from the beginning." Amen.

Traditional sacred art from the fifteenth through the nineteenth century accompanies each station.