The Stations of the Cross; The First Station

WHEN LENT COMES EACH YEAR it is a helpful spiritual exercise to pray the Stations of the Cross.
The Stations of the Cross are a series of short meditations on the Sufferings of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ - from His Trial to His Execution.

It is believed that prayer, offered to God for a special intention, has intercessory value. Many may come to the end of their lives beset with regrets about various actions they did, and the consequences these caused. From Early Christian times the Church has believed that ordinary people have the power to come before the God of Love, and successfully offer intercessory prayer for another.

Herewith please find the Stations of the Cross. There are many forms of this prayer, the one below is well suited to both private and communal worship.

Leader; 'In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit'
All; 'Amen'.

Leader;
'In the Stations of the Cross, or Way of the Cross, we follow the Footsteps of Our Blessed Lord from His Trial to Calvary.
We think of His Sufferings to impress on our minds and hearts how much He has loved us to suffer so much for us.
When we see how much He loves us, our hearts are moved to love Him in return, to keep away from sin which hurts Him.
Let us now pray an act of contrition.'

All; Act of Contrition
'Oh my God, I am sorry with all my heart for having offended You. I regret my sins most sincerely. I promise to do all I can to to take decisions which avoid sin.'

All sing as Leader moves to First Station of the Cross.
'At the Cross Her station keeping,
Stood the mournful Mother weeping
Close to Jesus to the last.'

First Station of the Cross; Jesus is Condemned to Death
All kneel
Leader; 'We adore You oh Christ and we praise You'
All; 'Because by Your Holy Cross You  have redeemed the world.'

All rise
Leader; 'Pilate knew that Christ was innocent but he was caught in a political dilemma. Jesus reminded him: 'You would have no power over me unless it had been given to you from above.' Pilate was so distressed he washed his hands of the charges they were bringing against Jesus.'

All kneel
'Lord, we often have a say in other people's lives. We implore you to give us the grace to act with compassion and tact when dealing with other people. May we be given the grace to forgive those who deal unjustly with us; they, too, have their story.'

Our Father Who art in Heaven, hallowed by Thy Name,
Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done,
On earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day, our daily bread,
And forgive us our sins,
As we forgive those who sin against us;
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the Kingdom, the Power the Glory,
For ever and ever, Amen.'

'Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with Thee,
Blessed art Thou among women, and blessed is the Fruit of Thy Womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,
Now and at the hour of our death, Amen.'

'Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end, Amen.'

All rise.

All sing; "Through Her Heart, His Sorrow sharing,
All His bitter anguish bearing,
Now at length the sword had passed."

Leader and Community move to the Second Station of the Cross.
Look at the depictions from Jesus' Life as an aid to meditation. Or follow the Stations of the Cross online.

If you have a health problem or are unable to kneel, simply sit, stand, sit in wheelchair or lie on your stretcher. The prayer can be easily followed by thought alone.


 'At the Cross Her station keeping' lyrics 
http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/prayers/view.cfm?id=774

Photograph by Catherine Nicolette - with thanks to the glass artist