1	Stations of the Cross ^{These are the stations from our own church.} As you pray these stations remember the generous love of our God who sent His only Son into the world for you. He lived and died for you. He lives still and is with you as you carry your cross in life. Never despair. Jesus said “I am with you always. Yes, to the end of time.”
2	Opening Prayer My Lord and Saviour: By Your life and by Your death You have shown me how to live. Your whole gospel is based on love, on forgiveness, on trust. You gave all you had, even your life for me, so that I may be freed from my sins and have life to the full . Sometimes, Lord, the problems of life seem so great, the worries so crippling. Help me to grow and to understand You and myself better. I ask You to help me to accept life and everything that comes with it. Help me to love, to forgive, to trust. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
3	1^st Station Jesus is Condemned to Death We adore you O Christ and we praise you, Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world Jesus you had nothing but the deepest love for all. And now you stand condemned to death. A brutal death. Many in our world today feel condemned. I sometimes feel condemned. Condemned by my own lack of confidence in myself, by the opinions of others, by my problems. Lord help me to see the beauty in myself, in others, and the world around me. Give me courage when I condemn myself and when I am condemned by others . Help me to never condemn any person, help me to see the good in everyone, just as you see the good in me.
4	2^nd Station Jesus Receives the Cross We adore you O Christ and we praise you, Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world Jesus your cross must have been o so heavy and yet you never once complained. My problems are nothing compared to the weight of your cross Yet I complain often. I have always something to give out about. My crosses in life are small compared to the crosses others have to carry, and yet I moan and groan. Lord help me to carry my crosses in life with dignity with faith, without complaint. Help me to realise more and more as I pray these stations the sacrifice you made for me.
5	3^rd Station Jesus Falls the First Time We adore you O Christ and we praise you, Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. Lord Jesus under the heavy weight of your cross you fall. Lord I fall many times in my life. Sometimes I fall due to my own sin. Sometimes I fall through lack of self belief, lack of confidence. Sometime I fall due to laziness and lack of motivation. Lord help me to never give in to discouragement. Lord help me never to give into despair or hopelessness. Give me the strength to pick myself up. To dust myself off and to carry on along the road that leads to you.
6	4^th Station Jesus Meets his Mother We adore you O Christ and we praise you, Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world How painful it must have been for Mary your mother to see you this way. She had brought you into the world, had fed and clothed you, had taught and cared for you, had loved you. She loves you now. How it must have broken her heart to see the loving yet painful expression on your face. How many mothers and fathers in our world today are forced to stand by helpless as their child dies through illness, disease, hunger, drugs etc. Lord help us to see your face in the face of those in pain. Help us to do what we can to ease their plight
7	5^th Station Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus Carry his Cross We adore you O Christ and we praise you, Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. Jesus in your moment of need Simon of Cyrene is pulled from the crowd to help you carry your heavy cross. You gratefully accept his help. How often have I said no to the help of another person? How often have I refused the help of another who just wanted to ease my plight. I was too proud, too independent maybe at times too arrogant, afraid to admit I was weak. Lord help me to accept the care offered by others. Help me to recognise in their act of generosity, your act of generosity. Their hand is your hand. It is ok to be weak and vulnerable. It is ok to accept help.
8	6^th Station Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus. We adore you O Christ and we praise you, Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world Almost unnoticed Veronica steps out from the crowd and lovingly wipes the sweat, blood and dirt from your face. This small act of love has immense value in your eyes. This act which was almost unnoticed by others is indelibly etched in your heart. Help me to realise in my life that the small acts of love are of infinite value. Help me never to underestimate my gifts and talents. I may not be able to do very much. But I can do the small things well and for your glory
9	7^th Station Jesus Falls the Second Time. We adore you O Christ and we praise you, Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world Jesus the cross you carried must have been so heavy. I carry the cross of sin in my life. Temptations come from all sides, and especially when I am at my weakest, and I fall. I keep telling myself that I will avoid sinning in the future, and yet I fall. Time and again I fall. I become so disheartened. Lord help me in my moments of weakness, when I fall to reach out my hand to you, to seek your help. Help me to seek most of all the grace of the sacrament of confession which gives me the strength I need to pick myself up and begin again
10	8^th Station Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem. We adore you O Christ and we praise you, Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world Jesus for a moment your own pain, anguish and the weight of the cross is forgotten as you comfort the women of Jerusalem. Often I am so caught up with my own worries, my own problems, my own difficulties that I never see the pain that is around me. I often feel that my worries are bigger than everyone else's. My life can often be ruled by my own selfishness. Lord help me to follow your example. Help me to notice when others around me are hurting. Help me to reach out to them and to make a difference to their lives.
11	9^th Station Jesus Falls a Third Time. We adore you O Christ and we praise you, Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world Jesus the pain and weight of the cross must have been unbearable. How broken you must have felt as you lay there under this heavy weight. It must have been too much for you to bear. And yet you did bear it all for me and for the world. There are many in our world today who due to addiction feel crushed. Many who are trapped and feel imprisoned by their dependence on drink, drugs, gambling etc. Lord just as you rose to your feet help all who are heavily burdened to also rise to their feet. To begin a new life. To leave their addiction behind them and to start a new life.
12	10^th Station Jesus is Stripped of his Garments. We adore you O Christ and we praise you, Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world Jesus as you reach the end, the final moments of your earthly life you are stripped of your garments. This is one more effort to humiliate you, to strip you not only of your garments, but of your very dignity. There are many in our world today who are stripped of their dignity due to poverty, injustice, hunger, unemployment, prejudice. There are many who are denied to freedom to worship you openly in their lives, many who have been denied the right to know you as the one true God. As I pray these stations for my own intentions I pray them for the intentions of the whole world, especially those who are denied their most basic rights.
13	11^th Station Jesus is Nailed to the Cross. We adore you O Christ and we praise you, Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world Arms once extended in love, hands once held out to heal are now brutally nailed to the cross. When I extend my arms, my hands I often extend them out to take, to receive, to get what I can. I am often never satisfied with what I have, I want more. Even if it is at the expense of others, even when I am not entitled. Lord help me in future to reach out my hand to give and not to take, to comfort, to console to love. May I always be grateful for all I have.
14	12^th Station Jesus Dies on the Cross. We adore you O Christ and we praise you, Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world Lord Jesus you cried out “into your hands I commend my spirit”. And you gave up your last breath. Lord help me to understand more and more the meaning of your death. Help me to understand just how much you love me. Help me to understand your unconditional love. Help me to die to my old ways of living. Help me to die to my sinfulness, my pride, my hate, so that I may rise with you on the last day.
15	13^th Station Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross. We adore you O Christ and we praise you, Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world It is only in your death that they recognise you as the Son of God. With the faith filled words of the centurion the truth is revealed. As he accepts that you are the Son of God help me to accept my life and all that goes with it. Help me to accept the crosses that I must bear, the burdens I must carry. Help me to carry them in love, and to offer my difficulties to you as an offering of love. May I always be grateful for all your many gifts and especially for the gift of my life.
16	14^th Station Jesus is Laid in the Tomb. We adore you O Christ and we praise you, Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world Jesus you lived a life of poverty. So much so that you had no tomb in which to be buried. You were laid to rest in the burial place of a stranger. The soldier closed the door of the tomb with a large bolder. They buried your body, but hey did not bury your message. They buried your heart but not your love. They tried to do away with all traces of your presence and yet you are present today just as truly as you were present when you walked this earth healing, forgiving, loving. May my faith in you grow strong. May my love for you increase. May I one day be united with you forever in the Kingdom of your love.
17	Closing Prayer Dear Lord, As I follow and study Your life from the time of Your condemnation until Your Crucifixion and death, it is also a time to review my own life and ask for help in those areas where I have not done well. When I find areas where I need help, let me not become discouraged or give in to despair, but rather turn to You as a child to a parent, and humbly ask for Your divine help and guidance. Help me live one day at a time, and never relive the past or worry about the future. Help me accept each day as it comes, and to live it the way that You and I know best. Never let me say, "If I had the chance to live it over, I would do this or that." Knowing myself, if I had the chance, I would probably make the same mistakes again. Help me to live each moment to its fullest, and in the newness of each moment give me comfort of soul and peace of mind. I ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.