The Stations of the Cross –
A Lesson in the Walk with Jesus
As we participate in the Stations of the Cross this Lenten Season, let’s
spend some time at each station meditating on how our daily actions reflect
our life with Christ – are we walking with Christ or are we the persecutors?
The First Station: Jesus is Condemned to Death
People are condemned every day because of their race, their creed,
their social standing. Children are condemned; bullied by others because
they’re different. Even Your Holy Bride, the Church, is condemned - by the
hostile, the misled, the lost, those who would rather criticize than learn and
understand Her.
Help me, Lord, to humbly accept all as Your children and to not stand by
silently while others are falsely accused. Help me to not be afraid to be condemned
as You were.
The Second Station: Jesus Carried His Cross
How heavy Your cross must have been, O Lord! Yet it was not the weight
of the wood, but the weight of my sins that caused you such pain. Your love
for me is greater than my sin, yet instead of making your cross lighter, I add
to its weight by gossiping, by closing my eyes to the needs of others, and by
failing to trust in Your love for me.
Help me, Lord, to understand that my sin increases Your burden, and that
my repentance and sacrifice for others brings me closer to You.
The Third Station: Jesus Falls for the First Time
We’ve all fallen before, sometimes flat on our faces. We don’t “dress
right,” or we’re not accepted for who we are and feel as if we don’t belong.
We know how it feels, and yet we do it to others. How many times have I
seen Our Lord fall and have walked by unconcerned? How many times have
I criticized or laughed at other people’s mistakes, or failed to make someone
feel welcome?
Help me, Lord, to pick You up by supporting and loving others, no matter
how different they are.
The Fourth Station: Jesus Meets His Mother
How beautiful is the love of a mother, and how deep her anguish when
her child suffers. Our Lady is no exception. She met her Son on the way to
Calvary trusting that God’s will was being fulfilled. She did not turn away
from her Son’s cross, but walked beside Him every step of the way. How
many times have I turned my eyes away because I could not bear the pain?
How often do I get discouraged instead of trusting in God’s will for my life?
Help me, Lord, to remain as faithful and trusting as Your holy Mother was
on that day. Help me to love You as she does.
The Fifth Station: Simon Helps Jesus Carry the Cross
We all have our crosses to bear. Some burdens are known to our families
and friends. Other burdens are known only to God. We see crosses others
carry and convince ourselves that it’s not our place to help, not our place
to interfere. Jesus carried a cross He did not deserve for a crime He did not
commit. Yet there was one who helped Him when He could not go on. Can
we as Christians just stand by while others carry such heavy crosses alone?
Help me, Lord, not to be so wrapped up in my own burdens that I am
oblivious to the sufferings of others. Help me to be a Simon in a world of
bystanders.
The Sixth Station: Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus
There was courage in Jerusalem that day - courage from a woman who
fought against the crowd and performed a great act of kindness by wiping off
the face of Our Lord. She braved a hostile crowd and the soldiers to do the right
thing. How many times have I failed to do the right thing and gone along with
the crowd because I was afraid of what people might think or say?
Help me, Lord, to fight against fear and to have the courage to stand up for
what’s right - even if that means standing alone.
The Seventh Station: Jesus Falls for the Second Time
“
Failure is not an option,” though it happens all the time. We fail
ourselves and we fail others far more than we are willing to admit. And when
we fail, do we seek out the advice of friends and family, or do we lash out at
those who want to help? When someone else fails, do we abandon them, or
do we pick them up and help them?
Help me, Lord, to never abandon myself or others because of what the world
deems as failure. Help me to attain Your definition of success, my Jesus.
The Eighth Station: Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem
We’ve all pitied others, even pitied ourselves - sometimes too much.
The women of Jerusalem wept at Jesus’ suffering, but did they understand its
purpose? Do I weep and am I repentant because I am truly sorry for having
offended God, or do I weep because I think that’s what I’m supposed to
do? Do I unite my sufferings to Christ on the cross, or do I weep about my
problems, hoping they’ll go away?
Help me, Lord, to be always aware of my need for repentance, and help me
unite my sufferings to Yours.
The Ninth Station: Jesus Falls for the Third Time
How agonizing this last fall must have been! To be laughed at by the
crowd, abandoned by your friends, and feeling utterly alone is almost more
than one can bear. Sometimes we’re the failure, and sometimes we’re the one
laughing with the crowd. How many times have I allowed others to fall,
thinking that they deserved it? How many times have I offered my help, only
to abandon someone because it was just too painful or inconvenient?
Help me, Lord, to never abandon You, and to trust in You completely despite
what the crowd might say.
The Tenth Station: Jesus is Stripped of His Garments
To be stripped of one’s garments in public is a form of humiliation few
of us have experienced. Yet how often have I stripped people of their integrity
through idle gossip, or stripped them of their dignity by my prejudice? How
often have I stripped myself of the honor accorded a child of God because I
think I’m not good enough?
Help me, Lord, to place the garments of dignity and value on myself and
others through my love for You.
The Eleventh Station: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross
It’s one thing to take the blame for something you did; it’s quite
another to accept punishment for something you didn’t do. The physical,
mental, emotional, and spiritual anguish Our Lord and Our Lady must have
experienced that day defies description. And yet when I ask why He would
endure such a thing, the answer is always the same: “Because I love you.”
Help me, Lord, to never add to Your agony through my sinfulness. Help me
love you as I ought; help me follow Your Blessed Mother’s example.
The Twelfth Station: Jesus Dies on the Cross
Our Lord’s agony had ended, yet the depth of His Mother’s agony was
greater than any woman had ever known. The only thing more painful than
contemplating this anguish is the knowledge that my sins caused it! What I
deserve is damnation; what I received is redemption. It is a love too deep to
comprehend, a love that redeemed the world.
Help me, Lord, to remain ever grateful for Your gift of redemption. Help me
to not betray Your love through sin, but to remain ever faithful.
The Thirteenth Station: Jesus is Taken Down From the Cross
The crowd had dispersed, and only those closest to Our Lord remained.
His agony was over, His purpose fulfilled. And yet, how often do I cause my
Lord’s Passion to continue because I choose to sin? Will I walk away from the
foot of the cross, or do I stay and worship, adore, and accept my sufferings
with humility and trust in Your Providence?
Help me, Lord, to die to myself and my sinful, selfish ways so I can arise
anew with You.
The Fourteenth Station: Jesus is Placed in the Tomb
Joseph of Arimathea, a righteous man, came forward and asked Pilate
for Jesus’ body. Jesus was wrapped in linen, a symbol of immortality, and
placed in a tomb where no one had been laid - not a common grave, but
one fitting God’s innocent and righteous One. And now, they wait for the
fulfillment of God’s word. They wait for the Risen One to appear to them,
as He said He would.
Help me, Lord, to see You as the Risen Lord in my life and in the lives of
others. Help me to trust in the promise of Your resurrection, even when I feel
entombed in my burdens and sufferings.
