Stations of the Cross
A few weeks ago I was able to participate in The Stations of the Cross service where my Aunt is the Organist and music director of an Anglican Parish in South Carolina. It is basically the Via Dolorosa, the way Jesus walked up to Calvary. In each step we are taught, and reminded, and walk the way of suffering with our Lord and our Savior. I wanted to share with you the words straight from the booklet and hope you will reflect, and consider these words this Good Friday.
INTRODUCTION:
Christ Speaks- These 14 steps that you are now about to walk you do not take alone.
I walk with you.
Though you are you, and I am I,
yet we are truly one-
one Christ.
And therefore, My way of the cross 2000 years ago,
and your way now are also one.
But note this difference.
My life was incomplete until I crowned it by My death.
Your 14 steps will only be complete when you have
crowned them by your life.
STATION 1- JESUS IS CONDEMNED
Christ Speaks- In Pilate's hand, my other self,
I see My Fathers will. Though Pilate is unjust,
he is the lawful governor, and he has power over me.
And so the Song of God obeys the son of man.
If I can bow to Pilate's rule
because this is My Fathers will, can you refuse obedience
to those whom I place over you?
Man Replies- My Jesus, Lord, obedience cost You Your life.
For me it costs an act of will- no more-
and yet how hard it is for me to bend.
Remove the blinders from my eyes that I may see that it is
You whom I obey in all who govern me. Lord, it is You.
STATION 2- JESUS TAKES HIS CROSS
Christ- This cross, this chunk of tree, is what my Father chose for me.
The crosses you must bear are largely products of your daily life.
And yet My Father chose them, too, for you.
Receive them from His hands.
Take heart, My other self, I will not let your burdens grow
one ounce too heavy for your strength.
Man- My Jesus, Lord, I take my daily cross.
I welcome the monotony the often marks my day,
discomforts of all kinds, the summers heat, the winter's cold,
my disappointments, tensions, setbacks, cares.
Remind me often that in carrying my cross,
I carry Yours with You. And though I bear a sliver only
of Your cross, You carry all of mine, except a sliver in return.
STATION 3- JESUS FALLS
Christ- The God who made the universe, and holds it in existence by His will alone
becomes as man, too weak to bear a piece of timber's weight. How human in His weakness
is the Son of Man.
My Father willed it thus. I could not be your model otherwise.
If you would be my other self, you also must accept without complaint
your human frailties.
Man- Lord, Jesus, how can I refuse?
I willingly accept my weaknesses,
my irritations and my moods,
my headaches my fatigue,
all my defects of body, mind, and soul.
Because they are Your will for me, these handicaps, of my humanity,
I gladly suffer them.
Make me content with all my discontents,
but give me strength to struggle after You.
STATION 4- JESUS MEETS HIS MOTHER
Christ- My mother sees me whipped. She sees me kicked and driven like a beast.
She counts my every wound. But though her soul cries in agony,
no protest or complaint escapes her lips or even enters her thoughts.
She shares my martyrdom- and I share hers. We hide no pain, no sorrow
from each other's eyes.
This is my Father's will.
Man- My Jesus, Lord, I know what You are telling me.
To watch the pain of those we love is harder to bear our own.
To carry my cross after you, I too, must stand and watch the
sufferings of my dear ones; the heartaches, sicknesses and grief
of those I love.
And I must watch mine too. I do believe for those who love you all things
work together unto good. They must!
STATION 5- SIMON HELPS JESUS
Christ- My strength is gone; I can no longer bear the cross alone.
And so the legionnaires make Simon give me aid.
This Simon is like you, my other self.
Give me your strength. Each time you lift some burden from another's back
you lift as with your very hand the cross's awful weight that crushes me.
Man- Lord, make me realize that every time I wipe a dish,
pick an object off the floor,
assist a child in some small task, or give another preference
in traffic or the store; each time I feed the hungry,
clothe the naked, teach the ignorant,
or lend my hand in any way- it matters not whom- my name is Simon.
And the kindness I extend to them, I really give to You.
STATION 6- A WOMAN HELPS JESUS
Christ- Can you be brave enough, my other self, to wipe my bloody face?
Where is my face you ask?
At home whenever eyes fill up with tears, at work when tensions rise,
on playgrounds, in the slums, the courts, the hospitals, the jails-
wherever suffering exists-My face is there.
And there I look for you to wipe away my blood and tears.
Man- Lord, what you ask is hard.
It calls for courage and self-sacrifice, and I am weak.
Please, give me strength. Don't let me run away because of fear.
Lord, live in me, and act in me, and love in me.
And not in me alone- in all men-
so that we may reveal no more Your bloody but glorious face on earth.
STATION 7- JESUS FALLS AGAIN
Christ- This seventh step, my other self, is on that tests your will.
From this fall learn to persevere in doing good.
The time will come when all your efforts seem to fail and you will think
"I can't go on."
Then turn to me, my heavy-laden one and I will give you rest.
Trust me, carry on.
Man- Give me your courage, Lord. When failure presses heavily on me
and I am desolate, stretch out Your hand to lift me up.
I know I must not cease, but persevere in doing good.
But help, Lord. Alone there's nothing I can do.
With you, I can do anything you ask.
I will.
STATION 8- JESUS CONSOLES THE WOMEN
Christ- How often I longed to take the children of Jerusalem and gather them to me.
But they refused.
But now these women weep for me and my heart mourns for them-
mourns for their sorrows that will come.
I comfort those who seek to solace me.
How gentle can you be, my other self, How kind?
Man- My Jesus, your compassion in Your passion is beyond compare.
Lord, teach me, help me learn. When I would snap at those
who hurt me in ridicule, those who misunderstand, or hinder
my with some misguided helpfulness,
those who intrude on my privacy-
then help me curb my tongue.
May gentleness become my cloak.
Lord, make me kind like you.
STATION 9- THE THIRD FALL
Christ- Completely drained of strength I lie,
collapsed upon the cobblestones.
My body cannot move.
No blows, no kicks, can rouse it up.
And yet my will is mine. And so is yours.
Know this, my other self, your body may be broken, but no face on earth
and none in hell can take away your will.
Your will is yours.
Man- My Lord, I see you take a moment's rest then rise and stagger on.
So I can do because my will is mine.
When all my strength is gone and guilt and self-reproach press me
to earth and seem to hold me fast, protect me from the sin of Judas-
save me from despair!
Lord, never let me feel that any sin of mine is greater than Your love.
No matter what my past has been I can begin anew.
STATION 10- JESUS IS STRIPPED
Christ- Behold, my other self, the poorest King who ever lived.
Before my creatures I stand stripped.
The cross-my deathbed-even this is not my own.
Yet who has ever been so rich?
Possessing nothing, I own all-My Fathers love.
If you, too, would own everything, be no solicitous
about your food, your clothes, your life.
Man- My Lord, I offer You my all-
whatever I possess, and more, my self.
Detach me from the craving for prestige, position, wealth.
Root out of me all trace of envy of my neighbor who has more than I.
Release me from the vice of pride, my longing to exalt myself
and lead me to the lowest place.
May I be poor in spirit, Lord, so that I can be rich in You.
STATION 11- JESUS IS CRUCIFIED
Christ- Can you imagine what a crucifixion is?
My executioners stretch my arms;
they hold my hand and wrist against the wood and press the
nail until it stabs my flesh. Then with one heavy hammer smash
they drive it through-and pain bursts like a bomb of fire in my brain.
They seize the other arm; and agony again explodes.
Then raising my knees so that my feet are flat against the wood
they hammer them fast, too.
Man- My God, I look at you and think: Is my soul worth this much?
What can I give in return? I here and now accept for all my life
whatever sickness, torment, agony may come. To every cross I touch my lips.
I blessed cross that lets me be-with you-a co-redeemer of my fellowman.
STATION 12- JESUS DIES
Christ- The cross becomes a pulpit now-
"Forgive them Father...
You will be with me in paradise...
There is your mother...there...your son...
I thirst...
It is complete."
To speak, I have to raise myself by pressing my wrists and feet,
and every move engulfs my in new waves of agony.
And then, when I have borne enough, have emptied my humanity,
I let my mortal life depart.
Man- My Jesus, God, what can I say or do?
I offer you my death, with all its pains, accepting now
the time and kind of death in store for me.
Not by a single instant would I lengthen my life's span.
I offer You my death for my own sins and those of all my fellowman.
My God! My God! Forsake us not. We know not what we do.
STATION 13- JESUS IS TAKEN DOWN
Christ- The sacrifice is done.
Yes, my mass is complete; but not my mother's and no yours, my other self.
My mother still must cradle in her arms the lifeless body if the Son she bore.
You, too, must part from those you love, and grief will come to you.
In your bereavements think of this; souls were saved. You grief can also be
the price of souls.
Man- I beg you Lord, help me accept the partings that must come-
from friends who go away,
my children leaving home,
and most of all, my dear ones when you shall call them to Yourself.
Then, give me grace to say: "As it has pleased You, Lord, to take them home,
I bow to your most holy will and if by just one word I might restore their
lives against your will, I would not speak." Grant them eternal joy.
STATION 14- JESUS IS BURIED
Christ- So ends my mortal life. But now another life begins
for Mary, for Magdalen, for Peter, and for John, and you.
My work as man is done. My work within and through my church must now commence.
I look to you, my other self.
Day in, day out, from this time forth, by my apostle-victim-saint.
Man- My Jesus, Lord, you know my spirit is willing
as my flesh is weak. The teaching you could not impart, the sufferings
you could not bear, the works of love you could not do in your short life on earth,
let me impart, and bear, and do through you. But I am nothing, Lord. Help me!
CONCLUSION-
Christ- I told you at the start, my other self,
My life was not complete, until I crowned it by my death.
Your way is not complete unless you crown it by your life.
Accept each moment as it comes to you, with faith and trust
that all that happens is my mark on it.
A simple fiat, t hat is all it takes;
a breathing in your heart, "I will it, Lord."
So seek me not in far off places. I am close at hand.
Your workbench, office, kitchen, these are alters where you offer love.
And I am with you there.
Go now! Take up your cross and with your life complete your way.
INTRODUCTION:
Christ Speaks- These 14 steps that you are now about to walk you do not take alone.
I walk with you.
Though you are you, and I am I,
yet we are truly one-
one Christ.
And therefore, My way of the cross 2000 years ago,
and your way now are also one.
But note this difference.
My life was incomplete until I crowned it by My death.
Your 14 steps will only be complete when you have
crowned them by your life.
STATION 1- JESUS IS CONDEMNED
Christ Speaks- In Pilate's hand, my other self,
I see My Fathers will. Though Pilate is unjust,
he is the lawful governor, and he has power over me.
And so the Song of God obeys the son of man.
If I can bow to Pilate's rule
because this is My Fathers will, can you refuse obedience
to those whom I place over you?
Man Replies- My Jesus, Lord, obedience cost You Your life.
For me it costs an act of will- no more-
and yet how hard it is for me to bend.
Remove the blinders from my eyes that I may see that it is
You whom I obey in all who govern me. Lord, it is You.
STATION 2- JESUS TAKES HIS CROSS
Christ- This cross, this chunk of tree, is what my Father chose for me.
The crosses you must bear are largely products of your daily life.
And yet My Father chose them, too, for you.
Receive them from His hands.
Take heart, My other self, I will not let your burdens grow
one ounce too heavy for your strength.
Man- My Jesus, Lord, I take my daily cross.
I welcome the monotony the often marks my day,
discomforts of all kinds, the summers heat, the winter's cold,
my disappointments, tensions, setbacks, cares.
Remind me often that in carrying my cross,
I carry Yours with You. And though I bear a sliver only
of Your cross, You carry all of mine, except a sliver in return.
STATION 3- JESUS FALLS
Christ- The God who made the universe, and holds it in existence by His will alone
becomes as man, too weak to bear a piece of timber's weight. How human in His weakness
is the Son of Man.
My Father willed it thus. I could not be your model otherwise.
If you would be my other self, you also must accept without complaint
your human frailties.
Man- Lord, Jesus, how can I refuse?
I willingly accept my weaknesses,
my irritations and my moods,
my headaches my fatigue,
all my defects of body, mind, and soul.
Because they are Your will for me, these handicaps, of my humanity,
I gladly suffer them.
Make me content with all my discontents,
but give me strength to struggle after You.
STATION 4- JESUS MEETS HIS MOTHER
Christ- My mother sees me whipped. She sees me kicked and driven like a beast.
She counts my every wound. But though her soul cries in agony,
no protest or complaint escapes her lips or even enters her thoughts.
She shares my martyrdom- and I share hers. We hide no pain, no sorrow
from each other's eyes.
This is my Father's will.
Man- My Jesus, Lord, I know what You are telling me.
To watch the pain of those we love is harder to bear our own.
To carry my cross after you, I too, must stand and watch the
sufferings of my dear ones; the heartaches, sicknesses and grief
of those I love.
And I must watch mine too. I do believe for those who love you all things
work together unto good. They must!
STATION 5- SIMON HELPS JESUS
Christ- My strength is gone; I can no longer bear the cross alone.
And so the legionnaires make Simon give me aid.
This Simon is like you, my other self.
Give me your strength. Each time you lift some burden from another's back
you lift as with your very hand the cross's awful weight that crushes me.
Man- Lord, make me realize that every time I wipe a dish,
pick an object off the floor,
assist a child in some small task, or give another preference
in traffic or the store; each time I feed the hungry,
clothe the naked, teach the ignorant,
or lend my hand in any way- it matters not whom- my name is Simon.
And the kindness I extend to them, I really give to You.
STATION 6- A WOMAN HELPS JESUS
Christ- Can you be brave enough, my other self, to wipe my bloody face?
Where is my face you ask?
At home whenever eyes fill up with tears, at work when tensions rise,
on playgrounds, in the slums, the courts, the hospitals, the jails-
wherever suffering exists-My face is there.
And there I look for you to wipe away my blood and tears.
Man- Lord, what you ask is hard.
It calls for courage and self-sacrifice, and I am weak.
Please, give me strength. Don't let me run away because of fear.
Lord, live in me, and act in me, and love in me.
And not in me alone- in all men-
so that we may reveal no more Your bloody but glorious face on earth.
STATION 7- JESUS FALLS AGAIN
Christ- This seventh step, my other self, is on that tests your will.
From this fall learn to persevere in doing good.
The time will come when all your efforts seem to fail and you will think
"I can't go on."
Then turn to me, my heavy-laden one and I will give you rest.
Trust me, carry on.
Man- Give me your courage, Lord. When failure presses heavily on me
and I am desolate, stretch out Your hand to lift me up.
I know I must not cease, but persevere in doing good.
But help, Lord. Alone there's nothing I can do.
With you, I can do anything you ask.
I will.
STATION 8- JESUS CONSOLES THE WOMEN
Christ- How often I longed to take the children of Jerusalem and gather them to me.
But they refused.
But now these women weep for me and my heart mourns for them-
mourns for their sorrows that will come.
I comfort those who seek to solace me.
How gentle can you be, my other self, How kind?
Man- My Jesus, your compassion in Your passion is beyond compare.
Lord, teach me, help me learn. When I would snap at those
who hurt me in ridicule, those who misunderstand, or hinder
my with some misguided helpfulness,
those who intrude on my privacy-
then help me curb my tongue.
May gentleness become my cloak.
Lord, make me kind like you.
STATION 9- THE THIRD FALL
Christ- Completely drained of strength I lie,
collapsed upon the cobblestones.
My body cannot move.
No blows, no kicks, can rouse it up.
And yet my will is mine. And so is yours.
Know this, my other self, your body may be broken, but no face on earth
and none in hell can take away your will.
Your will is yours.
Man- My Lord, I see you take a moment's rest then rise and stagger on.
So I can do because my will is mine.
When all my strength is gone and guilt and self-reproach press me
to earth and seem to hold me fast, protect me from the sin of Judas-
save me from despair!
Lord, never let me feel that any sin of mine is greater than Your love.
No matter what my past has been I can begin anew.
STATION 10- JESUS IS STRIPPED
Christ- Behold, my other self, the poorest King who ever lived.
Before my creatures I stand stripped.
The cross-my deathbed-even this is not my own.
Yet who has ever been so rich?
Possessing nothing, I own all-My Fathers love.
If you, too, would own everything, be no solicitous
about your food, your clothes, your life.
Man- My Lord, I offer You my all-
whatever I possess, and more, my self.
Detach me from the craving for prestige, position, wealth.
Root out of me all trace of envy of my neighbor who has more than I.
Release me from the vice of pride, my longing to exalt myself
and lead me to the lowest place.
May I be poor in spirit, Lord, so that I can be rich in You.
STATION 11- JESUS IS CRUCIFIED
Christ- Can you imagine what a crucifixion is?
My executioners stretch my arms;
they hold my hand and wrist against the wood and press the
nail until it stabs my flesh. Then with one heavy hammer smash
they drive it through-and pain bursts like a bomb of fire in my brain.
They seize the other arm; and agony again explodes.
Then raising my knees so that my feet are flat against the wood
they hammer them fast, too.
Man- My God, I look at you and think: Is my soul worth this much?
What can I give in return? I here and now accept for all my life
whatever sickness, torment, agony may come. To every cross I touch my lips.
I blessed cross that lets me be-with you-a co-redeemer of my fellowman.
STATION 12- JESUS DIES
Christ- The cross becomes a pulpit now-
"Forgive them Father...
You will be with me in paradise...
There is your mother...there...your son...
I thirst...
It is complete."
To speak, I have to raise myself by pressing my wrists and feet,
and every move engulfs my in new waves of agony.
And then, when I have borne enough, have emptied my humanity,
I let my mortal life depart.
Man- My Jesus, God, what can I say or do?
I offer you my death, with all its pains, accepting now
the time and kind of death in store for me.
Not by a single instant would I lengthen my life's span.
I offer You my death for my own sins and those of all my fellowman.
My God! My God! Forsake us not. We know not what we do.
STATION 13- JESUS IS TAKEN DOWN
Christ- The sacrifice is done.
Yes, my mass is complete; but not my mother's and no yours, my other self.
My mother still must cradle in her arms the lifeless body if the Son she bore.
You, too, must part from those you love, and grief will come to you.
In your bereavements think of this; souls were saved. You grief can also be
the price of souls.
Man- I beg you Lord, help me accept the partings that must come-
from friends who go away,
my children leaving home,
and most of all, my dear ones when you shall call them to Yourself.
Then, give me grace to say: "As it has pleased You, Lord, to take them home,
I bow to your most holy will and if by just one word I might restore their
lives against your will, I would not speak." Grant them eternal joy.
STATION 14- JESUS IS BURIED
Christ- So ends my mortal life. But now another life begins
for Mary, for Magdalen, for Peter, and for John, and you.
My work as man is done. My work within and through my church must now commence.
I look to you, my other self.
Day in, day out, from this time forth, by my apostle-victim-saint.
Man- My Jesus, Lord, you know my spirit is willing
as my flesh is weak. The teaching you could not impart, the sufferings
you could not bear, the works of love you could not do in your short life on earth,
let me impart, and bear, and do through you. But I am nothing, Lord. Help me!
CONCLUSION-
Christ- I told you at the start, my other self,
My life was not complete, until I crowned it by my death.
Your way is not complete unless you crown it by your life.
Accept each moment as it comes to you, with faith and trust
that all that happens is my mark on it.
A simple fiat, t hat is all it takes;
a breathing in your heart, "I will it, Lord."
So seek me not in far off places. I am close at hand.
Your workbench, office, kitchen, these are alters where you offer love.
And I am with you there.
Go now! Take up your cross and with your life complete your way.
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