The Way of the Cross
Act of contrition
My Lord and my God, I am sorry with all my heart for all my sins, because by sin I have lost my soul and the eternal good things, and deserved the pains of hell; but above all I am sorry because I have offended and insulted you, my Lord and my God, who are worthy of all honour and love. For this reason I hate sin above every evil, and with your grace I would rather die than offend you again. I resolve to flee every occasion of sin and to make amends, as far as I can, for the sins I have committed. Amen.
Hymn (based on the Stabat Mater):
The sorrowful Mother stood beneath the cross, her tears flowing fast.
Refrain: Holy Mother, imprint the wounds of your only Son upon my heart.
First Station
Priest: Let us contemplate: Jesus is condemned to death.
Priest: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,
People: because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Priest: Lord Jesus Christ, by this unjust sentence that my sins brought upon you, deliver me from the sentence of eternal death that I have deserved so many times. Amen.
Our Father – Hail Mary
Priest: Have mercy on us, O Lord.
People: Have mercy on us.
Priest: May the souls of the faithful departed rest,
People: through the mercy of God, in peace. Amen.
Her grieving soul, hidden in its sorrow, was pierced by a cruel sword.
Refrain: Holy Mother, imprint the wounds of your only Son upon my heart.
Second Station
Priest: Let us contemplate: Jesus takes up his cross.
Priest: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,
People: because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Priest: O Jesus, who willingly carried the heavy cross that I laid on you by my sins, I ask you to make me understand how ugly they are, so that I may weep over them until death. Amen.
Our Father – Hail Mary
Priest: Have mercy on us, O Lord.
People: Have mercy on us.
Priest: May the souls of the faithful departed rest,
People: through the mercy of God, in peace. Amen.
What terrible sorrows befell the Virgin, the Mother of our beloved Redeemer!
Refrain: Holy Mother, imprint the wounds of your only Son upon my heart.
Third Station
Priest: Let us contemplate: Jesus falls under the cross for the first time.
Priest: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,
People: because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Priest: O Jesus, the weight of my great sins made you fall under the cross. I detest and hate them, and I ask your forgiveness for them. With your grace, I am resolved never to return to them. Amen.
Our Father – Hail Mary
Priest: Have mercy on us, O Lord.
People: Have mercy on us.
Priest: May the souls of the faithful departed rest,
People: through the mercy of God, in peace. Amen.
She suffered a bitter death that broke her heart, because of her beloved Son.
Refrain: Holy Mother, imprint the wounds of your only Son upon my heart.
Fourth Station
Priest: Let us contemplate: Jesus meets his sorrowful Mother.
Priest: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,
People: because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Priest: O sorrowful Jesus, and you, Mary, grieving Mother: if in the past I caused you torment and pain, from now on, with God’s help, it will be so no longer; I want to love you faithfully until death. Amen.
Our Father – Hail Mary
Priest: Have mercy on us, O Lord.
People: Have mercy on us.
Priest: May the souls of the faithful departed rest,
People: through the mercy of God, in peace. Amen.
What heart would not weep to see the Virgin lament the sorrow that consumes her?
Refrain: Holy Mother, imprint the wounds of your only Son upon my heart.
Fifth Station
Priest: Let us contemplate: Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry his cross.
Priest: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,
People: because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Priest: O Jesus, Simon of Cyrene was truly blessed to help you carry the cross. I too will be blessed if I help you carry your cross, accepting with patience and joy the crosses you send me during my life. Jesus my God, give me the grace to bear them. Amen.
Our Father – Hail Mary
Priest: Have mercy on us, O Lord.
People: Have mercy on us.
Priest: May the souls of the faithful departed rest,
People: through the mercy of God, in peace. Amen.
Who could bear to think of it, or to recall her sufferings, when her Beloved met her?
Refrain: Holy Mother, imprint the wounds of your only Son upon my heart.
Sixth Station
Priest: Let us contemplate: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.
Priest: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,
People: because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Priest: O tender Jesus, who were pleased to imprint the image of your holy face on the cloth with which Saint Veronica wiped it, I ask you to imprint on my soul the memory of your bitter Passion. Amen.
Our Father – Hail Mary
Priest: Have mercy on us, O Lord.
People: Have mercy on us.
Priest: May the souls of the faithful departed rest,
People: through the mercy of God, in peace. Amen.
For the sins of the people, she sees Jesus given over to torment, enduring a cruel scourging.
Refrain: Holy Mother, imprint the wounds of your only Son upon my heart.
Seventh Station
Priest: Let us contemplate: Jesus falls for the second time.
Priest: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,
People: because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Priest: O Jesus, my return to sin made you fall to the ground again under the cross. Give me the grace to use the effective means that will keep me from falling again. Amen.
Our Father – Hail Mary
Priest: Have mercy on us, O Lord.
People: Have mercy on us.
Priest: May the souls of the faithful departed rest,
People: through the mercy of God, in peace. Amen.
She sees the child born of her dying, torn away from her, raised up on the cross.
Refrain: Holy Mother, imprint the wounds of your only Son upon my heart.
Eighth Station
Priest: Let us contemplate: Jesus consoles the daughters of Jerusalem.
Priest: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,
People: because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Priest: O Jesus, who consoled the daughters of Jerusalem as they wept over your sufferings, console my soul with your mercy; I want to rely on it alone and always respond to it. Amen.
Our Father – Hail Mary
Priest: Have mercy on us, O Lord.
People: Have mercy on us.
Priest: May the souls of the faithful departed rest,
People: through the mercy of God, in peace. Amen.
O Mother, fountain of love, grant me the gift of sharing your sorrow and your tears.
Refrain: Holy Mother, imprint the wounds of your only Son upon my heart.
Ninth Station
Priest: Let us contemplate: Jesus falls for the third time.
Priest: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,
People: because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Priest: O Jesus, by the sufferings you endured in your third fall under the cross, I ask you never to let me fall into sin again. Yes, Jesus, I would rather die than fall into sin once more. Amen.
Our Father – Hail Mary
Priest: Have mercy on us, O Lord.
People: Have mercy on us.
Priest: May the souls of the faithful departed rest,
People: through the mercy of God, in peace. Amen.
Kindle in my heart a fire that burns for Jesus my Lord, whose love is wondrous.
Refrain: Holy Mother, imprint the wounds of your only Son upon my heart.
Tenth Station
Priest: Let us contemplate: Jesus is stripped of his garments and given vinegar and gall to drink.
Priest: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,
People: because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Priest: O Jesus, who were stripped of your garments and given bitterness to drink, I ask you to strip me of attachment to earthly things, and make me hate every attachment to the world and to sin. Amen.
Our Father – Hail Mary
Priest: Have mercy on us, O Lord.
People: Have mercy on us.
Priest: May the souls of the faithful departed rest,
People: through the mercy of God, in peace. Amen.
O my tender Mother, let these precious wounds pierce our hardened heart.
Refrain: Holy Mother, imprint the wounds of your only Son upon my heart.
Eleventh Station
Priest: Let us contemplate: Jesus is nailed to the cross.
Priest: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,
People: because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Priest: O Jesus, by the sufferings you endured when your hands and feet were nailed to the cross with cruel nails, help me to crucify my flesh in a spirit of Christian faithfulness. Amen.
Our Father – Hail Mary
Priest: Have mercy on us, O Lord.
People: Have mercy on us.
Priest: May the souls of the faithful departed rest,
People: through the mercy of God, in peace. Amen.
Your Son is wounded and in pain, and it was for me that he suffered: give me a share in it.
Refrain: Holy Mother, imprint the wounds of your only Son upon my heart.
Twelfth Station
Priest: Let us contemplate: Jesus dies on the cross.
Priest: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,
People: because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Priest: O Jesus my God, who after three hours of agony on the cross in bitter pain died for me, let me die rather than fall into sin again. And if you will that I live, may my life serve only to love you and serve you with all faithfulness. Amen.
Our Father – Hail Mary
Priest: Have mercy on us, O Lord.
People: Have mercy on us.
Priest: May the souls of the faithful departed rest,
People: through the mercy of God, in peace. Amen.
Let me share your weeping when your Beloved was hung on the cross, and wound my sorrowful heart.
Refrain: Holy Mother, imprint the wounds of your only Son upon my heart.
Thirteenth Station
Priest: Let us contemplate: Jesus is taken down from the cross and laid in his Mother’s arms.
Priest: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,
People: because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Priest: O Mary, sorrowful Mother, how great was the sword of sorrow that pierced your heart when you saw your dear Son Jesus dead in your lap! Obtain for me, Mary, the grace always to hate sin, the cause of his death and of your great sorrow, to live as a true Christian and to save my soul. Amen.
Our Father – Hail Mary
Priest: Have mercy on us, O Lord.
People: Have mercy on us.
Priest: May the souls of the faithful departed rest,
People: through the mercy of God, in peace. Amen.
Grant a lowly servant to be your friend, saved from the flames.
Refrain: Holy Mother, imprint the wounds of your only Son upon my heart.
Fourteenth Station
Priest: Let us contemplate: Jesus is laid in the tomb.
Priest: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,
People: because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Priest: O Jesus, I long to remain always with you, dead to the world, and to live only for your love, so that one day I may enjoy with you, in the paradise of heaven, the fruit of your bitter Passion and your death on the wood of shame. Amen.
Our Father – Hail Mary
Priest: Have mercy on us, O Lord.
People: Have mercy on us.
Priest: May the souls of the faithful departed rest,
People: through the mercy of God, in peace. Amen.
When my body dies, bring my soul to what it longs for: the glory of our beloved Redeemer.
Refrain: Holy Mother, imprint the wounds of your only Son upon my heart.
Prayer
Eternal Father, who sanctified the standard of the life-giving cross with the precious blood of your Son, we implore your mercy: grant to those who honour this holy cross the forgiveness of their sins and entry into eternal glory, through the merits of our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our Father – Hail Mary – Glory Be (for the intentions of the Holy Father, to gain the indulgence).
The priest blesses the people with the cross, saying:
Priest: May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always; may the memory of his holy Passion and its power dwell in your hearts; and may the sign of his most pure cross deliver you from all your enemies, in the name of the Father + and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit +.
People: Amen.
Procession of the Cross (Zyah)
Christ speaks from the cross:
O my people, my friends, where is the covenant of faith?
Where is faithfulness in love, affection and goodwill?
Like a murderer, like an enemy, you handed me over to disgrace,
and between two thieves you crucified me, naked.
What have I done to receive such a reward?
Who is my accuser, and why am I condemned?
Do you not remember my kindness, do you not remember my generosity?
How many sick, how many infirm have my care healed!
You who look on my distress, you who see my affliction,
you who hear my weeping and my Mother’s sighs,
have you ever seen anyone struck by a calamity like mine?
Has anyone drunk my cup and tasted my bitterness?
O Mary, my Mother, your sobbing makes my tears flow more:
have pity on me, be still, leave me, go back!
O my Father, why do you forsake me in my pain?
Sighs are choking me, and my ribs are torn apart!
The priest recites a prayer to the Holy Cross or the Five Acts, in honour of the Lord’s five wounds; after each, the two choirs say: Our Father – Hail Mary – Glory Be.
Prayer to the Holy Cross
Priest: Blessed are you, O holy cross, tree of life, destroyer of error and giver of salvation to the world. You are the banner of victory in battle; through you wondrous signs were worked. You do away with the old sacrifices and fulfil the mysteries. Through you peace comes to us and joy dwells in us. Through you the Church is lifted up and her children are protected. Through you our bodies are sanctified and our souls purified. Through you our faults are wiped away and our righteousness grows. Through you believers reach perfection. Through you the living are armed, through you the departed rest. In your shade we will take shelter on the last day, and with you we will walk to the dwelling of life, giving glory to Christ, the Word who was crucified on you, to his Father and to his living and Holy Spirit, for ever.
People: Amen.
The Five Acts
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Act of faith
Lord Jesus Christ, we firmly believe all that our Mother, the holy Church, believes and teaches us to believe, because you revealed it to her, you the Truth who neither deceive nor can be deceived. We ask you, by your love for your Mother, the holy Virgin Mary, and for your righteous servant Saint Joseph, her virginal spouse, and by the wound in your left foot, to grant us your grace, to live and die in it. Amen.
Our Father – Hail Mary – Glory Be
Act of adoration and thanksgiving
Lord Jesus Christ, we confess you and adore you as our God, our Saviour and our supreme Judge; bowing before your divine majesty, we thank you for all the graces you have given us and will yet give us. We ask you, by your love for your most holy Mother, the Virgin Mary, and for your righteous servant Saint Joseph, her virginal spouse, and by the wound in your right foot, to grant us your grace, to live and die in it. Amen.
Our Father – Hail Mary – Glory Be
Act of hope
Lord Jesus Christ, we put our trust in you and hope that you will help us and guide us in this life, forgive our sins and give us possession of your everlasting happiness, for all our hope rests on your boundless mercy and your indescribable goodness. We ask you, by your love for your most holy Mother, the Virgin Mary, and for your righteous servant Saint Joseph, her virginal spouse, and by the wound in your left hand, to grant us your grace, to live and die in it. Amen.
Our Father – Hail Mary – Glory Be
Act of surrender to God’s will
Lord Jesus Christ, we surrender ourselves to your divine and perfectly upright will, and we willingly accept from your hand sickness, hardship and death, in whatever way and at whatever time you will. We desire nothing, beloved Jesus, but that your good will be fulfilled in us, now and always, in every place and at every time. We ask you, by your love for your most holy Mother, the Virgin Mary, and for your righteous servant Saint Joseph, her virginal spouse, and by the wound in your right hand, to grant us your grace, to live and die in it. Amen.
Our Father – Hail Mary – Glory Be
Act of contrition and love
Lord Jesus Christ, we are sorry from the depths of our hearts for having offended you by our evil deeds; we have deserved from you temporal punishment and the eternal fire of hell, and we have lost the joys of your heavenly Kingdom; but above all we are sorry because we have offended your fatherly love, you who are a good God, worthy of the love of all your lowly creatures. We firmly resolve never to return to sin, and we would accept death a thousand times rather than commit a single mortal sin. We ask you, by your love for your most holy Mother, the Virgin Mary, and for your righteous servant Saint Joseph, her virginal spouse, and by the wound in your most pure side, to grant us your grace, to live and die in it. Amen.
Our Father – Hail Mary – Glory Be
While the priest incenses the cross, then rises and carries it, turning towards the people, the people sing “Teshbuhto l-Moryo” (Glory to the Lord).
Teshbuhto l-Moryo (Glory to the Lord)
Glory to the Lord!
The Son of God died in torment for us on the cross,
and gave up his spirit to his Father, the Lord of the wondrous universe.
The rocks were split, the tombs were opened,
and anguish took hold of the whole earth.
They pierced with a spear the heart of the One through whom all things were made,
and from him flowed blood and water, which gave life to the children of men.
Glory to the Lord!
When the Church saw the radiant Sun of righteousness
crucified on the wood of shame, he who is God almighty,
she was deeply grieved and wept bitter tears,
as she saw his wounds and the marks of the nails.
She bowed down and said to him: “Here I am, O goal of all my longing,
kneeling with my children, for you died for us.”
Or it is sung in Syriac. The two Syriac stanzas mean:
Glory to the Lord: on the cross he gave up his spirit into the hands of his Father, the Lord of the worlds; the tombs opened, the rocks split, and amazement seized all creation; with a spear they pierced the side of the Creator of all, and from it flowed blood and water, forgiveness for the world.
Glory to the Lord: from on high on the wood of the cross the Church saw the Sun of righteousness who gives light to the world; she grieved and wept, she gazed on his wounds and the nails in his hands and the mark of the spear in his side; she drew near, bowed down before him and said: “I and my children worship you, for you died for us.”
Or these two stanzas are said in Arabic:
Glory to the Lord!
Stretched out on the wood is the Holy One of God,
one wound from the crown of his head to his feet.
Every tomb lies open-mouthed,
every rock is split and shattered;
the heart of the Creator of all is pierced and bleeding,
and from it flows forgiveness that waters the whole earth.
Glory to the Lord!
O you whose eyes gaze down from the wood,
radiant Sun of righteousness, overflowing with goodness,
the nail has sunk into his hands,
the spear has opened his suffering heart;
you have watered the hard rock with your crimson blood:
Lord, have mercy on us, teach us that atonement.
The priest carries the cross, turning towards the people, who sing in two choirs:
Mary Stood
Mary, daughter of David, stood beside the wood,
mourning her Son crucified at the hands of the soldiers.
The spear of grief sank deep into her soul,
and from the pain she fainted away.
Then the Mother came to herself
and cried out: “Ah, my child!
My beloved, my beloved, my child, speak to me!
How can I see you naked and not weep for you, my Son?
Your pains have burned my inmost being,
your sufferings have pierced my heart.
How can your Mother live,
my child, after your death?
O glory of your Mother and her one fruit,
O only Son of your Father and his glorious image,
parting from you has wounded me like a knife,
and your torment has pierced me like a spear.
Let me die before you,
so as not to see what you endure.
Fruit of my womb, what is this state?
Your blood is flowing and blows are falling on you.
Who will pity me because of you?
Who will mingle my blood with your blood?
You are crucified on the cross,
and your Mother’s weeping grows.
What are these wounds on your most pure body?
They have changed your beauty and your blooming grace;
the splendour of your face has turned pale,
and your tears pour down like rain.
Your sighs have melted me,
your torments have broken me.”
O Mother of Jesus, daughter of the most generous Father,
O Bride of the most great Holy Spirit,
give us a share in the sufferings of our Redeemer,
adorn us with the grace of our Creator,
so that we may serve you always,
every hour and every day.
The priest blesses the people with the cross, saying:
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always; may the memory of his holy Passion and its power dwell in your hearts; and may the sign of his most pure cross deliver you from all your enemies: in the name of the Father + and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit +.
People: Amen.
O My Beloved
O my beloved, O my beloved, what state are you in?
Who has grieved you, who has struck you? Who is this wretch?
My beloved, what fault, what wrong have you done?
You are exhausted and wounded, beyond all healing.
“Daughter of Zion, look at me, drowning in these deep waters;
I have been abandoned and betrayed, and misfortune has pierced me to the core.
Not one friend, not one of my kin came out
to turn the shame away from me and comfort the afflicted.
I was bound and beaten like the lowest of the destitute;
I was scourged with whips like the worst of criminals.
All this was because of you, so that you might be honoured.
Look at me: have you seen in all the world suffering like mine?
They stretched me out like a lamb, they nailed me to the cross;
every helper fled from me, as from a stranger.
Then I lamented and called on the Creator of the universe, who watches over all;
after the injustice came abandonment, turmoil and tears.”
