“Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” Amos 5:24
Many pilgrims, including those on the Diocesan Pilgrimages, walk ‘The Way of the Cross’ through the souk in Jerusalem. Some carry large wooden crosses and go together in groups, others walk alone. They will stand at each station meditate and pray and sometimes sing. This is an adaptation of the stations used on the last Diocesan Pilgrimage in 2023.
If your church has stations of the cross you might be able to use them alone or in groups as a springboard for this week’s Lent Call prayers – praying for the future of the Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East and its people. If Stations of the cross are new to you, or you do not wish to do them, please just take the time to read the scripture and mediate on the prayers that are here as you seek God’s peace and justice for the region. You will need access to a Bible.
At each station use this format:
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you
because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.
A reading from scripture: (See below)
Meditation and prayer: (See below)
Silence….
Lord, have mercy
Lord, have mercy
Christ, have mercy
Christ, have mercy
Lord, have mercy
Lord, have mercy
Creator God,
Focus our hearts and minds that
We seek your wisdom to work and pray
for peace and justice in the land of your birth.
We pray too for all those who are affected by the conflict that they may know your peace and healing.
Give us your persistence to pray for hope, peace, justice and security for all;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
At the end of each Station you may like to sing a verse of ‘Where you there when they Crucified my Lord.’
Before you begin the first station
Pray: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Almighty God,
whose most dear Son went not up to joy
but first he suffered pain,
and entered not into glory before he was crucified:
mercifully grant that we,
walking in the way of the cross,
may find it none other than the way of life and peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The first station of cross: Jesus is condemned to death
Scripture: Luke 23. 22-24
Meditation and prayer:
Jesus, bless us for those times when we have not stood by silently in the face of injustice.
And forgive us when we have.
Then use the format above.
The second station of the cross: Jesus takes up the cross
Scripture: Luke 9. 22-23
Meditation and prayer:
Jesus, bless us when we are made scapegoats.
And forgive us when we have scapegoated others.
Then use the format above.
The third station: Jesus falls for the first time
Scripture: Lamentations 1. 12,16
Meditation and prayer:
Jesus, bless us when we fall under the weight of our burdens.
And forgive us when we fail to help others with their burdens.
Then use the format above.
The fourth station: Jesus meets his mother
Scripture: Luke 2. 34-35
Meditation and prayer:
Jesus, be with us in the terror of suffering.
And help us, through your love, to find hope.
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.
Then use the format above.
The fifth station: Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry his cross
Scripture: Luke 23.26
Meditation and prayer:
Jesus, bless us for those times when we have helped others with their burdens.
And forgive us the times when we have failed to do so.
Then use the format above.
The sixth station: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
Scripture: Matthew 25. 34-36
Meditation and prayer:
Jesus, bless us for our unseen acts of charity and generosity.
And forgive us the times when we have failed to show compassion and love.
Then use the format above.
The seventh station: Jesus falls for the second time
Scripture: (John 12. 23-24)
Meditation and Prayer:
Jesus, bless us when we walk the long and hard road.
And help us when we stumble and fall.
Then use the format above.
The eighth station: Jesus speaks to the women of Jerusalem
Scripture: Luke 23.28
Meditation and prayer:
Jesus, bless us when we weep for the suffering of others.
And forgive us when we fail to understand why others suffer.
Then use the format above.
The ninth station: Jesus falls for the third time
Scripture: Hebrews 12. 22-23
Meditation and prayer:
Jesus, be with us when we have lost hope.
And help us to remember all that you have done for us.
Then use the format above.
The tenth station: Jesus is stripped of his clothes
Scripture: Luke 23. 34-38
Meditation and prayer:
Jesus, bless us when we are utterly vulnerable.
And forgive us when we mock others in their weakness.
Then use the format above.
The eleventh station: Jesus is nailed to the cross
Scripture: Luke 23. 33-34
Meditation and prayer:
Jesus, bless us when we become the victims of others.
And forgive us the ways in which others become our victims.
Then use the format above.
The twelfth station: Jesus dies on the cross
Scripture: Luke 23. 44-46
Meditation and prayer:
Jesus, bless us when we breathe our.
And be light for us in our darkness.
Then use the format above.
The thirteenth station: The body of Jesus is taken down from the cross
Scripture: John 19. 32-36
Meditation and prayer:
Jesus, remember us in your kingdom.
And heal us in our brokenness.
Then use the format above.
The fourteenth station: Jesus is laid in the Sepulchre
Scripture: Luke. 23.50-56
Meditation and prayer:
Soul of Christ, sanctify us,
Body of Christ, save us,
Blood of Christ, inebriate us,
Water from the side of Christ, wash us,
Passion of Christ, strengthen us.
O good Jesus, hear us.
Within your wounds hide us.
Let us not be separated from you.
From the malicious enemy defend us.
In the hour of our death call us
And bid us come to you,
That with all your saints we may praise you
For ever and ever. Amen.
(Anima Christi adapted)
Find out more and how to donate: https://southwark.anglican.org/lent-call/
