Stations of the Cross

Introduction

The stations of the cross have always been a devotion built on the imagination. It is a meditative experience on the final hours of the life of Jesus and how those people involved interacted with him. This devotion builds on that lineage and is not intended to depict the death of Jesus in a historical sense. It is meant to capture an experience to, perhaps, better help followers of The Way enter into this mystery.

The inspiration for this prayer came while I was on retreat and ambling about the outdoor stations of the cross (obligatory for any Catholic retreat house). It occurred to me that the moments of greatest emotional vulnerability were limited to women in these scenes, while men’s roles were limited to accusers or helpers; in essence, they were emotionally detached from the entire experience.

I decided, then, to flip the genders of every character in the story, except Jesus, so that all of us would have a varied experience of entering into the account. What does it mean to condemn Jesus? How do I weep for Jesus as I see him walk past? How do I imagine a father mourning over his son? How does my empathy well up within me desiring to help Jesus on the way?

I hope and pray that these scenes will be moments of prayer, grace, consolation, and encounter.

Justin Telthorst

Artwork by Audrey Anastasi reproduced with permission

Opening Prayer: Oh God, we come before you to meditate on the suffering and death of your Son. May we enter this space with humility to receive the grace present within this story. May we encounter your love in His deeds, and through it, may we learn to love this world more completely.

1st Station: Jesus before Pilate

Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.

Response: Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.

Reading: Pilate sits staring down at Jesus, eyes glinting in the morning sun. Her husband’s words echo in her mind, “Have nothing to do with this man.” Here she was, resigned to a dead-end post in the backwaters of the Roman empire. Doomed to settle petty religious disputes and criminal cases.

This man consumes her mind this morning. Powerful, poor, and unafraid. He didn’t fear the crowd screaming to kill him, or her threat of execution. She could see the sadness on his face as he looked out.

“You asked for this, my lady,” a servant states as he places a bowl of clean water on a small table next to her chair. Jesus catches her eye for a moment and nods. “Thank you,” she replies to the servant as she plunges her hands into the water.

Time for silent prayer

2nd Station: Jesus carries his cross

Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.

Response: Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.

Reading:Condemned to death, three men emerge from Pilate’s palace. Resigned to their fate, all three move toward long wooden beams; two pick them up and start dragging the logs down the road. The third, Jesus, pauses for a moment and places his hand on the tree. With effort, he picks it up, eyes downcast, and starts to walk.

Time for silent prayer

3rd Station: Jesus falls the first time

Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.

Response: Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.

Reading: Jesus soon lags far behind the two criminals, and the guards jeer at him to move faster. Impatient, one gives him another lash across his back—Jesus collapses. But no sooner than he hits the ground, he starts to get up. First his hands, then his knees. Reddened sweat drips from his nose.

Time for silent prayer

4th Station: Jesus meets his father

Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.

Response: Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.

Reading: Having picked himself up off the ground, Jesus walks toward Calvary again. He looks up and sees a figure pushing through the crowd. Through the ruckus, a silent figure makes his way to the front. Tears are pouring down his face as Jesus approaches him, now mere feet away. The man lunges forward to comfort Jesus one last time. “Be strong, son,” he whispers in Jesus’s ear before the guards drag him and throw him back in the crowd.

Time for silent prayer

5th Station: Sarah of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry his cross

Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.

Response: Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.

Reading: The soldiers notice that Jesus is taking too long. He has lost so much blood. They scan the crowd to find someone and chose a foreigner, a woman from Cyrene. Begrudgingly, she approaches the man and the cross. Disgusted, she picks up the wood already stained with blood. Decidedly, she positions herself as far away from the convicted as she can. They journey together.

Time for silent prayer

6th Station: Vere wipes the face of Jesus

Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.

Response: Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.

Reading: Heat begins rising off the stone pavers as morning wanes. Salt and iron run down Jesus’s face as he struggles toward his impending doom. One of his followers looks on silently. Seven days earlier, he watched Jesus ride into this city as a king; today, he sees him leaving as a criminal.

Overwhelmed with grief, Vere grabs the cloth shading his head and steps forward, but the guards stop him. “Please,” Vere insists, “the man can’t see.” The centurion examines the condemned man and gives a permissive nod. He kneels in the dirt and takes Jesus’s face in his hands. Careful to avoid the thorns across his forehead, Vere does what he can to clean Jesus’s face. “I’m sorry,” he says to Jesus before the soldiers press the man onward.

Time for silent prayer

7th Station: Jesus falls the second time

Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.

Response: Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.

Reading: The path begins sloping upward, and Jesus misses a step. Knees crash into stones; the wood slips from unsteady hands, and Jesus lies prone on dusty pavement. Sarah rushes forward to push the beam off Jesus. Together they stand up. She stands next to him as they struggle to place the beam across both their shoulders now. He takes a step, then another.

Time for silent prayer

8th Station: Jesus meets the men of Jerusalem

Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.

Response: Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.

Reading: Something draws Jesus’s attention up from the cobbled steps. A group of men, familiar to him, stand silently as he passes them. No cheers, no mocking phrases pass their lips as weary, tear-filled eyes follow the exhausted man. They watch, feeling helpless as he suffers. With effort, Jesus pauses for a moment and beholds them as tears start to wet his face. He says to them, “Stay here with me.”

Time for silent prayer

9th Station: Jesus falls a third time

Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.

Response: Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.

Reading: Jesus and Sarah are at the base of the hill, and she can feel him slump with exhaustion. He starts to give way, and before she can stop him, both are on the ground. The guards are yelling, eager to be done. She gets up and waits for him to stand, and for a moment, she fears he’s already gone. With eyes closed and gritted teeth, he stands again, embracing the tree for the final time. “Almost there,” she says.

Time for silent prayer

10th Station: Jesus clothes are taken away

Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.

Response: Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.

Reading: Collapsed on the ground, exhausted from his ascent, Jesus lies next to the cross. Sarah is pushed away, back into the onlookers. Without warning, a soldier grabs Jesus’s clothes and rips them off. Old wounds held closed by cloth, and blood rip open and bleed. Dust and rocks press into the broken skin. He lies there naked as the crowd looks on.

Time for silent prayer

11th Station: Jesus is nailed to the cross

Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.

Response: Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.

Reading: No longer able to stand, the guards drag Jesus onto the cross. The four guards surround him, one taking each arm and another his legs. The fourth saunters over, wielding a few nails, a rolled-up scroll, and a hammer. She holds the nail, pressing it slightly into Jesus’s wrist as she feels for the right spot between bone and sinew to ensure the condemned man won’t slide off the cross. The two criminals are already hanging, unable to avert their eyes from this man’s execution. She finds the spot she’s looking for and raises the hammer above her head. A loud thud quiets the crowd as the nail bites into the wood, echoed by the man’s scream.

Time for silent prayer

12th Station: Jesus dies on the cross

Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.

Response: Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.

Reading: Religious mock him, criminals ask forgiveness, and a pagan mutters, “surely this was God.” Jesus’s breathing falters. Darkness begins to cover the earth, and silence engulfs those who dare to watch.

Time for silent prayer

13th Station: The body of Jesus is taken down from the cross

Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.

Response: Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.

Reading: Jesus’s lifeless body is taken from the cross in silence. The crowd has dispersed, and those that remain say little. The last bit of warmth seeps from his body as a strong wind sweeps over the hilltop. They take him down and place him in the arms of his father. The man who was first to hold the god-child as he came into the world now is the last before he is laid in the tomb. His eyes stream with tears as a pain too deep for words rends his heart in two.

Time for silent prayer

14th Station: Jesus is laid in the tomb

Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.

Response: Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.

Reading: Two disciples who were with Jesus from the beginning bring him to a nearby tomb. As nightfall approaches, they quickly prepare his body and wrap him in cloth. No words are exchanged between these broken hearts. The last rays of light filter through the clouded sky. They roll the stone over the tomb and begin their journey home on the road.

Time for silent prayer

Closing Prayer: God of broken hearts, you never permit your people to enter suffering without promising resurrection. May we in this earthly journey accept suffering as it comes, cling fast to hope and receive the grace from our siblings on the way. Bless our efforts, and may we never lose sight of the joy with which we are called to live. Amen.

EC

EC