Introduction & Opening Prayer
Today is Holy Thursday when Jesus offered the first mass ever. After washing the feet of his apostles, Jesus took bread and wine and changed them into his body and blood, giving them to his apostles to eat and drink. This also happens at every mass when the priest says Jesus' words at the consecration. We do not see the bread and wine change, but they are still really Jesus offering himself to God for us.
Tomorrow will be Good Friday when Jesus died on the cross. Many people turned against Jesus and after an unfair trial, Jesus suffered the most painful death to prove his great love for us. By rising from the dead on Easter Sunday, Jesus showed us how his life and love are stronger than anything in the world, even death on a cross.
For over two thousand years, people have journeyed to the Holy Land to see where Jesus lived, died, and rose again. The journey is called a pilgrimage, and every place the pilgrims visit is called a station.
Many people could not make a pilgrimage. The Holy Land was too far away, or countries were at war. So the Stations of the Cross were created. This way, people who were not able to reach the Holy Land could still make the journey in their hearts.
The Stations tell us, in pictures, about the death of Jesus. At each Station, we say a short prayer and study the picture. We think about the love Jesus has for us and how we may show that love to others.
Now let us begin our own pilgrimage with the Stations of the Cross.
Before we begin, let us pray:
God our Father, you sent us Jesus because you love us.
Jesus showed us how to live as your children, to love each other as he loved us.
We ask you to help us pray as we remember how he gave up his life for us on the cross.
We make this prayer to you through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The following images of the Stations of the Cross are life-size statues found at the National Shrine for Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Students created a "tableau" or a living statue which represented the modern-day reflection for each station.
The First Station: Jesus Is Condemned to Die
An angry crowd of people brought Jesus to Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea. They didn't like Jesus because He told them to change their lives and turn away from sin. The crowd wanted Pilate to have Jesus killed because Jesus said he is the Son of God, sent by the Father so that all who believe in Him would have eternal life. Pilate said that he didn't think that Jesus had done anything wrong. Even though he thought that Jesus was innocent, he wanted to be popular with the group. He went along with them and turned Jesus over to be crucified. | There are times in our lives when it is easy to go along with the crowd, even though we know they are wrong. We sometimes hurt others so that we can be popular. It takes real courage to stand up for what is right, especially when we are the only ones doing it. Dear Lord, help me to have the courage to always do what is right. Help me to be kind to others, even when it is not the popular thing to do. |
The Second Station: Jesus Carries His Cross
The people who hated Jesus made Him begin to carry His cross. It was heavy and rough. The weight and the wooden splinters hurt Him very much. Jesus started His journey without complaining. Even though He knew that He would soon die, Jesus willingly began the walk to His crucifixion because He loves us so much. | There are times in our lives when we are asked to do things for others. These jobs may be as simple as helping our parents with chores at home or helping our classmates or teachers with jobs at school. We need to help others in the same way Jesus saved us - willingly and without complaining. Dear Lord, help us to look for ways to help others. When we give service to others, help us to do it joyfully and with a smile. |
The Third Station: Jesus Falls the First Time
The cross was heavy and Jesus fell under its weight. People were mean to Him. They teased Him and told Him to get up. Even though it hurt, Jesus picked Himself up and started again. He loves us unconditionally. | There are times in our lives when we fall. Our falls may be saying something mean to someone or being lazy with the way we do our school work. When we fall, we need to pick ourselves up and start again the way that Jesus did. This may mean that we need to apologize to someone or begin trying harder with the work we are asked to do. Dear Lord, help us to realize when we have done something wrong. Give us the strength and courage to be sorry, to apologize, and to try to always do our best. |
The Fourth Station: Jesus Meets His Sorrowful Mother
As Jesus walked His painful walk, He saw His Mother standing in the crowd. She was very sad because her Son was in great pain. It hurt her to see people teasing Jesus and spitting at Him. She was too far away to speak to Him, but the look on her face showed her love for Him. Mary will always be there for Jesus and for us. | Our parents and caregivers also love us very much and are always there for us. They work hard to buy us the things that we need. They are there to help us with our homework or to support us when we play sports or perform at recitals. They love their family and try to make family time very special. We need to think about all of the sacrifices that our parents and caregivers make and about all that they do for us. We need to remember how much they love us and we need to thank them for all that they do. Dear Lord, help us realize all that our parents and caregivers do for us and all that they give up to make our lives better. Help us to appreciate how much they love us. Help us each day to thank them and to tell them that we love them. |
The Fifth Station: Simon Helps Jesus Carry His Cross
Jesus became very tired and weak and needed help to carry His cross. The soldiers took a man from the crowd and made him help Jesus. The man's name was Simon. Simon was merely watching what was happening when he suddenly became part of all that was taking place. Simon did what was needed to do to help Jesus. | There are times in our lives when we watch all the good things that are taking place around us without being a real part of them. God has given each of us special talents that we need to discover and share with others. These gifts are to be used to help others and to make the world a better place. Our parents and teachers help us to discover and develop our talents. Dear Lord, help us to become more than young people who just watch all that is taking place around us. Help us to discover our gifts and to use them to help others. |
The Sixth Station: Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus
Veronica took a great risk when she left the crowd and wiped the sweat from Jesus' face. She showed her great love for Him by comforting Him with her kindness. Jesus taught us to be kind and caring to others and to comfort them when they need help. Veronica followed His example. To show His love for us and the importance of performing kind acts, Jesus left an imprint of His face on the cloth that Veronica used. | There are times in our lives when we need to take a risk and comfort others who are sad and hurting. We need to be aware of the needs of others and to help make their lives better. Those in need may be starving people in poor and war torn countries or they may be students in our own class. Sharing what we have or encouraging others with a kind word may help make their troubles lighter. Dear Lord, Help us to follow Jesus. Enable us to see the needs of others and to help in any way we can. Give us the courage to follow the example of Jesus in our dealings with others. |
The Seventh Station: Jesus Falls the Second Time
Jesus grew weaker under the weight of the Cross and He fell again. It was even more difficult for Him to begin again, but He knew what He must do. He used all His strength and slowly got up and started walking again. | There are times in our lives when we are afraid to do something because we know there is a chance that we may fail or that someone may laugh at us. We need to remember that we will never hit a home run if we are afraid to strike out. We become better only by working hard and trying to do good things. Our school work may be difficult, especially when we are learning new things. We must not be afraid to work hard and to do our best even when others do better than we do. Dear Lord, give us the strength to not be afraid to fail. Help us to follow Jesus’ example and to do what we must do even if it's difficult. Give us the courage to always do our best. |
The Eighth Station: Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem
Many women and children cried when they saw Jesus walking His long and painful walk. They were sad when they saw His torn clothes and when they heard people say and do mean things to Him. Jesus comforted the women and children by telling them not to cry for Him but to pray for themselves and their children. Jesus cares about all people regardless of who they are or how much money they have. He is always there to comfort everyone in their time of need. | Jesus was suffering, He took time to notice that others were hurting too. There are times in our life when members of our family or some of our classmates may be suffering or disappointed. They may feel sick, lonely, or rejected. Their misfortune is an opportunity for us to show leadership and give them comfort even though we too may be having problems of our own. Dear Lord, help us to be sensitive to the needs of others. Please give us the ability to not only see when others are hurting, but to have the courage to do something to make them feel better. |
The Ninth Station: Jesus Falls the Third Time
As He neared the end of the walk to His crucifixion, Jesus stumbled and fell again. He was embarrassed as people cursed Him and made fun of Him. Jesus could have chosen an easier way. He came to live among us, however, to show us how to live our lives. His example showed us that the easy way is not always the right way. | There are times in our lives when things are difficult. We may think that our lives would be much easier if we cheated or lied. Cheating on a test to get a better grade, copying someone else's homework, or lying about something we've done is wrong. Even though we think that doing these things will make our lives easier, it will only make us feel worse. Jesus is our example and He always did the right thing even when it was hard to do. Dear Lord, help us to think before we do something. Give us the strength and the courage to make the right decision even when doing the right thing is hard. |
The Tenth Station: Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments
As Jesus reached the top of the hill where He was about to be crucified, He was stripped of His clothes. He was bleeding and it hurt even more when His clothes were yanked from His body. He was embarrassed and in pain. Nevertheless, He took it without complaining. | There are times in our lives when we've been embarrassed or have embarrassed others. When we are embarrassed, we must remember not to act out in anger or to call further attention to ourselves. Even more important, we should never embarrass or join others in embarrassing someone else. We should always treat others they way we want them to treat us. Dear Lord, help us not to complain when someone has hurt us. Help us to love You above all else and to love our neighbors as ourselves. |
The Eleventh Station: Jesus Is Nailed to the Cross
Jesus was nailed to the cross and large nails were driven through His hands and feet. He was bleeding and in great pain. Jesus didn't do anything wrong and the soldiers and crowd making Him suffer is unfair. He goes through all this suffering because he loves us so much. | When we do things that are wrong, we also hurt Jesus. Things like disobeying our parents or saying bad words hurt Him. Nevertheless, He always loves us and will forgive us if we are sorry and try not to do the same things again. Dear Lord, help us not to hurt Jesus by doing things that are wrong. Help us to say we're sorry and give us the strength to do good. |
The Twelfth Station: Jesus Dies on the Cross
While Jesus hung on the cross, He forgave those who hurt Him and prayed for His mother and His friends. Then He bowed His head and died. He sacrificed His life for us so that we could have eternal life in Heaven. We need to thank Him often. | There are many people who make great sacrifices because they love us. Our parents give up a great deal so that we can have the food, clothing, and education that will help make us better people. We need to thank them often for all that they do for us. There are other people who also love us and make sacrifices for us. These people include our grandparents, relatives, teachers, and other friends. We need to thank them too. Dear Lord, help us to thank Jesus for giving His life for us. Help us also to appreciate all of the good things that our parents, grandparents, relatives, teachers, and other friends do for us. Help us to remember to thank them every day. |
The Thirteenth Station: Jesus Is Taken Down from the Cross
After Jesus died, people began leaving the place where He was crucified. Many were sad because they love Jesus very much. One of Jesus' friends, Joseph, took Our Lord's lifeless body from the cross. Joseph prepared Jesus' body for burial. | There are times when we are saddened by the death of someone we love very much. Feeling sad and crying are very normal. We need to remember that death is the beginning of a new life with God. This new life will last forever. Even though we may be hurting when someone we love dies, we can take comfort in knowing that they are with Jesus and that they will be happy forever. Dear Lord, help us to understand that death is the beginning of a new and better life. This new life is a happy one that will last forever. Jesus’ death on the cross made all of this possible. Help us to thank Jesus for giving up His life for us. |
The Fourteenth Station: Jesus Is Placed in the Tomb
Jesus was placed in the tomb. His friends were sad and discouraged. They had hoped for something different. Jesus taught people to love and care for each other. It was not right that someone who did so much good would be treated so poorly and then crucified like a criminal. | There are times in our lives when we become discouraged and things seem hopeless. Problems with our family, friends, or school work can make us sad. When this happens, we need to think about Jesus. He taught us how to live and how to die. He taught us how to not be afraid to speak the Truth about God’s word and to do God’s will in our lives. Jesus makes everything worthwhile. Dear Lord, help us to overcome discouragement and hopelessness. Give us the strength to be like Jesus and to live our life the way He did. Jesus, I love you, I need you, and I trust you. |