The Stations of the Cross, or Via Crucis, is a devotion commonly associated with Lent, but it shouldn’t be limited to just 40 days of the year.
The Via Crucis is a channel of grace at any time, and is especially linked to Fridays, in memory of Christ’s death on that day.
Meditating slowly on each of the 14 stations can be a time-consuming commitment. But it can be adapted to fit into even a busy schedule.
Read more:
Why are there Stations of the Cross in (almost) every Catholic church?
Praying the Stations doesn’t have to be a grandiose orchestration in order to receive the many graces of accompanying Jesus on his way to Calvary. It can be very simple and take less than 10 minutes.
If you find yourself overwhelmed with little time to devote to prayer, consider this simplified option of praying the Stations that you can easily pray whenever and wherever you are able.
[These simplified Stations are adapted from a version composed by St. Alphonsus Liguori in 1787]
The First Station: Pilate Condemns Jesus to Die
Meditation: Consider how Jesus Christ, after being scourged and crowned with thorns, was unjustly condemned by Pilate to die on the cross.
Prayer: I love You, beloved Jesus;
With all my heart I repent of ever having offended You.
Grant that I may love You always; and then do with me as You will.
The Second Station: Jesus Accepts His Cross
Meditation: Consider Jesus as He walked this road with the cross on His shoulders, thinking of us, and offering to His Father on our behalf the death He was about to suffer.
Prayer: I love You, beloved Jesus;
With all my heart I repent of ever having offended You.
Grant that I may love You always; and then do with me as You will.
The Third Station: Jesus Falls the First Time
Meditation: Consider the first fall of Jesus. Loss of blood from the scourging and crowing with thorns had so weakened Him that He could hardly walk; and yet He had to carry that great load upon His shoulders. As the soldiers struck Him cruelly, He fell several times under the heavy cross.
Prayer: I love You, beloved Jesus;
With all my heart I repent of ever having offended You.
Grant that I may love You always; and then do with me as You will.
The Fourth Station: Jesus Meets His Afflicted Mother
Meditation: Consider how the Son met his Mother on His way to Calvary. Jesus and Mary gazed at each other and their looks became as so many arrows to wound those hearts which loved each other so tenderly.
Prayer: I love You, beloved Jesus;
With all my heart I repent of ever having offended You.
Grant that I may love You always; and then do with me as You will.
The Fifth Station: Simon Helps Jesus Carry the Cross
Meditation: Consider how weak and weary Jesus was. At each step He was at the point of expiring. Fearing that He would die on the way when they wished Him to die the infamous death of the cross, they forced Simon of Cyrene to help carry the cross after Our Lord.
Prayer: I love You, beloved Jesus;
With all my heart I repent of ever having offended You.
Grant that I may love You always; and then do with me as You will.
The Sixth Station: Veronica Offers Her Veil to Jesus
Meditation: Consider the compassion of the holy woman, Veronica. Seeing Jesus in such distress, His face bathed in sweat and blood, she presented Him with her veil. Jesus wiped His face, and left upon the cloth the image of his sacred countenance.
Prayer: I love You, beloved Jesus;
With all my heart I repent of ever having offended You.
Grant that I may love You always; and then do with me as You will.
The Seventh Station: Jesus Falls the Second Time
Meditation: Consider how the second fall of Jesus under His cross renews the pain in all the wounds of the head and members of our afflicted Lord.
Prayer: I love You, beloved Jesus;
With all my heart I repent of ever having offended You.
Grant that I may love You always; and then do with me as You will.
The Eighth Station: Jesus Speaks to the Women
Meditation: Consider how the women wept with compassion seeing Jesus so distressed and dripping with blood as he walked along. Jesus said to them, “Weep not so much for me, but rather for Your children.”
Prayer: I love You, beloved Jesus;
With all my heart I repent of ever having offended You.
Grant that I may love You always; and then do with me as You will.
The Ninth Station: Jesus Falls the Third Time
Meditation: Consider how Jesus Christ fell for the third time. He was extremely weak and the cruelty of His executioners was excessive; they tried to hasten His steps though He hardly had strength to move.
Prayer: I love You, beloved Jesus;
With all my heart I repent of ever having offended You.
Grant that I may love You always; and then do with me as You will.
The Tenth Station: Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments
Meditation: Consider how Jesus was violently stripped of His clothes by His executioners. The inner garments adhered to his lacerated flesh and the soldiers tore them off so roughly that the skin came with them. Have pity for your Savior so cruelly treated and tell Him:
Prayer: I love You, beloved Jesus;
With all my heart I repent of ever having offended You.
Grant that I may love You always; and then do with me as You will.
The Eleventh Station: Jesus Is Nailed to the Cross
Meditation: Consider Jesus, thrown down upon the cross, He stretched out His arms and offered to His eternal Father the sacrifice of His life for our salvation. They nailed His hands and feet, and then, raising the cross, left Him to die in anguish.
Prayer: I love You, beloved Jesus;
With all my heart I repent of ever having offended You.
Grant that I may love You always; and then do with me as You will.
The Twelfth Station: Jesus Dies Upon the Cross
Meditation: Consider how Jesus, after three hours of agony on the cross, is finally overwhelmed with suffering and, abandoning Himself to the weight of His body, bows His head and dies.
Prayer: I love You, beloved Jesus;
With all my heart I repent of ever having offended You.
Grant that I may love You always; and then do with me as You will.
The Thirteenth Station: Jesus Is Taken Down from the Cross
Meditation: Consider how, after Our Lord had died, He was taken down from the cross by two of His disciples, Joseph and Nicodemus, and placed in the arms of His afflicted Mother. She received Him with unutterable tenderness and pressed Him close to her bosom.
Prayer: I love You, beloved Jesus;
With all my heart I repent of ever having offended You.
Grant that I may love You always; and then do with me as You will.
The Fourteenth Station: Jesus Is Placed in the Tomb
Meditation: Consider how the disciples carried the body of Jesus to its burial, while His holy Mother went with them and arranged it in the sepulcher with her own hands. They then closed the tomb and all departed.
Prayer: I love You, beloved Jesus;
With all my heart I repent of ever having offended You.
Grant that I may love You always; and then do with me as You will.
Concluding Prayer
O, my buried Jesus, I kiss the stone that closes You in. But You gloriously did rise again on the third day. I beg You by Your resurrection that I may be raised gloriously on the last day, to be united with You in heaven, to praise You and love You forever.
Read more:
How to pray the Stations of the Cross as if you were there
And today we celebrate...