All 14 Stations (short version)

ALL THE FOURTEEN STATIONS OF THE CROSS
Short Version
(for longer versions, click on the menu below)

PREPARATORY PRAYER

O most merciful Jesus, sinner though I am , I come before Thee with a contrite heart and penitent spirit. I bow down in profound humility before Thy divine majesty. I adore Thee as my supreme Lord and Master. I believe in Thee; I hope in Thee; I love Thee above all things. I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, my Supreme and only Good. I resolve to amend my life, and, although I am unworthy to obtain mercy, the sight of Thy holy Cross, on which Thou didst die, inspires me with hope and consolation.

I will, therefore, meditate on Thy sufferings and visit the stations of Thy Passion in company with Thy sorrowful Mother and my guardian angel, with the intention of promoting Thy honor and saving my soul. I desire to gain all the indulgences granted for this holy exercise for myself and for the Poor Souls in Purgatory. O merciful Redeemer, Who hast said, "And I, if I be lifted from Earth, will draw all things to Myself," ― draw my heart and my love to Thee, that I may perform this devotion as perfectly as possible, and may live and die in union with Thee. Amen.

THE FIRST STATION
JESUS IS CONDEMNED TO DEATH

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee,
R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

God is judged by man. What a presumption! Jesus was innocent. A fearful crime―to condemn innocence to death! Pilate, His judge, was guilty―since he knew Jesus was innocent, but could not bring himself to go against public opinion, for fear of losing his job. He is prepared to lose his soul for the sake of his job! To remain a friend of Caesar, Pilate delivered Jesus into the hands of His enemies. No amount of hand-washing will cleanse his conscience! Jesus lets Pilate judge Him now, but He will judge Pilate later―when that Liberal will face his own death. Let us hope Christ showed more mercy and fairness to Pilate, than Pilate did to Christ! Nevertheless, though the judgment is unjust, Christ accepts it meekly, knowing that God’s judgments will eventually bring true justice.

This first station is all about judgments. What am I like in my judgments? Have I, like the Jews, condemned a person out of my own self-love―out of jealousy, pride, ambition or even hurt feelings? Have I, like Pilate, seen others unjustly accused or condemned and then failed to help them? Do I, like the crowd, allow myself to be influenced by the words of others―even though there is not sufficient evidence to back up those words? Woe to Pilate who disdainfully said “What is truth?” Jesus says that He is the Truth and whatever injustice we do unto others, Jesus said that we do that injustice unto Him. Let us make amends for our own false judgments and injustices and then never commit them again. Woe to the Jews who cry out: “His blood be upon us!” God’s justice visited them less than forty years later, when the Romans slew around a million Jews as they destroyed Jerusalem. As we do unto others, so shall it be done unto us.

O innocent Jesus, I have been wrong in so many judgments and have committed so many injustices against Thee and my fellow man. Having sinned, I am guilty of eternal death, but Thou willingly dost accept the unjust sentence of death, that I might live. Teach me judge fairly and favorably always remembering Thy words “Judge not, that you may not be judged; for with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again.” For whose judgment, then, shall I henceforth live, if not for Thine, my Lord? Should I desire to please men, I could not be Thy servant. Let me, therefore, rather displease men and all the world, than not please Thee, O Jesus.

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
V. Lord Jesus, crucified, R. Have mercy on us!

At the cross her station keeping,
Stood the mournful Mother weeping,
Close to Jesus to the last.

THE SECOND STATION
JESUS RECEIVES AND ACCEPTS HIS CROSS

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee,
R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

God willingly accepts the Cross that comes to Him from the hands of men. Do I accept the Cross that comes to me from the hand of God? The Cross is our salvation. It is the key to Heaven. Reject the Cross and you reject salvation. Throw it off your shoulders and you throw away the key to Heaven. The Cross stands at the heart of history. Does it also stand in my heart? Our Lord said: “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his Cross daily and follow Me.” Elsewhere He says: “And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth Me, is not worthy of Me!”

God’s Divine Providence sends us many Crosses each day―some small, some great. Do we accept them as willingly as Our Lord accepted them for our salvation. The Cross tests our love. It proves our love. It pays our debts. It heals our wounds and bad habits. Yet how many Crosses have we thrown away by our complaints, our pride, our anger, or our faint-heartedness? Let us henceforth accept our Crosses with the supernatural vision of the predestined, rather than the too naturalistic outlook of the damned. For as St. Augustine so frighteningly says: “The same Crosses and sufferings lead some souls to Heaven and other souls to Hell.”

O my Jesus, I cannot be Thy friend and follower, if I refuse to carry the Cross. O dearly beloved Cross! I embrace thee, I kiss thee, I joyfully accept thee from the hands of my God. Far be it from me to glory in anything, except in the Cross of my Lord and Redeemer. By it the world shall be crucified to me and I crucified to the world, that I may be Thine forever.

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
V. Lord Jesus, crucified, R. Have mercy on us!

Through her heart, His sorrow sharing,
All His bitter anguish bearing,
Now at length the sword has passed.

THE THIRD STATION
JESUS FALLS THE FIRST TIME

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee,
R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Jesus fell many times on His way to Calvary. The sinner falls many times on his way to Heaven. Scripture says that “a just man shall fall seven times and shall rise again.” Jesus falls, only to rise again. So, too, should we rise when we fall into sin. It is not our falling into sin that surprises God, but our failure to rise and seek out His mercy. The difference between the sinner and the saint, is that the sinner is surprised to find himself flat on the ground in the dirt, the saint is surprised to find himself on his feet. Scripture tells us: “He that thinketh himself to stand, let him take heed lest he fall” and again “Pride goeth before destruction: and the spirit is lifted up before a fall.”

Sometimes God will even let His saints fall into mortal sin in order to keep them humble. Let us never be disappointed or discouraged by our falls―for such is the work and reaction of pride―but let us rise to a greater humility and keep following Christ on the thorny road to Heaven.

O my Jesus, Thou didst bear my burden and the heavy weight of my sins. Should I, then, not bear in union with Thee, my easy burden of suffering and accept the sweet yoke of Thy commandments? Thy yoke is sweet and Thy burden is light: I therefore willingly accept it. I will take up my Cross and follow Thee. And if I should fall into sin under the weight of my evil habits, then help me to rise at once in the Sacrament of Confession, which Thou didst institute for the good of Thy poor fallen creatures.

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
V. Lord Jesus, crucified, R. Have mercy on us!

Oh, how sad and sore distressed
Was that Mother highly blessed
Of the sole-begotten One!

THE FOURTH STATION
JESUS MEETS HIS MOST HOLY AND SORROWFUL MOTHER

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee,
R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Wherever there is Mary, there too is Jesus. Wherever there is Jesus, there too is the Cross. Mary’s life was also one of the Cross. Already at the Presentation of the Infant Jesus in the Temple, St. Simeon prophesied about Mary’s Cross, saying: “And your own soul a sword shall pierce!” In this Age of Mary, Heaven has made it clear that God wants Our Lady to be honored, not only by the title of "Immaculate Heart", but also that of the "Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart’"

Mary’s sorrows were a mystical martyrdom. She never shirked the Cross, ever repeating in spirit those words she had first uttered to the Angel Gabriel at the Annunciation: “Be it done unto me according to thy word.” At Fatima she echoed the need of the Cross, when she said that Heaven required much prayer and sacrifices for the salvation of sinners, adding that many were damned because there was nobody to pray and offer sacrifices for them. Both Our Lord and Our Lady offered the supreme sacrifice for our salvation, let us add our own Crosses as sacrifices for the salvation of others. And as Mary stood by her Son until His death, let us ask to stand by us, “now and at the hour of our death."

O Jesus, O Mary, I am the cause of the great and manifold pains which pierce your loving hearts! Oh, that also my heart would feel and experience at least some of Your sufferings! O Mother of Sorrows, let me participate in the sufferings which thou and thy Son endured for me, and let me experience thy sorrow, that afflicted with thee, I may enjoy thy assistance in the hour of my death.

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
V. Lord Jesus, crucified, R. Have mercy on us!

Christ above in torment hangs,
She beneath beholds the pangs
Of her dying, glorious Son.

THE FIFTH STATION
SIMON OF CYRENE HELPS JESUS TO CARRY HIS CROSS

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee,
R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Simon of Cyrene was compelled to help Jesus carry His Cross, and Jesus accepted his assistance. How willingly would He also permit you to carry the Cross: He calls, but you hear Him not; He invites you, but you decline. What a reproach, to bear the cross reluctantly! There are many souls, made in the image and likeness of God, who find their Crosses heavy and insupportable. Let us, like Simon of Cyrene, go to their assistance―even if we are as reluctant as Simon. For Jesus said: “As long as you did it to one of these, My least brethren, you did it to Me.”

O Jesus! Compel me to carry my Cross if you find me reluctant and shying away from it. Whosoever does not take up his Cross and follow Thee, is not worthy of Thee. Grant me true wisdom to see the benefit of the Cross as St. Paul says: “The word of the Cross, to them that perish, is foolishness, but to them that are saved it is the power of God.” Open too my eyes to see Thee in my neighbor and his Cross so that I might forget self and go to his assistance and so, following Thy bloody footsteps, I may follow Thee to eternal life.

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
V. Lord Jesus, crucified, R. Have mercy on us!

Is there one who would not weep
‘Whelmed in miseries so deep
Christ’s dear Mother to Behold?

THE SIXTH STATION
VERONICA WIPES THE FACE OF JESUS

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee,
R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Not everybody was a coward. There was one who refused to blindly follow the hatred manifested by public opinion. However this courageous one is not a man, but a woman. It is Veronica, who overcame all human respect and fear of shame, and broke through the throng of soldiers that surrounded Jesus. She stooped down to wipe the blood and sweat from His face. Simon of Cyrene came reluctantly and was forced by the soldiers to help Him, whereas Veronica willingly broke through the soldiers to help Christ.

We daily see the face of the suffering Christ in so many people around us. Do we break through the cordon of human respect to go to their aid, or are we like the majority of bystanders, who look, see and then turn away? We can never outdo God in generosity. That simple act of kindness was enough for God to reward her with a miracle. The veil with which she had wiped the face of Christ, was now imprinted with the miraculous image of His face. So too will our souls receive the image of Christ, if we stop to help our suffering neighbor.

Jesus, I consecrate myself entirely to Thy service. I offer and consecrate to Thee my heart: imprint on it Thy sacred image, never again to be effaced by sin. Let me see Thee in my neighbors and give me courage to go to their aid regardless of human opinion and prejudice.

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
V. Lord Jesus, crucified, R. Have mercy on us!

Can the human heart refrain
From partaking in her pain,
In that Mother’s pain untold?

THE SEVENTH STATION
JESUS FALLS FOR THE SECOND TIME

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee,
R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Jesus again falls to the ground; but the cruel executioners do not permit Him to rest a moment. Pushing and striking Him, they urge Him onward. It is the frequent repetition of our sins which oppress Jesus. He forgives willingly, but I add to my sins relentlessly. Witnessing this, how can I continue to sin? Why do I continue to sin? It is because, deep down, I love myself more than Jesus.

O Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! Offer me Thy helping hand, and aid me, that I may not fall again into my former sins. From this very moment, I will earnestly strive to reform: nevermore will I sin! Thou, O sole support of the weak, by Thy grace, without which I can do nothing, strengthen me to carry out faithfully this my resolution.

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
V. Lord Jesus, crucified, R. Have mercy on us!

Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled,
She beheld her tender Child,
All with bloody scourges rent.

THE EIGHTH STATION
THE WOMEN OF JERUSALEM WEEP OVER JESUS

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee,
R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

These devoted women, moved by compassion, weep over the suffering Savior. But He turns to them, saying: “Weep not for Me, Who am innocent, but weep for yourselves and for your children!” Do I ever weep for my sins? Do I ever weep over the sins of my family? St. Peter, it is said, never ceased to weep over his denial of Christ!

How little do we weep, we who have not sinned as little as St. Peter sinned, but rather much more! Let us beg of God the grace of a real horror of sin and true contrition for our sins. For there is nothing more pleasing to Our Lord and nothing more profitable for thyself, than tears shed from contrition for sin. And if we cannot find tears, let us at least accept God’s chastisements and admit our guilt with the Good Thief, who said: “For we receive the due reward for our deeds.” That thief’s Cross brought him Paradise that very day. Let us also steal Heaven by our Crosses.

O Jesus, who shall give to my eyes a torrent of tears, that day and night I may weep for my sins? I beseech Thee, through Thy bitter and bloody tears, to move my heart by Thy divine grace, so that from my eyes tears may flow abundantly, and that I may weep all my days over Thy sufferings, and still more over their cause, my sins.

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
V. Lord Jesus, crucified, R. Have mercy on us!

For the sins of His own nation
Saw Him hang in desolation
Till His spirit forth He sent.

THE NINTH STATION
JESUS FALLS FOR THE THIRD TIME

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee,
R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Jesus, arriving exhausted at the foot of Calvary, falls for the third time to the ground. Yet He knew the power and victory of the Cross and no fall would separate Him for His desire to die on the Cross. Let no amount of difficulty and suffering ever discourage us on our path to Heaven, for, as Christ said: “the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence and only the violent carry it away.” Let us then do violence to our desires, our opinions, our bad habits and never tire in doing so―even though we may fall back into them from time to time. For Heaven is the reward for the effort.

Most merciful Jesus, I return Thee infinite thanks, for not permitting me to continue in sin and to fall, as I have so often deserved, into the depths of Hell. Enkindle in me an earnest desire of amendment; let me never again relapse, but grant me the grace to persevere in penance to the end of my life.

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
V. Lord Jesus, crucified, R. Have mercy on us!

O thou Mother! fount of love,
Touch my spirit from above.
Make my heart with thine accord.

THE TENTH STATION
JESUS IS STRIPPED OF HIS GARMENTS

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee,
R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

When Our Savior had arrived on Calvary, He was cruelly despoiled of His garments. How painful this must have been because they adhered to His wounded and torn body, and with them parts of His bloody skin were removed! All the wounds of Jesus are renewed. Jesus was despoiled of His garments that He might die possessed of nothing.

If He wished nothing, why do I want so much? Jesus was born with nothing and He would die with nothing. Why cannot I see and understand this wisdom? Why do I store up so many things for myself―money and possessions? Our Lord had said: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures on Earth, where the rust and moth consume, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither rust nor moth doth consume, and where thieves do not break through, nor steal.”

Induce me, O Jesus, to lay aside my former self and to be renewed according to Thy will and desire. I will not spare myself, however painful this should be for me―despoiled of things temporal, of my own will, I desire to die, in order to live for Thee forever.

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
V. Lord Jesus, crucified, R. Have mercy on us!

Make me feel as thou hast felt;
Make my soul to glow and melt
With the love of Christ, my Lord.

THE ELEVENTH STATION
JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee,
R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

To be close to Jesus means to be nailed to the Cross with Him. Where Jesus is, there too is the Cross. He chose not to flee the Cross, so, to find Him, we must find and nail ourselves to the Cross of Jesus. The gates of Hell were opened by the eating of a fruit hanging from a tree of wood. Jesus is the fruit of the Virgin Mary and hangs on the wooden Tree of teh Cross to open for us the gates of Heaven.

Jesus, being stripped of His garments, was violently thrown upon the Cross and His hands and feet nailed thereto. In such excruciating pains, He remained silent, because it pleased His heavenly Father. He suffered patiently, because He suffered for me. How do I act in sufferings and in troubles? How fretful and impatient, how full of complaints I am!

O Jesus, gracious Lamb of God, I renounce forever my impatience. Crucify, O Lord, my flesh and its concupiscences; scourge, scathe, and punish me in this world, do but spare me in the next. I commit my destiny to Thee, resigning myself to Thy holy will―may it be done in all things!

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
V. Lord Jesus, crucified, R. Have mercy on us!

Holy Mother, pierce me through!
In my heart each wound renew
Of my Savior crucified.

THE TWELFTH STATION
JESUS IS RAISED UPON THE CROSS AND DIES

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee,
R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Behold Jesus crucified! Through a living fruit on a living tree, death came into the world. Through the dead fruit on the dead Tree of the Cross, life is given to the world. His ways are not our ways, and our ways are not His ways. To the world, His death seemed a failure. In reality, it was a mighty victory.

Behold His wounds, received for love of you! His whole appearance betokens love―His head is bent to kiss you; His arms are extended to embrace you; His Heart is open to receive you. O superabundance of love, Jesus, the Son of God, dies upon the Cross, that man may live and be delivered from everlasting death!

O most amiable Jesus! Who will grant me that I may die for Thee! I will at least endeavor to die to the world. How must I regard the world and its vanities, when I behold Thee hanging on the Cross, covered with wounds? O Jesus, receive me into Thy wounded Heart: I belong entirely to Thee; for Thee alone do I desire to live and to die.

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
V. Lord Jesus, crucified, R. Have mercy on us!

Let me share with thee His pain,
Who for all our sins was slain,
Who for me in torments died.

THE THIRTEENTH STATION
JESUS IS TAKEN DOWN FROM THE CROSS AND PLACED IN ARMS OF HIS MOST HOLY AND SORROWFUL MOTHER

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee,
R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Jesus did not descend from the Cross―but remained on it until He died. And when taken down from it, He in death, as in life, rested on the bosom of His divine Mother. By a faithful and true devotion to Our Lady, we will gain her help and intercession at the hour of our own death.

The Saints say that it is impossible for a true and faithful servant of Mary to lose his soul. Let us keep her close to our Cross. Persevere in your resolutions of reform and do not part from the Cross―he who persevereth to the end shall be saved. Consider, moreover, how pure the heart should be that receives the Body and Blood of Christ in the Adorable Sacrament of the Altar.

O Lord Jesus, Thy lifeless Body, mangled and lacerated, found a worthy resting-place on the bosom of Thy virgin Mother. Have I not often compelled Thee to dwell in my heart, full of sin and impurity as it was? Create in me a new heart, that I may worthily receive Thy most sacred Body in Holy Communion, and that Thou mayest remain in me and I in Thee for all eternity.

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
V. Lord Jesus, crucified, R. Have mercy on us!

Let me mingle tears with thee,
Mourning Him who mourned for me,
All the days that I may live.

THE FOURTEENTH STATION
JESUS IS PLACED IN THE SEPULCHER

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee,
R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

The Body of Jesus is interred in a stranger’s sepulcher. He, Who in this world had not whereupon to rest His head, would not even have a grave of His own, because He was not from this world. You, who are so attached to the world, henceforth despise it, that you may not perish with it.

O Jesus, Thou hast set me apart from the world―what, then, shall I seek therein? Thou hast created me for Heaven― what, then, have I to do with the world? Depart from me, deceitful world, with thy vanities! Henceforth I will follow the Way of the Cross traced out for me by my Redeemer, and journey onward to my heavenly home, there to dwell forever and ever.

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
V. Lord Jesus, crucified, R. Have mercy on us!

By the Cross with thee to stay,
There with thee to weep and pray,
Is all I ask of thee to give.

CONCLUDING PRAYERS

Almighty and eternal God, merciful Father, Who hast given to the human race Thy beloved Son as an example of humility, obedience, and patience, to precede us on the way of life, bearing the Cross: Graciously grant us that we, inflamed by His infinite love, may take up the sweet yoke of His Gospel together with the mortification of the Cross, following Him as His true disciples, so that we shall one day gloriously rise with Him and joyfully hear the final sentence:

“Come, ye blessed of My Father, and possess the kingdom which was prepared for you from the beginning,” where Thou reignest with the Son and the Holy Ghost, and where we hope to reign with Thee, world without end. Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
to be prayed for the intentions of the Holy Father, the Pope