The First Station
Jesus is condemned to death.

We adore you. 0 Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

As soon as it was morning the chief priests, with the leaders and scribes, and the whole council assembled and Jesus was brought before them. They all condemned him and said, “He deserves to die.” They bound him and brought him before Pilate. When Pilate heard their words he sat down on the judgment seat at a place called the Pavement. Pilate took water and washed his hands in full view of the people, saying, “My hands are clean of this man’s blood, see to that yourselves.” Then he handed Jesus over to them to be crucified.

God did not spare his own Son;
But delivered him up for us all.

Let us pray.

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 the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace, through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.

Holy God,
Holy and Mighty.
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

The Second Station
Jesus takes up his Cross.

We adore you, 0 Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Jesus went out, bearing his own cross on the way to the place called the place of a skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. Like a lamb he was led to the slaughter; and like a sheep that before its shearers is mute, so he opened not his mouth. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.

The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all:
For the transgression of the people was he

Let us pray.

Almighty God, whose beloved Son willingly endured the agony and shame of the cross for our redemption: Give us courage to take up our cross and follow him; who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

Holy God,
Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

The Third Station
Jesus falls the first time.

We adore you, 0 Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped; but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, and was born in human likeness. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him, and bestowed on him the name which is above every name. Come let us bow down, and bend the knee, and kneel before the Lord our Maker, for he is the Lord our God.

Surely he has borne our griefs:
And carried our sorrows.

Let us pray.

O God, you know us to be set in the midst of so many and great dangers, that by reason of the frailty of our nature we cannot always stand upright. Grant us such strength and protection as may support us in all dangers, and carry us through all temptations; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Holy God,
Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

The Fourth Station
Jesus meets his mother.

We adore you, 0 Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

To what can I liken you, to what can I compare you, 0 daughter of Jerusalem? What likeness can I use to comfort you, 0 virgin daughter of Zion? For vast as the sea is your ruin. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. The Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended.

A sword will pierce your own soul also:
And fill your heart with bitter pain.

0 God, who willed that in the passion of your Son. a sword of grief would pierce the soul of the Blessed Virgin Mary his mother. Mercifully grant that your Church, having shared in his passion with her, may be made worthy to share in the joys of his resurrection; who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

Holy God,
Holy and Mighty.
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

The Fifth Station
The Cross is laid on Simon of Cyrene.

We adore you, 0 Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

As they led Jesus away, they seized a man of Cyrene. Simon by name, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me:
Cannot be my disciple.

Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, whose blessed Son came not to be served but to serve: Bless all who, following in his steps, give themselves to the service of others; that with wisdom, patience. and courage, they may minister in his Name to the suffering, the friendless, and the needy; for the love of him who laid down his life for us, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Holy God.
Holy and Mighty.
Holy Immortal One.
Have mercy upon us.

The Sixth Station
A woman wipes the face of Jesus.

We adore you, 0 Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

“We have seen him without beauty or majesty, with no looks to attract our eyes. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, and as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” And then a woman appeared from the crowd that lined the streets that day and wiped the brow of Jesus with her veil.

Restore us. 0 Lord God of hosts:
Show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.

0 God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Holy God,
Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

The Seventh Station
Jesus falls a second time.

We adore you, 0 Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. For the transgression of his people was he stricken.

But as for me, I am a worm and no man:
Scorned by all and despised by the people.

Let us pray.

Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for the human race, you sent your son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his resurrection; who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

Holy God,
Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

Eighth Station
Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem.

We adore you, 0 Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

There followed after Jesus a great multitude of the people, and among them were grief stricken women who followed close by Jesus on his journey to Calvary. But Jesus turned their focus away from Himself and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.”

Those who sowed with tears:
Will reap with songs of joy.

Teach your Church, 0 Lord, to mourn the sins of which it is guilty, and to repent and forsake them; that, by your pardoning grace, the results of our iniquities may not be visited upon our children and our children’s children; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Holy God,
Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

The Ninth Station
Jesus falls a third time.

We adore you, 0 Christ, and we Bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

All, who in obedience, seek to do the will of God, experience fatigue, stumbling and falling. Only by God’s strength and grace was Jesus enabled to rise and finish His journey. It is by that same grace that God’s children, those who do His will, may persist in the way of the cross and finish their journeys.

He was led like a lamb to the slaughter:
And like a sheep that before its shearers is mute, so he opened not his mouth.

Let us pray.

O God, by the passion of your blessed Son you made an instrument of shameful death to be for us the means of life: Grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ, that we may gladly suffer shame and loss for the sake of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Holy God,
Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

The Tenth Station
Jesus is stripped of his garments.

We adore you, 0 Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

When they came to a place called Golgotha, they offered him wine to drink, mingled with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And they divided his garments among them by casting lots. This was to fulfill the scripture, “They divided my garments among them; they cast lots for my clothing.”

They gave me wine and gall to drink:
And though I was thirsty, I would not drink.

Let us pray.

Lord God, whose beloved Son our Savior gave his body to be whipped and his face to be spit upon:
Give us grace to accept joyfully the sufferings of the present time, confident of the glory that shall be revealed, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Holy God,
Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

The Eleventh Station
Jesus is nailed to the Cross.

We adore you. 0 Christ. and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

When they came to the place which is called The Skull, there they crucified him; and with him they crucified two criminals, one on the right, the other on the left, and Jesus between them. And the scripture was fulfilled which says, “He was numbered with the transgressors.”

They pierce my hands and my feet:
They stare and gloat over me.

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen.

Holy God,
Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

The Twelfth Station
Jesus dies on the Cross.

We adore you. 0 Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

It was now about the sixth hour and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shinning. And the curtain of the temple was rent in two. Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” And he bowed his head, and handed over his spirit.

Christ for us became obedient unto death:
Even death on a cross.

Let us pray.

O God, who for our redemption gave your only begotten Son to death on the cross, and by his glorious resurrection delivered us from the power of the enemy: Grant us so to die daily to sin, that we may evermore live with him in the joy of his resurrection; who lives and reigns now and for ever. Amen.

Holy God,
Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

The Thirteenth Station
The body of Jesus is placed in the arms of his mother.

We adore you, 0 Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

“All you who pass by, behold and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow. My eyes are spent with weeping; my soul is in tumult; my heart is poured out in grief.” Mary had walked with her son to Calvary and stood beneath the cross watching his blood fall to the ground and heard him surrender himself into the care of his Father. Does a tiny flame of hope of resurrection still burn deep within the recesses of her being?

Her tears run down her checks:
And she has none to comfort her.

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus Christ, by your death you took away the sting of death: Grant to us your servants so to follow in faith where you have led the way, that we may at length fall asleep peacefully in you and wake up in your likeness; for your tender mercies’ sake. Amen.

Holy God,
Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

The Fourteenth Station
Jesus is laid in the tomb.

We adore you, 0 Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus and Pilate ordered it be given to him. And Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, that he had hewn in the rock; he rolled a great stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.

You will not abandon me to the grave:
Nor let your holy One see corruption.

Let us pray.

0 God, your blessed son was laid in a tomb in a garden, and rested on the Sabbath day: Grant that we who have been buried with him in the waters of baptism may find our perfect rest in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where he lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

Holy God.
Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

(Prepared by St. John's Episcopal Church
4200 South Atlanta Place
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74105)