The Stations of the Cross

[lonnienord]

Can we pray the Stations of the Cross here?:groupray:
All most every year i focus on the Stations during Lent. And almost every year i start anticipating that time about now. I love the Stations. I love Lent. I look forward to Easter.

all for JESUS!!
lonnie:)

:crossrc:

[lonnienord]

Here is a basic introduction to the stations: A starting place. I really look forward to praying these stations with you!!

I thought I would post this for those who might not be familiar with the SotC. These are incredible meditations and they touch me deeply. Most Catholic churches offer the
Stations every Friday during Lent, and I think that some Protestant churches do this as well. I highly recommend participation for *any* Christian. Walking the Way of Pain, step by step, really brings home the enormity of Christ's love for us.

I'll be posting the meditations and Scripture that came with my beads, but you can personalize each Station as you like.


We begin with the Sign of the Cross.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen


Luke 9:22-24

And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life."
Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.

Lord Jesus, help me to be open to your closeness and presence as I begin this journey to Calvary with you. Help me to find in Your Passion and Death the strength to take up my cross and follow you.

(Before each Meditation...)

I adore You, Lord Jesus, and I praise You. Because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.

Station #1. Pilate condemns Jesus to die.

Lord Jesus, often I judge others and fail to be understanding or loving. Help me see the people in my life through Your eyes, not the eyes of a Pontius Pilate.

(After each Meditation...)

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be... (If anyone doesn't yet know these prayers, let me know and I will post them. )


Station #2. Jesus accepts His Cross.

Lord Jesus, You embraced Your Cross to redeem the world. Help me to embrace the crosses in my life---the hardships, struggles, disappointments, pain. Only by recognizing my own weakness, can I discover Your strength.


Station #3. Jesus falls the first time.

Lord Jesus, You know how often I fall trying to follow You. Yet, You are always there to lift me up. Help me always to trust in Your loving care for me.


Station #4. Jesus meets His Mother.

Lord Jesus, Your mother Mary's grief was surpassed by her love for you. So often You come to me in others and their love gives me new life. Help me to see how often You love me through other people.


Station #5. Simon helps carry the Cross.

Lord Jesus, sometimes I am indifferent to the needs of others in my life. I even neglect those whom I love. Help me to see that loving others is the surest way to find You in my life.


Station #6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.

Lord Jesus, at times I am afraid to reach out to others. I do nothing when I should act, I say nothing when I should speak out. Give me a deeper and more courageous faith. Help me to trust that You are with me.


Station #7. Jesus falls the second time.

Lord Jesus, failure and disappointment sometimes lead me to despair. I hide behind my pride and self-pity, withdrawing from You and others. Give me the hope I need and help me never to be afraid to begin again.


Station #8. Jesus speaks to the women.

Lord Jesus, Your great compassion for others overwhelms me. I feel petty and selfish when I think of You and the way You love. Help me to pour out my love, that You might fill me with Your love.


Station #9. Jesus falls the third time.

Lord Jesus, Your failing strength makes me see how helpless I am. Without You, I can do nothing. Help me to rely on Your strength, to see how much I need You.


Station #10. Jesus is stripped of His garments.

Lord Jesus, seeing You so cruelly humiliated makes me realize how I cling to my accomplishments, my possessions, my way. Help me to let go of those things in my life that prevent me from growing closer to You and others.


Station #11. Jesus is nailed to the Cross.

Lord Jesus, I can never doubt Your great love for me when I see You crucified. Help me to see Your Cross as the great sign of Your love for me.


Station #12. Jesus dies on the Cross.

Lord Jesus, Your broken and lifeless body calls me to deeper faith. You chose death, even death on the cross. Help me to see my crosses as ways of loving You.


Station #13. Jesus is taken from the Cross.

Lord Jesus, seeing Your body taken from the Crossreminds me how fearful I am of letting go of my own life. I am frightened when I think of being unimportant, useless, helpless. Help me to place my life in Your hands.


Stations #14. Jesus is laid in the tomb.

Lord Jesus, when I see the great stone sealing Your tomb, I feel alone and abandoned. Even though You sometimes seem distant or absent in my life, help always to believe in Your closeness and loving presence.



Luke 24:1-8

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' " Then they remembered his words.

Lord Jesus, help me to walk with You each day of my life, even to Calvary. The sorrow and joy, the pain and healings, the failures and triumphs of my life are truly small deaths and resurrections that lead me to closeness with You. Give me the faith and trust I need to walk with You always. Amen.



Peace be with you all.

http://www3.christianforums.com/images/quotes/quot-bot-left.gif

[lonnienord]

Guilty!
GOD was/is not guilty
but we are
HE took our guilt
HE became guilty

Why do we contine to sin?
Why do we continue to nail HIM to the cross?

it was not the law or the torah that was nailed to the cross
it was our sins
past, present and future
that caused, causes and continues to cause HIM such pain

:mad: Stop sinning!! i yell at myself:mad:

:prayer: JESUS please give me the strength i need to avoid sin!!:prayer:

all for JESUS!!:clap:
lonnie (angry at myself for sinning!!):mad:

[lonnienord]

Station II

JESUS accepts HIS cross
made from the tree
HE created for this very purpose
4,000 years earlier

HE has created a cross for you
will you accept it?
if you will HE'll help you carry it.

Let us Pray::groupray:
We love YOU, our LORD JESUS CHRIST, carrying the cross upon which you died for us

R: and we are eternally grateful.

all for JESUS!!
lonnie
__________________
I give my life to JESUS who gave HIS life for me

[lonnienord]

Station III
JESUS falls the first time

The Cross is heavy.
JESUS lost a lot of blood
HE fell.

Our cross is heavy
when we take our eyes off of JESUS
We fall.
We need HIS blood!!
to give us strength.
to cary our cross.

JESUS fell. it is not a sin to fall
JESUS got up!!
HE will help us get up.
it is a sin not to get up and pick up the cross and with HIS help carry on

all for JESUS!!
lonnie
__________________
I give my life to JESUS who gave HIS life for me

[lonnienord]

Station IV
JESUS meets HIS mother

That must have been hard
knowing she was going to see YOU die.

Holy Mary, Mother of GOD, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death

JESUS help us to always honor our parentrs!

O the pain and suffering of both
wondering if it was worth it.
yet knowing it is the FATHER's will
There is no resurrection without the cross

as i pick up my tiny cross
may i always be aware of YOUR giant cross

For the sake of HIS sorrowful passion
Have mercy on us and on the whole world!!

all for JESUS!!
lonnie (wrote this last Friday. First i prayed mass -- which often makes me cry then i prayed the stations then i wrote this. -- made me sad and extremely eternally grateful!!)
__________________
I give my life to JESUS who gave HIS life for me

[lonnienord]

Station 5

Simon helps JESUS carry HIS cross
What a wonderful privledge for Sinom to carry JESUS cross
i often wish it was me
and in fact it is me
and i, like Simon, complain:
This cross is to heavy
I have important work to do.
and i can't do it while carrying this cross

JESUS , help me carry my cross without complaining!!

all for JESUS!!
lonnie
__________________
I give my life to JESUS who gave HIS life for me

[lonnienord]

LORD GOD, this Lent help us to do our best to keep our mind fixed on YOU and Your Kingdom.

Today begins lent. I am planning on Praying the Stations everyday for lent. I will do it as often as possible in a church but when that isn't possible i'll do it at home.

Station 6

Veronica Wipes the Face of JESUS

Thank you Veronica for doing what i'd like to do
what i can do (see Matthew 25:31-40)

JESUS please give us the courage and wisdom to do random acts of kindness!!
all for JESUS!!
lonnie

[lonnienord]

Here is a really neat site that shows the Stations of the Cross in Jerusalem as they appear today (with shrines built at most of them).

http://198.62.75.1/www1/jvc/index.html (http://198.62.75.1/www1/jvc/index.html)

all for JESUS!!
lonnie:prayer:

[lonnienord]

JESUS falls the second time

i have fallen (intosin) so many times
JESUS save me!!
help me get up grab my cross and continue followning you

Isaiah 53:4-7 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society


4 Surely HE took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,

5 HE was pierced for our transgressions,
HE was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon HIM,
and by HIS wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on HIM
the iniquity of us all.

7 HE was oppressed and afflicted,
yet HE did not open HIS mouth;
HE was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so HE did not open HIS mouth.

"May our sympathy for JESUS turn to those who here and now need us.
May we see CHRIST bruised in them"
--The Way of the Cross

all for JESUS!!
lonnie
__________________
I give my life to JESUS who gave HIS life for me

[lonnienord]

Amazing truly amazing
YOU fell YOU got up YOU console the women.

:prayer: Please give me the strength i need
to deny self pick up my cross and fowllow YOU:prayer:

:prayer: JESUS make me kind like YOU!!
Love everyone through me!!:prayer:

all for JESUS!!
lonnie

[lonnienord]

all most there but so weak
you fall
then amazingly you get up and struggle on

:prayer: please give me the strength to get up and struggle on:prayer:

Peter denied JESUS three times
JESUS falls three times
JESUS gives Peter 3 chances to affirm his love for HIM
three days dead
trinity

JESUS got up and struggled on
Peter wept then became the leader of JESUS Church

No sin is greater then JESUS love.
Remember HE died for you!!:doh:

all for JESUS!!
lonnie

[lonnienord]

JESUS please forgive all my sins against purity and modesty:(

this station teaches me to be totally detached to everything on earth. :preach: Trust GOD completely for everything!!

:prayer: I love YOU my LORD JESUS CHRIST your clothes torn off you causing you even more pain :cry: and i'm eternally grateful.

all for JESUS!!
lonnie

[lonnienord]

Extreme Pain!!
Suffered for me!!

i can hardly believe that JESUS put up with this for me and asked that the guys nailing HIM to the cross be forgiven!! wow!!

i don't linger here it is too painful!!

all for JESUS!!
lonnie

[lonnienord]

again an extremely painful death

i am crying today ("good" friday):cry:
why did HE have to die for me
why do i continually sin:scratch: :cry:
each sin crucifying HIM again and again.

We love YOU our :bow: LORD JESUS CHRIST,:bow: crucified and we are eternally grateful!!
__________________
I give my life to JESUS who gave HIS life for me

[lonnienord]

XIII JESUS is taken down from the cross
and placed in Mary's loving arms

Hail Mary full of grace, the LORD is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb JESUS Holy Mary full of grace pray for us sinners now and in the hour of our death.

[lonnienord]

XIV JESUS is laid in the tomb

the stations end here but in most Catholic churches this leads us to the Tabernacle which contains the Body of JESUS and reminds us that all this only matters in the light of Easter!!

i prayed the Stations daily during lent and that has been good. i won't pray them this coming Friday but after that i will go back to praying them every Friday. I hope you have "enjoyed" these May GOD give you HIS peace!!

all for JESUS!!
lonnie