Prayer Celebration Directions

GATHERING SONG
GATHERING PRAYER
Leader		Loving God, we are about to accompany your Son Jesus on his journey through suffering and death to risen life. Open our hearts to his presence so that we may know in full his love for us as expressed in the Stations of the Cross. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
All		Amen.
STATIONS OF THE CROSS
Reader 1		The first station: Jesus is condemned to death.
Reader 2		Jesus, you stood condemned before the people of Jerusalem.
All		Help us never to condemn others unjustly.
Reader 1		The second station: Jesus accepts the cross.
Reader 2		Jesus, they told you that you were to die, then they made you carry your own cross.
All		Help us to accept the suffering we must endure.
Reader 1		The third station: Jesus falls the first time.
Reader 2		Jesus, your cross was heavy and you were exhausted.
All		Help us to remember you when difficulties seem to overwhelm us.
Reader 1		The fourth station: Jesus meets his mother.
Reader 2		Jesus, it must have been very hard to see the sorrow on your mother’s face.
All		Help us to never turn away from the suffering of others.
Reader 1		The fifth station: Simon helps carry the cross.
Reader 2		Jesus, Simon stepped forward to lighten your burden.
All		Give us the courage to help others.
Reader 1		The sixth station: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.
Reader 2		Jesus, Veronica was not afraid to wipe the sweat and blood from your face.
All		Help us remember that no good effort is too small to make a difference.
Reader 3		The seventh station: Jesus falls the second time.
Reader 4		Jesus, the hateful words of the crowd must have hurt just as much as the weight of the cross.
All		Remind us not to use words to hurt another person.
Reader 3		The eighth station: Jesus meets the women.
Reader 4		Jesus, your faithful friends were there to comfort you.
All		Help us to be supportive of our friends when they need us.
Reader 3		The ninth station: Jesus falls the third time.
Reader 4		Jesus, you were close now to the place of your crucifixion, but your love for us gave you strength.
All		Don’t let us forget such love.
Reader 3		The tenth and eleventh stations: Jesus is stripped of his clothes and nailed to the cross.
Reader 4		What humiliation you must have felt. We can almost hear the nails being driven in.
All		Help us to never be the cause of humiliation for another.
Reader 3		The twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth stations: Jesus dies, is taken down from the cross, and is buried. (Pause in silence.) The fifteenth station: Jesus is alive!
Reader 4		Lord, where can we find you now? How will the world know you now?
All		By our voices and actions we will show the world your love.
CLOSING PRAYER
Leader		God of life and death, we give thanks for the suffering and death of your Son. Open our eyes to his presence among us, give us the courage to live his love. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
All		Amen.
CLOSING SONG