Stations of the Cross

The Stations of the Cross are a prayer.  When we pray them, we join Jesus in the final hours of his life on earth, as he carries his cross to the place where he is put to death.  Of course there is sadness in our hearts as we think about all that he suffered, but we know that our Lord accepted that suffering willingly for us, so every Station and every prayer is really a reminder of his love for each one of us.  The final prayer celebrates his resurrection from the dead and reminds us that he overcame death and remains close to us for ever, especially at those moments when we are sad or suffering.

As you pray these prayers, and meditate on these scenes, you can thank Jesus for his love for you.  Ask him as well to help you see more clearly what God might be asking you to do, the ways that you too can love and serve the people around you, now and in the years that lie ahead.

You can either pray the Stations of the Cross alone or with other people in a group.  To pray them on your own, go to a room where you can be quiet and undisturbed and slowly reflect on each Station.  Spend time on each page; use the pictures to help you imagine the scene, and read the prayers quietly to yourself, perhaps adding your own thoughts and prayers to Jesus.

If you are praying them in a group, ask one person to introduce the name of each Station, then everyone joins in this prayer:

‘We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.

Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.’

Then read out the prayer for that Station and spend a few moments of silence thinking about the scene and offering your own personal prayers.  At the end of each Station, everyone joins in together praying the Our Father.  If you are in a Church, you will see the Stations of the Cross on the walls.  When you pray them there, you can move along from one Station to another to give more of a sense of joining Jesus on his journey to the Cross.

Click here to pray the Stations of the Cross using artwork and prayers created by diocesan primary school pupils.