Dear Heavenly Father, Source of Love, Comforter of the
Afflicted, be with us this afternoon as we journey in the footsteps of Jesus as he goes to his suffering and death.
As we reflect on the suffering of Jesus, help us to feel the pain and humiliation that he felt, so that we may be moved by the great sacrifice he made for all humanity.
Send us your Spirit to enter into our hearts so that with compassion we may listen and respond to the plight of others who carry burdens, crosses, despair, and loss of dignity.
Send your Spirit to be with us as we travel this journey together.
Awaken our hearts that we may accept your challenge to create the world anew.
We ask this in the name of Jesus your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, as one God, forever and ever.

Song?

Jesus is condemned to death.
Leader: We adore you , O Christ, and we bless you.
All: Because by your holy cross you redeemed the world.
More than 100,000 people are killed each year to gun violence.
Scripture: When he was abused he did not return abuse, when he suffered he did not threaten, but trusted himself to the one who judges justly…..by his wounds we are healed. (1 Peter 2: 23–24)
All: Lord Jesus, help us walk in your steps. Make us prophets who speak against violence.

The First Station:

Jesus is burdened with the cross.
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
All: Because by your holy cross you redeemed the world.
Every day 16,000 children die from hunger . . . One in every five seconds.
Scripture: Though Jesus was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. Phil 2:6-7
All: Lord Jesus, help us walk in your steps. Teach us to willingly carry our cross daily.

Jesus falls the first time.
Leader: We adore you , O Christ, and we bless you.
All: Because by your holy cross you redeemed the world.
1.3 billion people live on less than one dollar a day. Half the world lives on less than two dollars a day…
Scripture: He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity, and as one from whom others hide their faces, he was despised, and we held him of no account. (Isaiah 53:3 )
All: Lord Jesus, help us walk in your steps. Help us to be aware of the daily struggles of the poor.

Jesus meets his mother.
Leader: We adore you , O Christ, and we bless you.
All: Because by your holy cross you redeemed the world.
More than half a million women die in pregnancy and childbirth each year, one in every second. 99% in developing countries.
Scripture: Put me as a sign on your heart, as a sign on your arm; love is strong as death, and wrath bitter as the underworld: its coals are coals of fire; violent are its flames. (Solomon 8: 6 )
All: Lord Jesus, help us walk in your steps. Open our hearts that we may have compassion for those in need.

Simon of Cyrene carries the cross.
Leader: We adore you Christ and we bless you.
All: Because by your holy cross you redeemed the world.
Education reduces poverty, providing choices and opportunities for a better life. 115 million children, 94% in developing countries, are not in school.
Scripture: Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians: 6:2)
All: Lord Jesus, help us walk in your steps. Challenge us to walk in solidarity with those who suffer.

Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.
Leader: We adore you , O Christ, and we bless you.
All: Because by your holy cross you redeemed the world.
More than 2.6 billion people have no basic sanitation and more than 1 billion people use unsafe sources of drinking water.
Scripture: Your face Lord do I seek. Do not hide your face from me. (Psalm 27:
8-9)
All: Lord Jesus, help us walk in your steps. Open our eyes to see your face in those who live in the shadows.

Jesus falls the second time.
Leader: We adore you , O Christ, and we bless you.
All: Because by your holy cross you redeemed the world.
The United States has the highest documented incarceration rate in the world. There are approximately 4,500 prisons in the United States with more than 2,200,000 men and women in the nation’s prisons.
Scripture: My strength has dried up like sun-baked clay; my tongue sticks to my mouth, for you have laid me in the dust of death. (Psalm 22: 15)
All: Lord Jesus, help us walk in your steps. May we show compassion and mercy to those who have fallen.

Jesus meets the daughters of Jerusalem.
Leader: We adore you , O Christ, and we bless you.
All: Because by your holy cross you redeemed the world.
50,000 people are sentenced to die each day because of extreme poverty.
Scripture: When they look on the one whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a first born. (Zacharias:
12: 10)
All: Lord Jesus, help us walk in your steps. Open our ears to hear the cry of the lowly and oppressed.

Jesus falls the third time.
Leader: We adore you Christ and we bless you.
All: Because by your holy cross you redeemed the world.
Scripture: I am now rejoicing in my suffering for your sake and in my flesh
I am completing what is lacking in
Christ’s affliction for the sake of His body that is, the Church. (Colossians
1: 24)
All: Lord Jesus, help us walk in your steps. Give us courage and hope as we confront evil in our world.

Jesus is stripped of his garments.
Leader: We adore you , O Christ, and we bless you.
All: Because by your holy cross you redeemed the world.
Current US population estimates suggest that about 131,000 Veterans-male and female-are homeless on any given night and perhaps twice as many experience homelessness at some point during the course of a year.
Scripture: They stare and gloat over me; they divide my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots. (Psalm 22: 17-18)
All: Lord Jesus, help us walk in your steps., Challenge us to treat the outcasts with dignity.

Jesus is nailed to the cross.
Leader: We adore you Christ and we bless you.
All: Because by your holy cross you redeemed the world.
Every 30 seconds an African child dies of malaria. Every day 8.000 people die of
AIDS. These are preventable, treatable diseases.
Scripture: When they arrived at the place called The Skull, they crucified Him there.
Then Jesus said, Father, forgive them because they do not know what they are doing. (Luke 23:33-34).
All: Lord Jesus, help us walk in your steps. Remind us—whatever we do to the least of our sisters and brother we do to you.

Jesus dies on the cross.
Leader: We adore you , O Christ, and we bless you.
All: Because by your holy cross you redeemed the world.
From womb to tomb, when one part of the body of Christ suffers, we all suffer
Scripture: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Mark 15:35)
All: Lord Jesus, help us walk in your steps. May we always remember that all life is sacred.

Jesus’ body is removed from the cross.
Leader: We adore you , O Christ, and we bless you.
All: Because by your holy cross you redeemed the world.
Each day heroes and saints, both well known and unknown, go where they are called by God in an effort to follow their faith authentically. Some risk their lives doing so.
Scripture: Then Mary said: “Here I am, the servant of the Lord, let it be with me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)
All: Lord Jesus, help us walk in your steps. Bless those who have given their lives in the pursuit of peace and justice.

Jesus is laid in the tomb.
Leader: We adore you , O Christ, and we bless you.
All: Because by your holy cross you redeemed the world.
Our faith tells us we are all stewards of
God’s creation.
Scripture: For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like His. (Roman: 6: 5)
All: Lord Jesus, help us walk in your steps. Teach us to care for all creation.

Jesus is resurrected.
Leader: We adore you , O Christ, and we bless you.
All: Because by your holy cross you redeemed the world.
Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons?
Will you strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being?
Scripture: Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise. (Luke 23:43)
All: Lord Jesus, help us walk in your steps. Open our lives to the freedom of your cross and resurrection.

I told you at the start,
You are not alone.
Your “way” and my way are one.
As you walk through life do you see my face?
I am close at hand.
I am in your workplace, at the grocery store, walking on in the park , in your home.
These are altars where you offer love.
Go now! Take up your cross and serve with your life.
Serve and lead in your world.

Leader: Jesus died so that we might live. Through the pain and suffering of the Cross, Jesus bore the weight of our sins. His
Resurrection is the Great
Triumph over suffering and death. We are not alone, we do not lose hope, for our God is victorious.
Let us pray:
All Loving God –
With hearts transformed by the power of grace we hold the key to your Kingdom of Love.
Help us, your Church, to be united in compassionate service.
Open our eyes and our hearts to the needs of those around us.
With love and compassion, guide us on our journey to You.
Through the sacrifice of the Cross may we realize that our sacrifices build your Kingdom too.
Help us to trust that every selfless act we perform is a reflection of your love.
With the strength of the Spirit and the hope of Salvation, allow us to continue your work on earth.
We ask this in the Name of Jesus, our crucified and risen Lord.
All: Amen.
Leader: And may Almighty God bless us, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
All: Amen.
Leader: Go in peace to love and serve the Lord, especially as he is found among the poor and suffering of our world.
All: Thanks be to God.

Images and text taken from the following sources:
Justin-siena.org
http://www.kenrick.edu/etchings/ stations/index.html
This Lenten Reflection continues in
Zacchaeus Place with fellowship and refreshments