Leader :

Welcome to our prayer today, the Stations of the Cross. We come together to remember the story of Jesus’ last few days. We know that while this is a very sad story, it has a wonderful ending – Jesus’ Resurrection.

During our prayer today, we can take time to think about our own lives, how we can treat others better and try to live like Jesus.

Leader :

The first station – Jesus is condemned to death.

Reading :

Matthew 27: 1-2, 11-14

Leader :

Jesus, you stand alone before Pilate. No-one speaks up for you. No-one helps defend you. All your life you helped others, listened to them,
cared for those who were poor and excluded. They don’t seem to remember that as they prepare to put you to death. (Pause)

Child :

Sometimes I feel alone. Sometimes I feel that others don’t stand up for me and defend me when I am teased or bullied. Sometimes I don’t feel like I am treated fairly and justly.

Pause for silent prayer.

All :

Jesus, give me the strength and courage that I need to stand up for those who are treated unfairly and unjustly. Help me pray for those who have hurt me.

Leader :

The second station – Jesus takes up his cross

Reading :

Matthew 27: 27-31

Leader :

Jesus, as you accepted your cross, you knew you would carry it to your death on Calvary. You knew it wouldn’t be easy, but you accepted it and carried it just the same.

Child :

Sometimes I don’t like the problems that come my way. Sometimes I try to get others to take care of them or solve them for me. Sometimes I become upset and crabby when I’m asked to do even the smallest thing to help others.

Pause for silent prayer.

All :

Almighty Father, Jesus carried His cross without complaint. When I am tempted to complain, help me to remember Jesus and the cross he carried for me. Give me the courage and the strength that I need to be brave.

Leader :

The third station – Jesus falls the first time

Living Tableau :

Students take up position and hold it.

Leader :

Jesus, the cross you have been carrying is very heavy. You are becoming weak and almost ready to faint, and you fall down. No-one wants to help you. The soldiers are only interested in getting home, so they yell at you and try to get you up and moving again.

Child :

As a child, sometimes I start to do something, but then get tired of it. I hurry to get finished and sometimes don’t do my work well. Sometimes I don’t pay attention to what I should be doing. When things get hard for me, sometimes I give up.

Pause for silent prayer.

All :

Help me Jesus, to keep on going especially when I want to give up, when the road is too rough, and everything overwhelms me. Give me the strength and courage to persevere to the end.

Leader :

The fourth station – Jesus meets his mother

Living Tableau :

Students take up their position and hold it.

Leader :

Jesus, you feel so alone with all those people yelling and screaming at you. You don’t like the words they are saying about you, and you look for a friendly face in the crowd. You see your mother. She can’t make the hurting stop, but it helps to see that she is on your side, that she is suffering with you. She does understand and care.

Child :

Sometimes I feel like too many things are going on. Sometimes other kids pick on me and call me names. I need to look around me for a friendly face, and for the help I need. I need to share my troubles with those who truly care about me.

Pause for silent prayer.

All :

Help me Lord, to value and appreciate my friends and my family – the people who are there to give me comfort and support when I need it. Give me the courage to say, “I need help.”

Leader :

The fifth station – Simon helps Jesus

Reading :

Luke 23: 26

Leader :

Jesus, the soldiers are becoming impatient. This is taking longer than they wanted it to. They are afraid you won’t make it to the hill where you will be crucified. As you grow weaker, they grab a man out of the crowd and make him help carry your cross. He was just watching what was happening, but suddenly, he is helping you carry your cross.

Child :

Sometimes I see people who need my help. Sometimes I pretend not to hear when my parents call me. I disappear when I know others could use my help.

Pause for silent prayer.

All :

Help me Lord, to see you in others; to be your hands, your feet, your words, your touch. Forgive my selfishness and self-centeredness and give me the strength to reach out to others especially when I don’t want to.

Leader :

The sixth station – Veronica wipes the face of Jesus

Living Tableau :

Students take up their position and hold it.

Leader :

Jesus, suddenly a woman comes out of the crowd. Her name is Veronica. You can see how she cares for you as she takes a cloth and begins to wipe the blood and sweat from your face. She can’t do much, but she offers what little help she can.

Child :

Sometimes I know someone could use a little help and understanding. They may be picked on or teased by others, or just sad or lonely. Sometimes I feel bad that others don’t step in to help, but I don’t help either.

Pause for silent prayer.

All :

God of justice, give me the courage to stand up for what I know is right, to offer a hand to that person whom others talk about, tease or ignore. Fill me with your Spirit so that I may also be a person of justice.

Leader :

The seventh station – Jesus falls the second time

Living Tableau :

Students take up their position and hold it.

Leader :

This is the second time you have fallen on the road. As the cross grows heavier and heavier it becomes more difficult to get up. But you continue to struggle and try until you’re up and walking again. You don’t give up.

Child :

Sometimes things get me down. Others seem to find things easier to do or to learn. Each time I fail, I find it harder to keep trying. It gets harder and harder to believe in myself.

Pause for silent prayer.

All :

Jesus, help me when things seem difficult for me. Even when it’s hard, give me the courage to keep trying as you did. Help me do my best without comparing myself with others.

Leader :

The eighth station – Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem

Reading :

Luke 23: 27-28

Leader :

Jesus, as you carry your cross you see a group of women along the road. As you pass by you see they are sad. You stop to spend a moment with them, to offer them some encouragement. Although you have been abandoned by your friends and are in pain, you stop and try to help them.

Child :

Sometimes I think a lot about myself. I think about what I want and would like people to spend their lives pleasing me. I don’t think of others and what they need. I become so absorbed in myself and what I’d like that I forget about the needs of others.

Pause for silent prayer.

All :

Jesus, help me think more about others. Help me remember that others have problems, too. Help me respond to them even when I’m busy or preoccupied with my own problems.

Leader :

The ninth station – Jesus falls for the third time

Living Tableau :

(Students take up their position and freeze)

Leader :

Jesus, your journey has been long. You fall again, beneath your cross. You know your journey is coming to an end. You struggle and struggle. You get up and keep going.

Child :

Sometimes I fail time and time again. I find it hard to get along with my sisters and brothers, sometimes I’m not honest, and sometimes I’m lazy. I’m tempted to stop trying. It’s just too hard sometimes.

Pause for silent prayer.

All :

Jesus, help me think of the cross you carried. Help me continue trying to make the changes in my life that are needed. You didn’t give up. I can have the strength to get up again as well.

Leader :

The tenth station – Jesus is stripped of his garments.

Reading :

Luke 23: 34b – 37

Leader :

The soldiers notice you have something of value. They remove your cloak and throw dice for it. Your wounds are torn open once again.
Some of the people in the crowd make fun of you. They tease you and challenge you to perform a miracle for them to see. They’re not aware that God will soon perform the greatest miracle of all!

Child :

Sometimes I’m tempted to repeat stories I know are untrue and disrespectful. I sometimes try to act grown up by gossiping and telling nasty stories about others.

Pause for silent prayer.

All :

Help me say things that build up the people around me. Help me to praise and compliment others and rejoice in their successes. Help me set a good example for others to follow.

Leader :

The eleventh station – Jesus is crucified.

Reading :

Luke 23: 33 – 34, 38

Leader :

You are stretched out on the cross you have carried so far. The soldiers take big nails and drive them into your hands and feet. You feel abandoned by the people you loved so much. You have done nothing but good, yet they treat you so cruelly.

Child :

Sometimes I hurt others. Sometimes I join with friends and decide not to like another child. We gang up against another child and cause them hurt and pain. Sometimes I say or do hurtful things to my brothers and sisters.

Pause for silent prayer.

All :

Jesus, help me look again at the people around me. Help me see the hurt and pain I have caused others. Be with me and help me make amends for the harm I have done.

Leader :

The twelfth station – Jesus dies on the cross.

Reading :

Luke 23: 44-46

Leader :

As Jesus hung on the cross, he forgave the soldiers who had crucified him, and prayed for his mother and friends. Jesus wanted all of us to be able to live forever with God, so he gave all he had for us.

Child :

As a child, I find it hard to forgive others who have hurt me. I want to be mean and hurtful back to them so that they feel as bad as I do. I involve others and get them on my side. A little problem becomes a big one. Sometimes, it would be better if I tried to work it out with the other person first and try to forgive each other.

Pause for silent prayer.

All :

Jesus, let me take a few moments now to consider your love for me. Help me to follow your example and be a loving and caring person. Help me express my love for you through my words and deeds!

Leader :

The thirteenth station – Jesus is taken down from the cross.

Reading :

Matthew 27: 57-60

Leader :

Jesus, how brutally you were put to death. How gently you are taken from the cross. Your suffering and pain are ended, and you are put in the lap of your mother. The dirt and blood are wiped away. You are treated with love.

Child :

When somebody dies, I can become very gentle and kind. I notice the good and kind things people say about those who have died. Help me to tell my family and friends how much I love them and care about them whenever I have the opportunity to do so.

Pause for silent prayer.

All :

Help me look for the good in those around me, especially those I love the most. Help me live this day as if it were the last. Help me become a gentler and more loving person through my greater appreciation for those around me.

Leader :

The fourteenth station – Jesus is laid in the tomb

Reading :

Luke 23: 53-56

Leader :

Jesus, your body is prepared for burial. Joseph gave you his own tomb. He laid your body there and rolled a large stone in front of it, then went home. What a sad day it has been for so many people.

Child :

As a child, sometimes I try to keep everything for myself. I find it hard to share my things with my brothers or sisters and with my friends. I try to make sure I have what I want before I share what I have with anybody else.

Pause for silent prayer.

All :

Help me to think of Joseph of Arimathea, who risked his own life as he accepted Jesus’ body for burial. Help me think of how Joseph loved Jesus so much that he gave him his own tomb.

Pause for a further few seconds here …

Leader :

Let us go quietly from here with a desire to be more like Jesus. Let us try to be more accepting of others, to be just and fair, and to be more loving and compassionate.

May we treat each other as we would like to be treated and live out the message of Jesus every day.

All :

Amen.