PrayTheRosary Apostolate

Let us consider the Passion of our Savior as the great object
of our faith and adoration and also as the secure rule
of our morals and behavior.
What a scene do we behold, what a mystery and lesson
are represented to us, in a God nailed to a Cross! 
This scene is continually before our eyes;
have we ever duly considered and meditated upon it? 
Let us do it now.
There is nothing in religion more worthy of consideration,
or more capable of inflaming our love.

Because the Stations of the Cross by St. Alphonsus Liguori
are readily available elsewhere on the net, we provide here an alternate, traditional version,
©1906 from A Manual of the Holy Catholic Faith
by James J. McGovern, D.D.

In the Name of The Father, and of The Son, and of The Holy Spirit.

Amen

Let each one, kneeling before the High Altar, make an Act of Contrition, and form the intention of gaining the indulgences connected to this devotion, whether for himself, or for the Souls in Purgatory

Preparatory Prayer

Dear Jesus, I adore You. I love You and thank You for dying on the Cross for me. I wish I could always think of You and remember all that You have done. But I get so busy with other things, that I often forget. I am so sorry dear Jesus. Today I want to follow You up the hill of Calvary, and to understand a little better at each Station all that it cost You to make me a child of God. If I had been the only person in the world, You would have been willing to suffer in just the same way for me. How You must love me, dear Jesus! Thank You for loving me so much! Please teach me every day to love You more and more.

 I

We adore Thee O Christ, and we praise Thee, because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

CONSIDER how Pilate condemned the innocent Jesus to death and how thy Redeemer submitted to this sentence,
to free thee from the sentence of everlasting death

O Jesus ! I thank Thee for this Thy great love, and I beseech Thee to take back the sentence of everlasting death which I have deserved by my sins, so that I may be made worthy to attain to everlasting life.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.
Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy on us!

II  

We adore Thee O Christ, and we praise Thee, because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

CONSIDER how Jesus took upon His shoulders the cross,
which thy many sins made so heavy.

O Jesus! Grant me the grace not to make Thy cross heavier
by new sins, and cheerfully to carry mine in a true spirit of penance.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father...
Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy on us!

 III

We adore Thee O Christ, and we praise Thee, because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

 CONSIDER how Jesus, overcome by weariness and pain, fell to the ground under the weight of the cross.

O Jesus! My falls into sin caused Thee this fall. Grant that I may never renew Thy pain by a relapse into sin.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father...
Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy on us!

IV 

 We adore Thee O Christ, and we praise Thee, because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

CONSIDER the anguish which filled the hearts of Jesus and Mary at this sorrowful meeting. It was thy sins that caused the Son and the Mother this affliction.

O Jesus! Excite in me, through the Intercession of Thy Holy Mother a lively sorrow for my sins, that I may bewail them my whole life long, and in the hour of my death find favor with Thee.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.
Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy on us!

 V

We adore Thee O Christ, and we praise Thee, because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

CONSIDER how the Jews, seeing that Jesus was no longer able to drag His along,compelled Simon of Cyrene to carry it after Him.

O Jesus! I ought to carry  my cross, because I have sinned.
Give me the grace at least to accompany Thee on the way to Calvary, and for the love of Thee
cheerfully to bear the cross of adversities.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father...
Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy on us!

VI  

 We adore Thee O Christ, and we praise Thee, because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

CONSIDER how this woman tried to alleviate the sufferings of Jesus and how He rewarded her by leaving the print of His sacred face on the towel she had in her hands.

O Jesus! Grant me the grace to cleanse my soul from all its defilements, and imprint deep in my heart and mind the image of Thy holy sufferings.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father...
Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy on us!

 VII

We adore Thee O Christ, and we praise Thee, because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

CONSIDER the sufferings Jesus endures in this second fall. Thou hast been the cause of them, by thy frequent relapses into sin.

O Jesus! I stand before Thee full of shame. Give me the grace so to arise from my sins, as never again to fall back into them.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father...
Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy on us!

VIII 

We adore Thee O Christ, and we praise Thee, because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

CONSIDER how Jesus exhorts these women to weep not for Him, but for themselves; to teach thee to weep more for thy sins
than for His sufferings.

O Jesus! Give me tears of true contrition, that the sorrow I feel for Thy sufferings may be profitable to me.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.
Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy on us!

IX 

 We adore Thee O Christ, and we praise Thee, because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

CONSIDER how Jesus falls the third time, enduring excruciating pain, to atone for thy obstinacy
in continually committing new sins.

O Jesus! Now I am firmly resolved to give up sin forever,
so as not to cause Thee new suffering. Strengthen me in this my resolution, and by Thy grace
make it efficacious.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father...
Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy on us!

 X

 We adore Thee O Christ, and we praise Thee, because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

CONSIDER the shame Jesus endured in being stripped of His garments, and the bitterness
of the wine mixed with myrrh and gall, which they caused Him
to drink. Thus He atoned for thy immodesty, and thy intemperance in eating and drinking.

O Jesus! I am sorry for all the sins I have committed by sensuality. I promise, with Thy assistance, not to renew Thy shame and suffering, and to live henceforward in modesty and temperance.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father...
Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy on us!

 XI

 We adore Thee O Christ, and we praise Thee, because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

CONSIDER the dreadful sufferings Jesus endured
when the Jews stretched His bleeding body on the Cross,
and fastened it thereon with nails through His sacred hands and feet.

O Jesus! Thou didst suffer all this for me; and should I suffer nothing for Thee? Fasten my obstinate will to Thy cross. I firmly resolve never more to offend Thee, and for the love of Thee to suffer everything.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father...
Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy on us!

 XII

We adore Thee O Christ, and we praise Thee, because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

CONSIDER how Jesus, after three hours of agony, dies on the cross for thy salvation.

O Jesus! Since thou hast sacrificed Thy life for me, it is but just that I should spend the rest of my life for Thee.
And this I firmly propose to do.
Only grant me, by the merits of Thy death, the grace to put my resolution in practice.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father...
Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy on us!

 XIII

We adore Thee O Christ, and we praise Thee, because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

CONSIDER the grief of the Mother of God when she received in her arms the body of her divine Son, all pale, covered with blood, and void of life.

O most holy Virgin! obtain for me the grace nevermore to crucify Jesus afresh by new sins but by the practice of virtue to keep Him ever alive in me.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father...
Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy on us!

XIV 

 We adore Thee O Christ, and we praise Thee, because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

CONSIDER how the most sacred body of Jesus, with the greatest reverence, was laid in the new grave prepared for Him.

O Jesus! I thank Thee for all Thou hast suffered in order to redeem me; and I beseech Thee, grant that I may prepare myself to receive worthily,
in holy Communion, the body which Thou host given for me.
Take up Thy abode forever in my soul.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father...
Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy on us!

Prayer to Jesus Crucified

Behold, O kind and most sweet Jesus,
I cast myself upon my knees in Thy sight,
and with the most fervent desire of my soul
I pray and beseech Thee
that Thou wouldst impress upon my heart
lively sentiments of faith, hope and charity,
with true contrition for my sins,
and a firm purpose of amendment,
while with deep affection and grief of soul
I ponder within myself and mentally contemplate
Thy five Wounds,
having before my eyes
that which David, Thy prophet,
spoke of Thee, my Jesus:

"They have pierced My hands and My feet;
they have numbered all My bones."

Conclude the Way of the Cross by saying five times
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be, etc.- to gain the Indulgences.

Station Images: from the Meier Family Collection, by The Franklin Mint
Crucifix: Meier Family Crucifix
Music: O Bone Jesu, The Cathedral Singers, conducted by Richard Proulx