Stations of the Cross

May 4, 2020 | parishoffice | Make A Comment | Sanctuary Arts

The Stations of the Cross form a 14 part devotion often said in Lent or Holy Week. The cycle of prayers and scripture readings reflect on the last day of Jesus’ life before he was crucified. On the East Wall of the Nave, Canterbury is blessed to have a singular set of iconography by Ruth Meredith which offers a modern perspective on the way of the cross. Below are each of the icons, along with a scriptural liturgical version of the stations as a point of meditation.

Click on any icon to see a larger image.

The Way of the Cross

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

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your Name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial,
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.

We will glory in the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ: In whom is our salvation,
our life and resurrection. Assist us
mercifully with your help, O Lord God of
our salvation, that we may enter with
joy upon the contemplation of those
mighty acts, whereby you have given us
life and immortality; through Jesus
Christ our Lord.
Amen.

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

As soon as it was morning, the chief priests, with the
elders and scribes, and the whole council, held a
consultation; and they bound Jesus and led him away
and delivered him to Pilate. And they all condemned
him and said, “He deserves to die.” When Pilate
heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat
down on the judgment seat at a place called the
Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha . Then he
handed Jesus over to them to be crucified.

God did not spare his own Son: But delivered him up
for us all. Almighty God, whose most dear Son went
not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered
not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully
grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may
find it none other than the way of life and peace;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord.
Amen.

Holy God, Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Jesus went out, bearing his own cross, to the place
called the place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew,
Golgotha. Although he was a Son, he learned
obedience through what he suffered. Like a lamb he
was led to the slaughter; and like a sheep that before
its shearers is mute, so he opened not his mouth.
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power
and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and
glory and blessing. The Lord has laid on him the
iniquity of us all: For the transgression of my people
was he stricken.

Almighty God, whose beloved Son willingly endured
the agony and shame of the cross for our redemption:
Give us courage to take up our cross and follow him;
who lives and reigns forever and ever.
Amen.

Holy God, Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not count
equality with God a thing to be grasped; but emptied himself,
taking the form of a servant, and was born in human likeness. And
being found in human form he humbled himself and became
obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has
highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above
every name. Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, and
kneel before the Lord our Maker, for he is the Lord our God.
Surely, he has borne our griefs: And carried our sorrows.

O God, you know us to be set in the midst of so many and great
dangers, that by reason of the frailty of our nature we cannot
always stand upright: Grant us such strength and protection as
may support us in all dangers, and carry us through all
temptations; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Holy God, Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

What can I liken you, to what can I compare you, O daughter
of Jerusalem? What likeness can I use to comfort you, O virgin
daughter of Zion? For vast as the sea is your ruin. Blessed are
those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. The Lord will
be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be
ended. A sword will pierce your own soul also: And fill your
heart with bitter pain.

O God, who willed that in the passion of your Son a sword of
grief should pierce the soul of the Blessed Virgin Mary his
mother: Mercifully grant that your Church, having shared
with her in his passion, may be made worthy to share in the
joys of his resurrection; who lives and reigns forever and ever.
Amen.

Holy God, Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

As they led Jesus away, they came upon a man of Cyrene,
Simon by name, who was coming in from the country, and
laid on him the cross to carry it behind Jesus. “If anyone
would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his
cross and follow me. Take my yoke upon you and learn from
me; for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Whoever
does not bear his own cross and come after me: Cannot be
my disciple.

Heavenly Father, whose blessed Son came not to be served
but to serve: Bless all who, following in his steps, give
themselves to the service of others; that with wisdom,
patience, and courage, they may minister in his Name to the
suffering, the friendless, and the needy; for the love of him
who laid down his life for us, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ.
Amen.

Holy God, Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

We have seen him without beauty or majesty, with no looks
to attract our eyes. He was despised and rejected by men; a
man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from
whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we
esteemed him not. His appearance was so marred, beyond
human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children
of men. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was
bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement
that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed.
Restore us, O Lord God of hosts: Show the light of your
countenance, and we shall be saved.

O God, who before the passion of your only‐begotten Son
revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that
we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be
strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his
likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Holy God, Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Surely, he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. All we
like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his
own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He
was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his
mouth. For the transgression of my people was he stricken. But
as for me, I am a worm and no man: Scorned by all and
despised by the people.

Almighty and ever living God, in your tender love for the
human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take
upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving
us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we
may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his
resurrection; who lives and reigns forever and ever.
Amen.

Holy God, Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

There followed after Jesus a great multitude of the people, and
among them were women who bewailed and lamented him.
But Jesus turning to them said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not
weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.”
Those who sowed with tears: Will reap with songs of joy.

Teach your Church, O Lord, to mourn the sins of which it is guilty,
and to repent and forsake them; that, by your pardoning grace,
the results of our iniquities might not be visited upon our children
and our children’s children; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Holy God, Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath;
he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light.
He has besieged me and enveloped me with bitterness and
tribulation; he has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of
long ago. Though I call and cry for help, he shuts out my prayer.
He has made my teeth grind on gravel and made me cower in
ashes. “Remember, O Lord, my affliction and bitterness, the
wormwood and the gall!” He was led like a lamb to the
slaughter: And like a sheep that before its shearers is mute, so
he opened not his mouth.

O God, by the passion of your blessed Son you made an
instrument of shameful death to be for us the means of life:
Grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ, that we may gladly
suffer shame and loss, for the sake of your Son our Savior Jesus
Christ.
Amen.

Holy God, Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

When they came to a place called Golgotha (which means the
place of a skull), they offered him wine to drink, mingled with
gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And they
divided his garments among them by casting lots. This was to
fulfill the scripture which says, “They divided my garments
among them; they cast lots for my clothing.” They gave me gall
to eat: And when I was thirsty, they gave me vinegar to drink.

Lord God, whose blessed Son our Savior gave his body to be
whipped and his face to be spit upon: Give us grace to accept
joyfully the sufferings of the present time, confident of the
glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Holy God, Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

When they came to the place which is called The Skull,
there they crucified him; and with him they crucified
two criminals, one on the right, the other on the left,
and Jesus between them. And the scripture was fulfilled
which says, “He was numbered with the transgressors.”
They pierce my hands and my feet: They stare and gloat
over me.

Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on
the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come
within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in
your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love,
may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge
and love of you; for the honor of your Name.
Amen.

Holy God, Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he
loved standing near, he said to his mother, “Woman,
behold your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold
your mother!” And when Jesus had received the
vinegar, he said, “It is finished!” And then, crying with a
loud voice, he said, “Father, into your hands I commend
my spirit.” And he bowed his head and handed over his
spirit. Christ for us became obedient unto death: Even
death on a cross.

O God, who for our redemption gave your
only‐begotten Son to the death of the cross, and by his
glorious resurrection delivered us from the power of
our enemy: Grant us so to die daily to sin, that we may
evermore live with him in the joy of his resurrection;
who lives and reigns now and forever.
Amen.

Holy God, Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

All you who pass by, behold and see if there is any sorrow
like my sorrow. My eyes are spent with weeping; my soul is
in tumult; my heart is poured out in grief because of the
downfall of my people. “Do not call me Naomi (which
means Pleasant), call me Mara (which means Bitter); for
the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.” Her tears
run down her cheeks: And she has none to comfort her.

Lord Jesus Christ, by your death you took away the sting of
death: Grant to us your servants so to follow in faith where
you have led the way, that we may at length fall asleep
peacefully in you and wake up in your likeness; for your
tender mercies’ sake.
Amen.

Holy God, Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

When it was evening, there came a rich man from
Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of
Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph
took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud,
and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in
the rock; and he rolled a great stone to the door of the
tomb. You will not abandon me to the grave: Nor let your
holy One see corruption.

O God, your blessed Son was laid in a tomb in a garden,
and rested on the Sabbath day: Grant that we who have
been buried with him in the waters of baptism may find
our perfect rest in his eternal and glorious kingdom;
where he lives and reigns forever and ever.
Amen.

Holy God, Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

Savior of the world, by your cross and precious
blood you have redeemed us: Save us, and help
us, we humbly beseech you, O Lord. We thank
you, heavenly Father, that you have delivered
us from the dominion of sin and death and
brought us into the kingdom of your Son; and
we pray that, as by his death he has recalled us
to life, so by his love he may raise us to eternal
joys; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity
of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.

To Christ our Lord who loves us, and washed us
in his own blood, and made us a kingdom of
priests to serve his God and Father, to him be
glory and dominion forever and ever.
Amen.