The Way of the Cross by Saint Alphonsus Ligouri
Preparatory Prayer
My Lord Jesus Christ, you have made this journey to die for me with love unutterable, and I have so many times unworthily abandoned you; but now I love you with my whole heart, and because I love you, I repent sincerely for ever having offended you.
Pardon me, my God, and permit me to accompany you on this journey. You go to die for love of
me; I wish also, my beloved Redeemer, to die for love of you. My Jesus, I will live and die always united to you.
Stabat Mater dolorosa,
Juxta crucem lacrymosa,
Dum pendebat Filius.
At the cross her station keeping
Stood the mournful Mother weeping
Close to Jesus to the last.
First Station: Jesus is Condemned to Death
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
Leader: Consider how Jesus, after having been scourged and crowned with thorns, was unjustly condemned by Pilate to die on the cross.
All: My adorable Jesus, it was not Pilate, no, it was my sins that condemned you to die. I beseech you, by the merits of this sorrowful journey, to assist my soul in its journey towards eternity.
I love you, my beloved Jesus; I love you more than myself; I repent with my whole heart of having offended you. Never permit me to separate myself from you again. Grant that I may love you always; and then do with me what you will.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.
All: Jesus, for you I live, Jesus, for you I die, Jesus, I am yours in life and in death. Amen.
Cujus animam gementem,
Contristatam et dolentem,
Per transivit gladius.
Through her heart, his sorrow sharing,
All his bitter anguish bearing,
Now at length the sword has passed
Second Station: Jesus is Made to Carry His Cross
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
Leader: Consider how Jesus, in making this journey with the cross on his shoulders thought of us, and for us offered to his Father the death that he was about to undergo.
All: My most beloved Jesus, I embrace all the tribulations you have destined for me until death I beseech you, by the merits of the pain you suffered in carrying your cross, to give me the necessary help to carry mine with perfect patience and resignation.
I love you, Jesus my love; I repent of having offended you. Never permit me to separate myself from you again. Grant that I may love you always; and then do with me what you will.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.
All: Jesus, for you I live, Jesus, for you I die, Jesus, I am yours in life and in death. Amen.
O quam tristis et afflicta
Fruit illa benedicta
Mater Unigeniti!
O, how sad and sore distressed
Was that Mother highly blessed
Of the sole Begotten One!
Third Station: Jesus Falls the First Time
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
Leader: Consider this first fall of Jesus under his cross. His flesh was torn by the scourges, his head crowned with thorns, and he had lost a great quantity of blood. He was so weakened that he could scarcely walk, and yet he had to carry this great load upon his shoulders. The soldiers struck him rudely, and thus he fell several times in his journey.
All: My beloved Jesus, it is not the weight of the cross, but of my sins, which have made you suffer so much pain. Ah, by the merits of this first fall, deliver me from the misfortune of falling into mortal sin.
I love you, O my Jesus, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended you. Never permit me to separate myself from you again. Grant that I may love you always; and then do with me what you will.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.
All: Jesus, for you I live, Jesus, for you I die, Jesus, I am yours in life and in death. Amen.
Quae moerebat, et dolebat,
Pia Mater dum videbat
Nati poenas inclyti.
Christ above in torment hangs,
She beneath beholds the pangs
Of her dying, glorious Son.
Fourth Station: Jesus Meets His Sorrowful Mother
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
Leader: Consider the meeting of the Son and the Mother, which took place on this journey. Jesus and Mary looked at each other, and their looks became as so many arrows to wound those hearts which loved each other so tenderly.
All: My most loving Jesus, by the sorrow you experienced in this meeting, grant me the grace
of a truly devoted love for your most holy Mother. And you, my Queen, who was overwhelmed with sorrow, obtain for me by your intercession a continual and tender remembrance of the Passion of your Son.
I love you, O my Jesus, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended you. Never permit me to separate myself from you again. Grant that I may love you always; and then do with me what you will.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.
All: Jesus, for you I live, Jesus, for you I die, Jesus, I am yours in life and in death. Amen.
Quis est homo qui non fleret
Matrem Christi si videret
In tanto supplicio?
Is there one who would not weep,
‘whelmed in miseries so deep
Christ’s dear Mother to behold?
Fifth Station: Simon Helps Jesus to Carry the Cross
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
Leader: Consider how the soldiers, seeing that at each step Jesus from weakness was on the point of expiring, and fearing that he would die on the way, when they wished him to die the ignominious death of the Cross, constrained Simon the Cyrenian to carry the cross behind our Lord.
All: My most sweet Jesus, I will not refuse the cross, as the Cyrenian did; I accept it; I embrace it. I accept in particular the death you have destined for me; with all the pains that may accompany it; I unite it to your death, I offer it to you. You died for love of me; I will die for love of you, and to please you. Help me by your grace.
I love you, O my Jesus, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended you. Never permit me to separate myself from you again. Grant that I may love you always; and then do with me what you will.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.
All: Jesus, for you I live, Jesus, for you I die, Jesus, I am yours in life and in death. Amen.
Quis non posset contristari,
Christi Matrem contemplari
Dolentem cum Filio?
Can the human heart refrain
From partaking in her pain
In that Mother’s pain untold?
Sixth Station: Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
Leader: Consider how the holy woman named Veronica, seeing Jesus so afflicted, and his face bathed in sweat and blood, presented him with a towel, with which he wiped his adorable face, leaving on it the impression of his holy countenance.
All: My most beloved Jesus, your face was beautiful before, but in this journey it has lost all its beauty, and wounds and blood have disfigured it. Alas, my soul also was once beautiful, when it received your grace in baptism; but I have disfigured it since by my sins; you alone, my Redeemer, can restore it to its former beauty. Do this by your Passion, O Jesus.
I love you, O my Jesus, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended you. Never permit me to separate myself from you again. Grant that I may love you always; and then do with me what you will.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.
All: Jesus, for you I live, Jesus, for you I die, Jesus, I am yours in life and in death. Amen.
Pro peccatis suae gentis,
Vidit Jesum in tormentis,
Et flagellis subditum,
Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled
She beheld her tender Child
All with bloody scourges rent,
Seventh Station: Jesus Falls the Second Time
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
Leader: Consider the second fall of Jesus under the cross — a fall which renews the pain of all the wounds of the head and members of our afflicted Lord.
All: My most gentle Jesus, how many times you have pardoned me, and how many times have I have fallen again, and begun again to offend you! By the merits of this new fall, give me the necessary help to persevere in your grace until death. Grant that in all temptations which assail me I may always commend myself to you.
I love you, O my Jesus, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended you. Never permit me to separate myself from you again. Grant that I may love you always; and then do with me what you will.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.
All: Jesus, for you I live, Jesus, for you I die, Jesus, I am yours in life and in death. Amen.
Vidit suum dulcem natum
Moriendo, desolatum,
Dum emisit spiritum.
For the sins of his own nation
Saw him hang in desolation
Till his spirit forth he sent.
Eighth Station: The Women of Jerusalem Weep over Jesus
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
Leader: Consider how those women wept with compassion at seeing Jesus in such a pitiable state,
streaming with blood, as he walked along. But Jesus said to them: Weep not for me, but for your children.
All: My Jesus, laden with sorrows, I weep for the offences I have committed against you, because of the pains they have deserved, and still more because of the displeasure they have caused you, who have loved me so much. It is your love, more than the fear of hell, which causes me to weep for my sins.
I love you, O my Jesus, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended you. Never permit me to separate myself from you again. Grant that I may love you always; and then do with me what you will.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.
All: Jesus, for you I live, Jesus, for you I die, Jesus, I am yours in life and in death. Amen.
Eia Mater, fons amoris,
Me sentire vim doloris.
Fac, ut tecum lugeam.
O thou Mother! fount of Love,
Touch my spirit from above.
Make my heart with yours accord:
Ninth Station: Jesus Falls the Third Time
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
Leader: Consider the third fall of Jesus Christ. His weakness was extreme, and the cruelty of his
executioners was excessive, who tried to hasten his steps when he had scarcely strength to move.
All: Ah, my outraged Jesus, by the merits of the weakness you suffered in going to Calvary, give me strength sufficient to conquer all human respect, and all my wicked passions, which have led me to despise your friendship.
I love you, O my Jesus, with my whole heart; I repent of having off ended you. Never permit me to separate myself from you again. Grant that I may love you always; and then do with me what you will.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.
All: Jesus, for you I live, Jesus, for you I die, Jesus, I am yours in life and in death. Amen.
Fac, ut ardeat cor meum
In amando Christum Deum,
Ut sibi complaceam.
Make me feel as you havet felt;
Make my soul to glow and melt
With the love of Christ, my Lord.
Tenth Station: Jesus is Stripped of His Garments
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
Leader: Consider the violence with which the executioners stripped Jesus. His inner garments
adhered to his torn flesh, and they dragged them off so roughly that the skin came with them. Compassionate your Savior thus cruelly treated, and say to him:
All: My innocent Jesus, by the merits of the torment you have felt, help me to strip myself of all affection to things of earth, in order that I may place all my love in you, who art so worthy of my love.
I love you, O my Jesus, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended you. Never permit me to separate myself from you again. Grant that I may love you always; and then do with me what you will.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.
All: Jesus, for you I live, Jesus, for you I die, Jesus, I am yours in life and in death. Amen.
Sancta Mater istud agas,
Crucifixi fige plagas
Cordi meo valide.
Holy Mother, pierce me through!
In my heart each wound renew
Of my Savior crucified.
Eleventh Station: Jesus Nailed to the Cross
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
Leader: Consider how Jesus, after being thrown on the cross extended his hands, and offered to his eternal Father the sacrifice of his life for our salvation. These barbarians fastened him with nails, and then, raising the cross, allowed him to die with anguish on this infamous gibbet.
All: My Jesus! loaded with contempt, nail my heart to your feet, that it may ever remain there, to love you, and never quit you again.
I love you, O my Jesus, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended you. Never permit me to separate myself from you again. Grant that I may love you always; and then do with me what you will.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.
All: Jesus, for you I live, Jesus, for you I die, Jesus, I am yours in life and in death. Amen.
Tui nati vulnerati,
Tam dignati pro me pati
Poenas mecum divide.
Let me share with thee His pain,
Who for all our sins was slain.
Who for me in torments died.
Twelfth Station: Jesus is Raised Upon the Cross and Dies
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
Leader: Consider how Jesus, after three hours’ Agony on the cross, consumed at length with anguish, abandons himself to the weight of his body, bows his head, and dies. (Pause one moment.)
All: O my dying Jesus, I kiss devoutly the cross on which you died for love of me. I have merited by my sins to die a miserable death; but your death is my hope. Ah, by the merits of your death, give me grace to die, embracing your feet, and burning with love for you. I yield my soul into your hands.
I love you, O my Jesus, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended you. Never permit me to separate myself from you again. Grant that I may love you always; and then do with me what you will.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.
All: Jesus, for you I live, Jesus, for you I die, Jesus, I am yours in life and in death. Amen.
Fac me tecum pie flere,
Crucifixo condolere,
Donec ego vixero.
Let me mingle tears with thee,
Mourning him who mourned for me
All the days that I may live.
Thirteenth Station: Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
Leader: Consider how, after the death of our Lord, two of his disciples, Joseph and Nicodemus, took him down from the cross, and placed him in the arms of his afflicted Mother, who received him with unutterable tenderness, and pressed him to her bosom.
All: O Mother of sorrow, for the love of this Son, accept me for your servant, and pray to him for me. And you, my Redeemer, since you have died for me, permit me to love you; for I wish but you, and nothing more.
I love you, O my Jesus, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended you. Never permit me to separate myself from you again. Grant that I may love you always; and then do with me what you will.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.
All: Jesus, for you I live, Jesus, for you I die, Jesus, I am yours in life and in death. Amen.
Juxta crucem tecum stare,
Et me tibi sociare,
In planctu desidero
By the cross with you to stay,
There with you to weep and pray,
Is all I ask of you to give.
Fourteenth Station: Jesus is Laid in the Sepulcher
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
Leader: Consider how the disciples carried the body of Jesus to bury it, accompanied by his holy Mother, who arranged it in the sepulcher with her own hands. They then closed the tomb, and all withdrew.
All: Oh, my buried Jesus, I kiss the stone that encloses you. But you did rise again the third
day. I beseech you, by your resurrection, make me rise glorious with you at the last day, to be always united with you in heaven, to praise you and love you forever.
I love you, O my Jesus, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended you. Never permit me to separate myself from you again. Grant that I may love you always; and then do with me what you will.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.
All: Jesus, for you I live, Jesus, for you I die, Jesus, I am yours in life and in death. Amen.
Virgo virginum praeclara,
Mihi jam nos sis amara,
Fac me tecum plangere.
Virgin of all virgins blest!
Listen to my fond request:
Let me share your grief divine.
Prayer to Jesus Crucified
Behold, O kind and most sweet Jesus, I cast myself upon my knees in your sight, and with the most fervent desire of my soul, I pray and beseech you that you would 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 your five wounds, having before my eyes the words which David the prophet put on your lips concerning you: “They have pierced my hands and my feet, they have numbered all my bones.”