We had been traveling for several days. After landing in Tel Aviv at the Ben Guerin Airport we traveled south, from one side to the other, viewing the Mediterranean on one side and the desert on the other. Roman aqueducts still stretch for miles through the desert and Tiberius is still a city by the Sea of Galilee. It was all fascinating and ancient and caused one to feel they are a part of the history of the Holy Land until, that is, we reached Jerusalem. The nation’s capital is a bustling city and not unlike most other world metropolises, until you start to look beyond the modern contrivances and into the cities hidden and darkened places where the past still lives and breathes.

We stood in what is believed to be the actual “upper room” where the gift of the Holy Spirit was first given to mankind, and we walked the Via Della Rosa, the path it is believed Jesus walked from his place of condemnation to the site of his death. Early Christians (read Catholics) developed a tradition that is still often used in churches today, the Stations of the Cross. This is an act of contrition that remembers the last day of our Savior’s life before his resurrection.

Even many non-liturgical churches use these 14 stations of the cross to help its members to understand the true weight of their sin and the ultimate sacrifice required to forgive it. One need not travel to Jerusalem to partake of this ceremony, most churches have 14 crosses numbered as stops along the way to remember each of the scenes. Sometimes appropriate artwork is also displayed. If you are looking for a project to keep your children busy on Good Friday, set them to making their own crosses and placing them around the house or yard, and that evening explain to them the significance of this special tradition.

Today Think-Biblically.com brings you a slightly revised version of the original seven stations of the cross celebrated by the early church (highlighted in yellow) and the later 14 stations the church (adopted sometime in the 17^th century) celebrated on Good Friday.

The Stations of the Cross: An Act of Contrition (Revised)

O my God, my redeemer, behold me here at your feet. From the bottom of my heart I am sorry for all my sins, because by them I have offended you, who are infinitely good. I would rather die than offend you again.

First Station: Jesus is condemned to death

We adore you, O Christ, and bless you, because by the cross you have redeemed the world.

My Jesus, so often, by my own sins, I have signed your death warrant; now, by your death, save me from the eternal death I so deserve.

Second Station: Jesus Bears His Cross

We adore you, and bless you, because by the cross you have redeemed the world.

My Jesus, you took upon yourself the cross I built, the cross weighed down by my own sins, so that I would not have to know their weight any longer.

Third Station: Jesus Falls the First Time Beneath the Cross

We adore you, and bless you, because by the cross you have redeemed the world.

My Jesus, the heavy burden of my sin bore down on you beneath the cross. I loath my sin, I call upon you to pardon me from them, and to keep me from them always.

Fourth Station: Jesus Meets His Mother

We adore you, and bless you, because by the cross you have redeemed the world.

My Jesus, in the past, by my sins, I caused you pain and anguish, and by the Spirit’s assisting grace it shall be no more; I know the sorrow of Mary who saw her son, her savior, held to the cross by her sins and mine. Be my life, my love, henceforth until death.

Fifth Station: Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus Carry the Cross

We adore you, and bless you, because by the cross you have redeemed the world.

My Jesus, I envy Simon, who aided you to bear the cross. Today I bow my head and bend my knee to take up my own cross and to follow you. Grant me the grace to do so.

Sixth Station:

We adore you, and bless you, because by the cross you have redeemed the world.

My Jesus, as the sweat forms upon your brow with the effort of your every step, I pray I may labor as deeply when deciding the direction of my life, that it may always honor and please you.

Seventh Station: Jesus Falls a Second Time

We adore you, and bless you, because by the cross you have redeemed the world.

My Jesus, often have I sinned and often, by sin, beaten you to the ground beneath the cross. Assist me in exercising the efficacious means of grace, that I may never fall again.

Eighth Station: Jesus Comforts the Women

We adore you, and bless you, because by the cross you have redeemed the world.

My Jesus, you comforted the women who followed you, who devoted themselves to your teaching, who wept to see you bruised and torn. Show me that comfort, for in your pity lies my trust. May my heart always answer yours.

Ninth Station: Jesus Falls a Third Time

We adore you, and bless you, because by the cross you have redeemed the world.

My Jesus, by the cruelest despair you were, for a third time, brought stumbling to the ground beneath the cross, I beg you, never allow me to fall again into sin.

Tenth Station: Jesus, Striped and Given Gall to Drink

We adore you, and bless you, because by the cross you have redeemed the world.

My Jesus, striped of your garments and drenched with gall, strip me of my love for things of Earth, make me loathe all that is marked by the world and sin.

Eleventh Station: Jesus Christ Crucified

We adore you, and bless you, because by the cross you have redeemed the world.

My tender Jesus, whose wrists were marked by Roman nails, mark my soul as deeply with the lasting memory of your bitter pain.

Twelfth Station: Jesus Dies

We adore you, and bless you, because by the cross you have redeemed the world.

My Jesus, for three hours you hung in agony, and then died for me. Should I die, let it be to avoid offending you, and if I live, may I live in faithful service to you.

Thirteenth Station: Jesus is Taken From the Cross

We adore you, and bless you, because by the cross you have redeemed the world.

My Jesus, what sorrow must have pierced Mary’s soul to see your lifeless form taken from the tree of death. I share her sorrow. My hatred of my sin, all sin (for sin held you to the cross) is just. Grant me this grace: to live as your faithful follower, and save my soul.

Fourteenth Station: Jesus is Laid in the Tomb

We adore you, and bless you, because by the cross you have redeemed the world.

My Jesus, beside your body in that tomb my body would also lie dead, were it not for your life. Today you live, and today I live for you, so that one day I might share in the product of your passion and bitter death, that is eternal life.

O Father, who sanctifies us by the blood of your only begotten Son, we entreat you, that we who rejoice in the empty tomb may know the joy of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Amen.