SUNDAY SERVICES
8:00 a.m. | Holy Eucharist, Rite II
10:30 a.m. | Holy Eucharist Rite II, livestreamed
STATIONS OF THE CROSS
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."
-Mark 8:34
The Stations of the Cross (or The Way of the Cross) is a prayerful devotion that recalls the series of events leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion and burial. In the early centuries of the Christian faith, pilgrims to Jerusalem often visited the places connected to the final hours of Jesus’ earthly life. Over time, Christians unable to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem developed the practice of recalling those events using images and “stations” to imitate the Jerusalem pilgrimage and to meditate on the final hours and events of Jesus’ life. There are fourteen traditional stations. Eight stations correspond to events found in the Bible, and the remaining six stations are either based on inferences from the Bible or on pious tradition.
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At St. Alban’s, we are blessed with a beautiful walking trail featuring all fourteen stations. This trail was constructed by a team of volunteers under the leadership of Cole Fossett, as an Eagle Scout project in 2022.
Below, you will find images of each station, along with its accompanying scripture passages. You may pray the Stations of the Cross as an individual devotion, or you may pray it with others. If you pray it with others, typically one person leads while the others respond with the portions that are in bold print. We hope this beautiful prayer trail will help you draw ever closer to God.
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OPENING DEVOTION
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.
We will glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ:
In whom is our salvation, our life, and resurrection.
Let us Pray. 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.
THE FIRST STATION:
JESUS IS CONDEMNED TO DEATH
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
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 be crucified.
Mark 15:1, John 19:13,16
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One: Have mercy upon us.
THE SECOND STATION:
JESUS TAKES UP HIS CROSS
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
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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.
John 19:17, Hebrews 5:8, Isaiah 53:7, Revelation 5:12
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One: Have mercy upon us.
THE THIRD STATION:
JESUS FALLS THE FIRST TIME
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
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.
Philippians 2:5-9, Psalm 95:6
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Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One: Have mercy upon us.
THE FOURTH STATION:
JESUS MEETS HIS AFFLICTED MOTHER
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
To 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.
Lamentations 2:13, Matthew 5:4, Isaiah 60:20
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One, Have mercy upon us.
THE FIFTH STATION:
THE CROSS IS LAID ON SIMON OF CYRENE
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
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.”
Matthew 27:32, Mark 8:34, Matthew 11:29-30
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One, Have mercy upon us.
THE SIXTH STATION:
A WOMAN WIPES THE FACE OF JESUS
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
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.
Isaiah 52
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One, Have mercy upon us.
THE SEVENTH STATION:
JESUS FALLS A SECOND TIME
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
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 every one 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.
Isaiah 53
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One, Have mercy upon us.
THE EIGHTH STATION:
JESUS MEETS THE WOMEN OF JERUSALEM
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
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.”
Luke 23:28
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One, Have mercy upon us.
THE NINTH STATION:
JESUS FALLS A THIRD TIME
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
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!”
Lamentations 3
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One, Have mercy upon us.
THE TENTH STATION:
JESUS IS STRIPPED OF HIS GARMENTS
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
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.”
Matthew 27:34-35
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One, Have mercy upon us.
THE ELEVENTH STATION:
JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
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.”
Luke 23:33
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One, Have mercy upon us.
THE TWELFTH STATION:
JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
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.
John 19:26-27,30, Luke 23:46
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One, Have mercy upon us.
THE THIRTEENTH STATION:
THE BODY OF JESUS IS REMOVED FROM THE CROSS
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
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.”
Lamentations 1:12, Ruth 1:20
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One, Have mercy upon us.
THE FOURTEENTH STATION:
JESUS IS LAID IN TOMB
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
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.
Matthew 27:57-60
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One, Have mercy upon us.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
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.
Let us pray.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.