I. Jesus is Condemned to Die
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You; Because by Your holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.
Consider how Jesus, after having been scourged and crowned with thorns, was unjustly condemned by Pilate to die.
Our Father ... Hail Mary ... Glory be to the Father
Have mercy on us, O Lord; have mercy on us.
II. Jesus Carries His Cross
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You; Because by Your holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.
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 He was about to undergo.
Our Father ... Hail Mary ... Glory be to the Father
Have mercy on us, O Lord; have mercy on us.
III. Jesus Falls the First Time
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You; Because by Your holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.
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.
Our Father ... Hail Mary ... Glory be to the Father
Have mercy on us, O Lord; have mercy on us.
IV. Jesus Meets His Mother
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You; Because by Your holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.
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 become so many arrows to wound those hearts, which loved each other so tenderly.
Our Father ... Hail Mary ... Glory be to the Father
Have mercy on us, O Lord; have mercy on us.
V. Simon Helps Jesus Carry His Cross
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You; Because by Your holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.
Consider how the Jews, 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.
Our Father ... Hail Mary ... Glory be to the Father
Have mercy on us, O Lord; have mercy on us.
VI. Veronica Wipes Jesus' Face
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You; Because by Your holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.
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.
Our Father ... Hail Mary ... Glory be to the Father
Have mercy on us, O Lord; have mercy on us.
VII. Jesus Falls the Second Time
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You; Because by Your holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.
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.
Our Father ... Hail Mary ... Glory be to the Father
Have mercy on us, O Lord; have mercy on us.
VIII. Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You; Because by Your holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.
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.
Our Father ... Hail Mary ... Glory be to the Father
Have mercy on us, O Lord; have mercy on us.
IX. Jesus Falls the Third Time
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You; Because by Your holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.
Consider the third fall of Jesus. His weakness was extreme, and the cruelty of His executioners was excessive. They tried to hasten His steps when He scarcely had the strength to move.
Our Father ... Hail Mary ... Glory be to the Father
Have mercy on us, O Lord; have mercy on us.
X. Jesus is Stripped
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You; Because by Your holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.
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. You compassionate savior was thus so cruelly treated.
Our Father ... Hail Mary ... Glory be to the Father
Have mercy on us, O Lord; have mercy on us
XI. Jesus is Nailed to the Cross
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You; Because by Your holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.
Consider how Jesus, after being thrown on the Cross extended His hands and offered to His eternal father the sacrifice of His death for our salvation. These barbarians fastened Him with nails, and then, raising the Cross, allowed Him to die with anguish on this infamous gibbet.
Our Father ... Hail Mary ... Glory be to the Father
Have mercy on us, O Lord; have mercy on us.
XII. Jesus Dies on the Cross
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You; Because by Your holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.
Consider how your 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.
Our Father ... Hail Mary ... Glory be to the Father
Have mercy on us, O Lord; have mercy on us.
XIII. Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You; Because by Your holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.
Consider how, after the death of our Lord, two of His disciples, Joseph and Nicodemus, too 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.
Our Father ... Hail Mary ... Glory be to the Father
Have mercy on us, O Lord; have mercy on us.
XIV. Jesus is Laid in the Tomb
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You; Because by Your holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.
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.
Our Father ... Hail Mary ... Glory be to the Father
Have mercy on us, O Lord; have mercy on us.