JESUS IS CONDEMNED TO DEATH


Pr.: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
     (GENUFLECT)

All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Pr.: Again, the high priest began to ask him, and said to him,
     "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" And
     Jesus said to him, "I am. And you shall see the 
     Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power 
     and coming with the clouds of heaven." But the high
     priest tore his garmentsand said, "What further need have we of
     witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?
     And they allcondemned him as liable to death.(Mark14, 61 to 64)

     (KNEEL AND PAUSE)

All:  The kings of the earthrise up/ and the princes conspire together
      against the Lord and against his Anointed./ I will proclaim 
      the decree of the Lord;/ the Lordsaid to me:/ "You are
      my Son; this day I have begotten you. / Ask of me and I will
      give you the nations for an inheritance/ and the ends of the earth
      for your posseession." (Psalm 2, 2 &7-8)

Pr.:  Let us pray. All powerful and eternal God, for proclaiming 
      the truth your Son, Jesus Christ, is condemned to death by crucifiction.
      Stir up your love in our hearts so that we might be ever faithful 
      to all that You have told us and fear nothing more than the loss
      of your friendship through sin.

All:  Amen.
     (STAND)

Sing:  Now the Cross as Jesus bore it,
       Has become for us who share it,
       The jeweled  cross of Victory.

JESUS CARRIES HIS CROSS



Pr.: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
     (GENUFLECT)

All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Pr.: And Pilate said to the Jews. "Behold, your king!" But they
     cried out , "Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!"
     Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your king?" The 
     chief priest answered,"We have no king but Caesar." 
     Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. 
     And so they took Jesus and led him away, bearing the cross
     for himself. (John19, 14 to 17)

     (KNEEL AND PAUSE)

All: Who would believe what we have heard? / To whom has the arm
     of the Lord been revealed? / He grew up like a sapling before him,
     like a shoot from the parched earth; / there was in him
     no stately bearing to make us lookat him, / no appearance
     that would attract us to him. / He was rejected and avoided by men, 
     / a man suffering accustomed to infirmity, / one of those from
     whom men turn away, / and we held in no esteem. (Is. 53, 1 to 3)

Pr.:  Let us pray. Father in heaven, your Son, Jesus Christ, still carries
      his Cross in his persecuted brothers and sisters throughout the world.
      Make us feel the needs of all persons so that we might as readily
      help them as we would help Jesus himself.
All:  Amen.

      (STAND)

Sing: Weakened, proded, cursed, and fallen,
      His whole Body bruised and swollen,
      Jesus tripped and lay in pain.

JESUS FALLS FOR THE FIRST TIME

Pr.: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
     (GENUFLECT)

All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Pr.: If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before you. I you were
     of the world, the world would love what is its own. Because you are not
     of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world
     hates you. Remember the word that I have spoken to you: No servant is
     greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will persecute
     you also. (John 15:18-20)

    (KNEEL AND PAUSE)

All: Why are your clothes red, / and your garments like those of the wine presser? /
     "The wine press I have trodden alone, / and of my people there was no one with me./
     I trod them in my anger, and trampled them down in my wrath; / their blood spurted 
     on my garments and I stained all my clothes. /I looked about, but there 
     was no one to help,/ I was appalled that there was no one to lend support; /
     so my own arm brought about the victory." (Is. 63:2-5)

Pr.: Let us pray. O God, to free us from sin and weakness your Son, Jesus Christ,
     embraced his fearful passion and crucifixion. Strengthen us to our
     baptismal resolutions by which we renounced sin and Satan, so that
     through the passion of this life's sufferings we might rise to a new life of
     joyful service free of all selfishness.  

All: Amen

     (STAND)

Sing: Jesus met his grieving mother,
      She who madethe Lord our Brother;
      Now the swordher heart has pierced.

JESUS MEETS HIS AFFLICTED MOTHER

Pr.: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
     (GENUFLECT)

All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Pr.: Now there were standing by the cross of Jesus his mother 
     and his mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.
     When Jesus,therefore, saw his mother and the disciple standing
     by whom he loved, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son." 
     Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother." And from that 
     hour the disciple took her into his home. (John 19:25-27)

     (KNEEL AND PAUSE)

All: To what can I compare you, O daughter Jerusalem? / What example can 
     I show you for your comfort, Virgin daughter Sion? /
     For great as the sea is your distress:/ who can heal you? (Lam. 2:13)

Pr.: Let us pray. O blessed Lord, at your passion a sword of sorrow
     pierced the loving heart of your mother as Simeon had foretold. 
     Grant that we who look back on her sorrows with compassion might 
     receive the healing fruits of your sufferings. 

All: Amen.
     (STAND)

Sing: Simon stoppedin hesitation,
      Not foreseeinghis proud station,
      Calledto bear the Cross of Christ.

SIMON OF CYRENE HELPS JESUS TO CARRY HIS CROSS


Pr.: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
     (GENUFLECT)

All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Pr.: And when they had mocked Jesus, they took the purple cloak off and put
     his own clothes on him and they led him out to be crucified. Then they
     forced a certain passer-by, Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, 
     to take up his cross. They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha, 
     a name meaning "the place of the skull." (Mt. 15:20-22) 

     (KNEEL AND PAUSE)

All: With a loud voice I cry out to the Lord; / with a loud voice 
     I beseech the Lord. / My complaint I pour out before him; before him 
     I lay bare my distress./ When my spirit is faint within me you know my path./
     In the way along which I walk they have hid a trap for me./
     I look to the right to see, but there is no one who pays me heed./
     I have lost all means of escape; / there is no one who cares for my life. (Ps. 141:2-5)
 
Pr.: Let us pray.Lord Jesus Christ, help us to see in the sufferings and 
     shortcomings of our lives a share in Your Cross; strengthen and console 
     us in the belief that we bear all things in union with You, 
     who have taken upon Yourself even our guilt. 

All: Amen.
    (STAND)

Sing: Brave but trembling came the woman,
      None but she would flaunt the Roman,
      Moved by love beyond her fear. 

VERONICA WIPES THE FACE OF JESUS

Pr.: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
     (GENUFLECT)

All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Pr.: "Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you; or thirsty, 
     and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger, and 
     take you in; or naked, and clothe you? Or when did we see
     you sick, or in prison, and come to you?" And answering the
     king will say to them, "Amen, I say to you, as long as you
     did it for one of these, the least of my brethren, you did 
     it for me." (Mt. 25:37-40)

     (KNEEL AND PAUSE)

All: A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; / he who finds one 
     finds a treasure./ A faithful friend is beyond price, no 
     sum can balance his worth./ A faithful friend is a life-
     saving remedy, such as he who fears God finds;/ for he
     who fears God behaves accordingly, and his friend
     will be like himself. (Sirach 6:14-17)

Pr.: Let us pray. Almighty and ever-loving God, we feel your 
     love and understanding in the consolation and support we 
     receive from one another. Give us, we beg You, the courage 
     and dedication to sacrifice and suffer with those who are in
     need, the least of your people.
 
All: Amen.
    (STAND)

Sing: Prostrate on the dust He crumbled,
      Flogged in Body He resembled
      All our brothers poor and scorned.

JESUS FALLS THE SECOND TIME


Pr.: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
     (GENUFLECT)

All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Pr.: It was our weaknesses that he carried, our sufferings that he endured,
     while we thought of him as stricken, as one struck by God and afflicted.
     But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins; upon him was
     the punishment that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed. We
     had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; but the Lord
     laid upon him the guilt of us all. (Is. 53:4-6)

     (KNEEL AND PAUSE)

All: Though he was harshly treated, / he submitted and opened not his mouth; /
     like a Lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, /he was 
     silent and uttered no cry./ When he was cut off from the land of the living,
     and smitten for the sin of His people, / a grave was assigned him among the
     wicked and a burial place with evildoers, / though he had done no wrong 
     nor spoken any falsehood. (Is. 53:7,9)

Pr.: Let us pray. Lord Jesus Christ, You shared in our weaknesses and accepted our guilt.
     Grant us the favor of rejoicing over our human weaknesses, so that in all
     we do, Your strength, dwelling in us, may be shown to all others. 

All: Amen.
    (STAND)

Sing: May our sympathy for Jesus
      Turn to those who here now need us,
      May we see Christ bruised in them.

JESUS MEETS THE WOMEN OF JERUSALEM


Pr: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
    (GENUFLECT)

All: Because by the holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Pr: There was following Jesus a great crowd of people,
    and among them were some women who were bewailing
    and lamenting him. Jesus turning to them said
    "Daugthers of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but
    weep, but weep for yourselves and for your children." 
    (Luke 23, 27-28) 

    (KNEEL AND PAUSE)

ALL: Come, all you who pass by the way, / look and see
     whether there is any suffering like my suffering,/
     suffering with which the Lord has afflicted me on
     the day of his blazing wrath./ At this I weep, my
     eyes run with tears:/ far from me are all who could 
     console me./ far away are any who might revive me.
     (Lam. 1, 12 and 16)

Pr.  Let us pray, Beloved Jesus with tears of pity these 
     women of Jerusalem responded to You, broken bruised,
     and beaten, on the road to Calvary. Deepen our faith,
     we beg You,so that we may see You in our brothers and
     sisters, bruised by our envy,beaten down by injustice
     and broken by our greed and indifference.

All: Amen
     (STAND)

Sing: Jesus fell again in weakeness,
      Stumbling as we do, to lead us
      Through our sorrow and our pain.

JESUS FALLS A THIRD TIME


Pr: We adore You, O Christ, and  we praise You.
    (GENUFLECT)

All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Pr: I lie prostrate in the dust; give me life according to 
    your word. I declared my ways, and you answered me:
    teach me your commands. Make me understand the way of 
    your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds.
    My soul weeps for sorrow; strengthen me with your words.
    (Ps. 118, 25 to 28) 

    (KNEEL AND PAUSE)
     
 All: The Lord is my light and my salvation; / whom should I fear? /
      The Lord is my life's refuge; / of whom should I be afraid? /
      When evildoers come at me to devour my flesh, / my foes and 
      my enemies themselves stumble and fall. / Thought an army encamp
      against me, / my heart will not fear;/ thought war be waged upon
      me, even then will I trust (Ps.26, 2 to 3)

Pr: Let us pray. Almighty and enternal God, You permitted your Son to 
    be weakened, crushed, and profaned so that He might rise from the 
    dead freed from the ravages of sin. Help us to accept our weaknesses
    and failings as forerunners of our glorious resurrection in union with
    your Son. 

All: Amen. 
    (STAND) 

Sing: Stripped and jeered by his own nation,
      Jesus stood in desolation,
      Giving all He had to give. 

JESUS IS STRIPPED OF HIS CLOTHES


Pr: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
    (GENUFLECT)

All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Pr: They gave Jesus wine to drink mixed with gall; but
    when he had tasted it, he would not drink. Then after
    they had crucified him, they divided his clothes casting lots,
    to fulfill what was spoken through the prohet, "They divided 
    my clothes among them, and upon my garments they cast lots."
    (Mt. 27, 34-35)

    (KNEEL AND PAUSE)

All: Happy is the man whom God chastises! / Do not reject
     the punishment of the almighty.  / For he wounds, but he 
     binds up; he smites, but his hands give healing . / 
     Insult has broken my heart, and I am weak; / I looked for
     comforters, and I found none. / Rather they put gall in my food,
     and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. (Job 5, 17 & 18;
     Ps. 68, 21 & 22)

Pr: Let us pray. Lord Jesus Christ, stripped of everything.
    You stood exposed to the jeers and contempt of the people 
    whom You loved. Clothe us with genuine love of others, so
    that nothing we suffer may ever fill our hearts hatred or bitterness.

All: Amen.
    (STAND)

Sing: Pierced the hands that blessed and cured us,
      Pierced the feet walked to free us. 
      Walked the hill of Calvary.

 

JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS


Pr. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
    (GENUFLECT)

All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Pr. When they came to Golgotha, the place called the Skull,
    they crucified Jesus and the robbers, one on his right'
    and other on his left. And Jesus said, "Father, forgive
    them for they do not know what they are doing." (Lk. 23
    33,34; Jn. 19,18)

    (KNEEL AND PAUSE)

All: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me, / far from
     my prayer, far from the words of my cry? / O my God.
     I cry out by day, and you answer not; / I cry out by
     night, and there is no relief for me. / All my bones are
     racked. / My heart has become like wax melting away 
     within my chest. / My throat is dried up like baked 
     clay, my tongue cleaves to my jaws; / they have pierced
     my hands and my feet; / I can count all my bones. (Ps.21,
     2-3,15-16,17b)

Pr. Let us pray. Lord and Saviour, You have told us that we
    too must accept crucifixion if we are to accept resurrection
    with You. Help us to rejoice in the sufferings that come with
    the fulfillment of our daily duties, seeing in them the royal 
    road of the cross to the resurrection

All: Amen.
    (STAND)

Sing: Life enternal, death defiant
      Bowed his head-the world was silent,
      Through his death came life anew.

JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS


Pr. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
    (GENUFLECT)

All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Pr. It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness
    over the whole land until the ninth hour. And the sun
    was darkened, and the curtain of the temple was torn in 
    in the middle. Jesus cried out with a loud voice and said,
    "It is finished. Father into your hands I commend my spirit."
    Then, bowing his head, he died. (Lk 23, 44 to 46; Jn. 19, 306b)

    (KNEEL AND PAUSE)

All: My people, what have I done to you? / or in what have 
     I offended you? / Answer me. / What more should I have done,
     and did not do? / I led you out of the land of Egypt, and you
     prepared a cross for me. / I opened the Red Sea before you, and
     you opened my side with a lance. / I gave you a royal sceptre,
     and you have given me a crown of thorns. / With great power I 
     lifted you up, and you have hung me upon a cross. / My people,
     what have I done to you, or in what have I offended you? Answer
     me. (from the Reproaches of Good Friday)

All: Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed by 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 trepass against us. / And lead us not into temptation,
     / but dilver us from evil. Amen. (STAND)

Sing: Stunned and stricken, Mary, Mother 
      In your arms was placed our Brother,
      "Full of grace" now filled with grief.
 

THE BODY OF JESUS IS TAKEN DOWN FROM THE CROSS


Pr. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
    (GENUFLECT)

All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Pr:  When the soldiers came to Jesus, they saw that he was already 
     dead so that they did not break his legs, but one of them 
     opened his side with a lance, and immediately there came out
     blood and water. Joseph of Arimathea, because he was a disciple 
     of Jesus (although a secret one for fear of the Jews) besought 
     Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate
     gave permission. (Jn. 19, 33-34, 38a.) 

     (KNEEL AND PAUSE)

ALL: O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them,
     / and I will bring you back to your land. / Then you shall know that
     I am the Lord. / O my people! I will put my spirit in you that you may
     live. / You shall know then that I am the Lord./ I have promised it,/
     and I will do it, says the Lord. (Ezechiel 37, 12-14)


Pr. Let us pray. Beloved Saviour, You returned to the Father all the He had
    given You, so that He might restore all to You a hundred-fold in the glorious
    resurrection. Help us, we beg You, to give generously of ourselves in all that
    we do for You. so that like You we might be made perfect in a new resurrection.

All: Amen.
     (STAND)

Sing: Jesus Lord, your gift accepted,
      In three days You resurrected,
      You did first what we shall do.
 

JESUS IS LAID IN THE TOMB



Pr. We adore You. O Christ, and we praise You.
    (GENUFLECT)

All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Pr. Joseph of Arimathea took the body of Jesus, and wrapping
    it in a clean linen cloth he laid it in his new thomb, which
    he had hewn out of rock. Then he rolled a large stone against
    the entrance of the tomb and departed. (Mt. 27, 59-60)

    (KNEEL AND PAUSE)

All: I will praise you, O Lord for you drew me clear and did not
     let my enemies rejoice over me. / O Lord, my God, I cried out
     to you and you healed me. / O Lord, you brought me up from the
     lower world: / you preserved me from among those going down into
     the pit. / Sing praise to the Lord. you his faithful ones, and give 
     thanks to his holy name. / For his anger lasts but a moment; his good
     will is for a lifetime. / At nightfall, weeping enters in, but with
     dawn comes rejoicing. (Ps.29, 2 to 6)

Pr. Let us pray. Almighty and eternal God, on the edge of sadness when
    all seemed lost, You restored to us the Saviour we thought defeated
    and conquered. Help us, we beg You, so to empty ourselves of self 
    concern that we might see your hand in every failure and your victory 
    in every defeat. These things we ask in the name of your Son, Jesus
    Christ, who lives and reigns forever with You in the unity of the Holy
    Spirit.

All: Amen. (STAND)

Sing: Jesus Risen, be our lover
      In your Food and in our brother.
      Lead us home in heaven with you.
 

CLOSING*

THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS



Pr. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
    (GENUFLECT)

All: Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Pr:  When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother
     of James and Salome, bought spices that they might go and
     anoint Jesus. Very early on the first day of the week, when 
     the sun had just risen, they came to the thomb. They were 
     saying to one another. "Who will roll the stone back from
     the entrance of the tomb for us?" for it was very large.
     But looking up they they saw that the stone had been rolled 
     back, and upon entering the tomb the were amazed to see a 
     young man sitting at the right side and clothed in a white
     robe. He said to them. "Do not be terrified. You are looking
     for Jesus the Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen he is
     not here. Behold the place where they laid him." (Mk. 16, 1 to 6)

     (REMAIN STANDING)

All: I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth;
     / and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. / who was conceived 
     by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, / suffered under Pontius
     Pilate, / was crucified, died, and was buried. / He descended into hell;
     / the third day he arose again from the dead; / he ascended into heaven
     and sits at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; / from there he
     shall come to judge the living and the dead/ I believe in the Holy Spirit,
     / the holy Catholic Church, / the communion of saints, / the forgiveness
     of sins. / the resurrection of the body, / and life everlasting. / Amen.

     *This closing may be omitted on Good Friday