Station I – Jesus sentenced to death
We don't want a Messiah who carries God within him, who is gentle and humble!
We want a Messiah who will restore the greatness of Israel,
who will bring peace by force, crushing our enemies.
Christ must be disposed of by the hands of the wicked.
Crucify him! We want Barabbas!
What is your ideal of the Messiah? Do you too want to remove God from your heart?
Station II – Jesus takes up his cross
Father, they think that by crucifying me they will remove us, the Three of us!
That the Cross you have given me is a sign that your Spirit is not in me.
They don't understand that it is Life.
No one takes my life away from me. I lay it down of my own accord, so that they may have life in me.
I and the Father are One.
Station III – Jesus falls for the first time under the cross
Look! This is not the Son of God!
Not the Messiah! We want true power and the victory of the God, not weakness.
How could God dwell in a human being?! This is blasphemy!
Considering yourself a man, you call yourself God?!
Station IV – Jesus meets his mother
Hail, Holy Mother, dwelling-place of the Holy Spirit!
We are walking this road together.
You too must part with the Fruit of his Presence in you.
You too have your cross.
The sword of sorrow is already raised.
Station V – Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry his cross
Why should I help him?
After all, he is a criminal, a pretend Messiah.
Christ, in your eyes I have found the truth about you and about myself.
Have mercy on me, a sinner. Let us go on together!
Station VI – St. Veronica wipes Jesus’ face
Father, imprint my image in her heart!
She has given up her security,
her pride, her good name,
to help a criminal, rejected and despised.
Whoever has, to him more will be given!
Station VII – Jesus falls for the second time under the cross
Is this the incarnation of God? A man of pain, familiar with suffering,
one who is despised and rejected by people?
He whom we deemed nothing.
He who promised to rebuild the temple of our God in three days.
Station VIII – Jesus comforts the weeping women
The real tragedy is not my present situation.
The real tragedy is in the hearts of your sons!
How will they survive without God within them?
What will become of them when their time comes?
But the hour is coming, indeed has already come,
when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth,
for the Father is seeking such worshipers.
Station IX – Jesus falls for the third time under the cross
He is close to his end!
We will be rid of this blasphemer.
Only the true Messiah will restore the kingdom of Israel,
and it will endure forever!
Station X – Jesus is stripped of his garments
Father, I have nothing left but myself.
We exist by giving ourselves,
so that they may have life in abundance.
We are entirely a gift to you. We want to keep nothing for ourselves.
My Body and my Spirit, so that you may live!
Station XI – Jesus is nailed to the cross
Mother, behold your children, who will shortly be born of the Holy Spirit.
Children, behold your mother!
The third day is at hand. Victory of Love is near.
Victory through humility and obedience to the Spirit,
not through running away from the cross.
If anyone would preserve his ego, he will lose it.
Whoever loses his ego for my sake will preserve it.
Station XII – Jesus dies on the cross
Finally, peace!
It is a good thing for one man to die for the people,
so that the nation is not lost. Israel above the incarnate God.
He will no longer heal on the sacred Sabbath.
If he is the Son of God, let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him!
He will not blaspheme the one true God, saying that God can dwell in a human being,
in every human being, even the smallest.
There is but one God in heaven!
Station XIII – Jesus is taken down from the cross
The Son of God recognized by a Roman soldier.
Rejected by his own.
A Messiah who comes down from the cross in a way the Jews did not expect.
From the invisible side,
so as to bring light of hope to those who dwell in the darkness and the shadow of death.
Station XIV – Jesus is laid in the tomb
It is expedient for you that I go away.
Unless I go away, the Spirit will not come to you.
But when He comes, He will convict the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment.
Of sin, because they do not believe in me,
of righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no more,
and of judgment, because the ruler of this world has already been judged.
I have still much to say to you, but you cannot bear it now.
When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the Truth.
He will not speak on his own authority, but He will speak what he hears,
and he will declare to you the things to come.
The Kingdom of Heaven is within you.
Prayer at the end:
Christ, you warned us that the time would come when many would appear,
pretending to be messiahs, and they would lead many astray.
Grant us wisdom so that we do not follow them,
even though they will perform many signs and wonders.
[Part of Polish prayer]
Father, let the old laws give way before the new covenant!
Let faith fill in what our senses cannot perceive!
Let us see in Christ the truth about ourselves,
about our dignity, about our way of the cross,
and about our life in you.