Sunday, April 13, 2025

Activity and spiritual based station of the cross

 

 STATION OF THE CROSS ACTIVITIES AND PRAYER BASED ON ST. APLHONUS LIGOURI STATION OF THE CROSS

 

HHL:  Short exhortation from HHL.

 

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

 Opening prayer

 

HHL will say an opening prayer

 

ALL (Opening prayer from St. Alphonsus Liguori Station of the cross):

 

My Lord, Jesus Christ, 

You have made this journey to die for me with unspeakable love; 

and I have so many times ungratefully abandoned You. | But now I love You with all my heart;

and, because I love You, I am sincerely sorry for ever having offended You.

Pardon me, my God, and permit me to accompany You on this journey.

You go to die for love of me; 

I want, my beloved Redeemer, to die for love of You. 

My Jesus, I will live and die always united to You.

 

The First Station: Pilate Condemns Jesus to Die

 

Starting Location: In front of altar.

 

We pray for:  To be honest and not wrongly accuse/judge others.

 

Activity:

The Labels I Place on Others:

Now gently ask yourself:👉 What quick assumptions have I made about others lately?
Even those small moments—at the store, in traffic, or scrolling online. (Offer to the Lord silently).

Pray (ALL): 

 

A Prayer of Unknowing by Thomas Merton

 

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following Your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please You does in fact please You. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that, if I do this, You will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust You always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for You are ever with me, and You will never leave me to face my perils alone. Amen.

 

The Second Station: Jesus Accepts His Cross

 

We pray for:  Our complaining attitude.

 

Activity:

 

Activity:

 

 From Complaint to Connection:

1.      Write your “holy rant”.  Anything.  Do not overthink.  Big or small.  This is your “Psalms moment”—God can handle your honesty. He already knows what’s in your heart.

2.     Now, write your hope from that complaint.  Eg (“I’m frustrated about treatment, but I’m thankful for the nurse who smiled at me today.”)

Pray (ALL):  “Do not grumble, brethren, against one another, that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the doors.” (James 5:9)

 

The Third Station: Jesus Falls the First Time

 

We pray for:  Hope and victory even with failures.

 

Activity:

 

Hope needs actions to win victories – David J. Schwartz

  • Declare your HOPE openly.  Say to  the group out loud. Eg. “This door closed, but my heart stayed open. That’s a win.”

Pray (ALL): 

 

Hope prayer

 

Heavenly father, I am your humble servant,
I come before you today in need of hope.
There are times when I feel helpless,
There are times when I feel weak.
I pray for hope.
I need hope for a better future.
I need hope for a better life.
I need hope for love and kindness.
Some say that the sky is at it’s
darkest just before the light.
I pray that this is true, for all seems dark.
I need your light, Lord, in every way.
I pray to be filled with your light from
head to toe. To bask in your glory.
To know that all is right in the world,
as you have planned, and as you want
it to be.
Help me to walk in your light, and live
my life in faith and glory.
In your name I pray, Amen.

 

The Fourth Station: Jesus Meets His Afflicted Mother

 

We pray for:  Our parents, living or deceased.

 

Activity:

 

Show a picture of your parents. Describe them to the group in two or three phrases. 

 

Pray (ALL): 

 

Prayer for parents

O God I thank you for my dearest parents who loved me and cared for me. Be with them and surround them with your presence.  Open their hearts to trust your constant care. Help me to show how much I appreciate them. Forgive me for the times I have made them sad. Bless them with good health and happiness. I place them in your hands.  Watch over them with tender love. Keep them close to one another in this life and in the next.   Amen.

 

The Fifth Station: Simon Helps Jesus Carry the Cross

 

We pray for:  Be kind and helpful.

 

Activity:

 

Kindness bingo

 

1.       Mark all that you have done as RAK (random act of kindness).

2.      First to complete horizontal, vertical, diagonal or ALL means you are kind 😊

A pink and black bingo game

AI-generated content may be incorrect.

 

 

Pray (ALL): 

 

Proverbs 3:27

 

"Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it."

 

The Sixth Station: Veronica Offers Her Veil to Jesus

 

We pray for:  Boldness in evangelizing people who are unpopular, marginalized and unwanted especially women to CFC-handmaids of the Lord

 

Activity:

 

Draw Your Circle

Give each person a blank sheet of paper and have them draw a small circle in the center. Write their name or "Me & Jesus" in the middle.

Now draw 3–5 circles around it (like a ripple effect).
Inside those circles, invite them to write the names (or initials) of people in their life who:

  • Don’t know Jesus yet
  • May have drifted from faith
  • Are seeking something more
  • Are going through a difficult time

This creates a visual reminder of their “mission field.”

 

You can even anoint the papers with holy water or lay hands on them symbolically.

 

Light a candle during your prayer time for all “the names in our circles.

 

Pray (ALL): 

 

Romans 10:14 – “How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?”

 

The Seventh Station: Jesus Falls the Second Time

 

We pray for:  Our weaknesses.

 

Activity:

Creative Activity: “Cracked but Growing”

Inspired by 2 Corinthians 12:9
“My power is made perfect in weakness…”


 

 Kintsugi Art Collage

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, making the cracks more beautiful—not hidden.

Supplies:

  • Paper or a sketchbook
  • Magazines for collage (or draw your own!)
  • Scissors, glue, gold marker/pen or gold paper

Instructions:

  1. Draw or cut out a shape that represents you (a heart, a cup, a body, etc.)
  2. Tear or “crack” the shape in 2–3 places. These represent your weaknesses—the parts that feel broken, tired, or uncertain.
  3. Now “repair” the cracks with gold—use gold paper strips, shiny pens, thread, or tape.
  4. Around the cracks, write what has grown from them: compassion, strength, grace, empathy, faith, etc.

🎯 Optional Prompt:
Write this prayer or affirmation around the image:
“I am not less because I’m cracked. I’m more because grace fills the gaps.

Pray (ALL): 

 

Prayer for strength and wisdom

 

Thank you, Lord, for being there for me and allowing me to cry out to you in my times of need.  It is amazing to me that the Lord of the Universe would take time to listen to me and to care about what I say.  God, there are things happening around me right now that I do not understand. Some of these things make me feel weak, helpless and afraid.
Even in the midst of this, I know that you are the Lord.  I know that the situation is in Your hand, and I trust You. I beseech you for strength and for wisdom that I would be able to endure this situation and be able to handle it in a way that would bring glory to Your name.  In Jesus name. Amen.

 

The Eighth Station: Jesus Speaks to the Women

 

We pray for:  Faithfulness to our service in CFC- handmaids of the Lord

 

Activity:  

Faith for the Future

Now ask:

  • Where do I need to remember God’s faithfulness right now?
  • What truth do I want to carry into tomorrow?

Write a simple prayer of faith:

“God, the same You who walked me through ____,
will walk with me through ____.”


End the path with the word “Still here.” Because you are. And that matters.

Pray (ALL):

 

Prayer to serve God well

 

Father of Mercy,
forgive my failings,
keep me in Your Grace,
and lead me in the way of salvation.
Give me strength in serving You
as a follower of Christ.
May the Eucharist bring me Your Forgiveness
and give me freedom to serve You all my life.
May it help me to remain faithful
and give me the grace I need in Your service.
May it teach me the way to eternal life. Amen.

 

 

The Ninth Station: Jesus Falls the Third Time

 

We pray for:  Grudge I held against someone who has hurt me.

 

Activity: 

 

Stick rejection  

 

1.       Contemplate how many stresses undermine your sense of peace.

2.      Write words describing your existing stress on the sticks.

3.      Pray for the hold of each stress to be broken.

4.      Break the sticksas a sign of breaking their hold on you,

5.      so you may be hungry for God’s promise on your journey.

6.      Invite God to carry you the length of your journey.

7.       Contemplate how many stresses undermine your sense of peace.

8.      Write words describing your existing stress on the sticks.

9.      Pray for the hold of each stress to be broken.

10.   Break the sticksas a sign of breaking their hold on you, so you may be hungry for God’s promise on your journey.

11.    Invite God to carry you the length of your journey.

As you do, say:

“This no longer belongs to me.
I am giving it to God.
I am making space for peace.”

Pray (ALL): 

“God, I’m not sure how to forgive. But I’m willing to begin.
I give You this weight, this wound, this anger.
I ask for freedom—not because they deserve it,
but because I do.
Heal the part of me that’s still bleeding.
Show me how to live unchained.”

The Tenth Station: Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments

 

We pray for:  Embarrassment and ashamed of proclaiming the good news

 

Activity:  

 

The “Silent Confession” Card

 

Pass out blank index cards.

Invite each person to write one sentence privately:

  • A time they felt ashamed or hesitant to share their faith
  • Or a fear they carry about evangelizing

Examples:

  • “I didn’t speak up when someone mocked prayer.”
  • “I’m afraid people will think I’m weird.”
  • “I don’t feel good enough to share the Gospel.”

Emphasize: No one will read their card. This is between them and God.

 

Put in your altar at home at the foot of the cross.

 

Pray (ALL): 

 

Your Spirit is strong

 

Your Spirit is Strong [Liveloud LYRICS] Ablaze CFC

 

 

The Eleventh Station: Jesus Is Nailed to the Cross

 

We pray for:  Comfort for everyone who is in pain especially those who are hurting silently

 

Activity:

 

Tiny stuffed toy, give it a hug of comfort and give (with short message if you like)  to that person who is NOT yet a member of CFC-HOLD and hug her in person (and maybe invite to our CLP).

 

Pray: 

 

Prayer in time of suffering

 

Behold me, my beloved Jesus,
weighed down under the burden of my trials and sufferings,
I cast myself at Your feet,
that You may renew my strength and my courage,
while I rest here in Your Presence.
Permit me to lay down my cross in Your Sacred Heart,
for only Your infinite goodness can sustain me;
only Your love can help me bear my cross;
only Your powerful hand can lighten its weight.
O Divine King, Jesus,
whose heart is so compassionate to the afflicted,
I wish to live in You;
suffer and die in You.
During my life be to me my model and my support;
At the hour of my death,
be my hope and my refuge.

Amen.

 

The Twelfth Station: Jesus Dies Upon the Cross

 

We pray for:  Forgiveness and saying sorry

 

Activity:

 

Cross paper

 

Instructions:

 

1.       Get an A4 paper

2.      Fold crosswise.

3.      Fold the left corner to the center.

4.      Fold the right corner to the center

5.      Cut with your hand

6.      Write the names of people you want to forgive and on the other side names of people you want to say sorry to

7.      Put the paper cross in your altar or bible and every time

 

 

Pray: 

 

Prayer for strength to forgive

 

Faultless Lord, enduring death for me,
You have consummated the debt of my sins:
Your sacrifice of forgiveness was absolute!
Grant me the strength to also forgive others,
To excuse their transgressions against me.
So I may truly reflect this spiritual fruit,
Obliterate any persistent feelings of malice.
Let each trespass end as a closing chapter,
My continuing on the road of righteousness.
Forgive my sins as I aspire to forgive others.
You are truly archetypical of forgiveness.
You are a most forgiving Lord!

 

The Thirteenth Station: Jesus Is Taken Down from the Cross

 

Prayer Location:  In front of the altar

 

We pray for:  For all those who have no one to pray for.

 

 

Activity:

“Unseen Names, Unspoken Prayers”

“The Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” – Romans 8:26

Art Prayer Wall: “God Knows Their Names”

Create an abstract piece of art:

  • Scribble, swirl, paint, or draw without clear meaning
  • Each shape or color represents someone nameless

As you create, say:

“This brush stroke is for the tired soul.
This color is for the one with no family.
This gold is for the light they still carry.”

Hang it somewhere you’ll see often. Let it be a visual reminder that you prayed for the forgotten—and that God knows every hidden name.

 

Pray: 

 

Watch, O Lord (St. Agustine prayer)

 

Watch, O Lord, with those who wake, or watch, or weep tonight, and give Your angels and saints charge over those who sleep.
Tend Your sick ones, O Lord Christ.
Rest Your weary ones.
Bless Your dying ones.
Soothe Your suffering ones.
Pity Your afflicted ones.
Shield Your joyous ones, and all for Your love's sake. Amen.

 

The Fourteenth Station: Jesus Is Placed in the Sepulcher

 

We pray for:  Silence, peace and joy in our hearts

 

Activity/Pray:  God of Silence  (GOD OF SILENCE | Bukas Palad)

 

Closing prayer

 

HHL will say a closing prayer

 

ALL KNEEL facing the altar:  Prayer to Jesus Christ Crucified

 

My good and dear Jesus, 

I kneel before You, 

asking You most earnestly 

to engrave upon my heart 

a deep and lively faith, hope, and charity, 

with true repentance for my sins, 

and a firm resolve to make amends. 

As I reflect upon Your five wounds, 

and dwell upon them 

with deep compassion and grief, 

I recall, good Jesus, 

the words the Prophet David spoke 

long ago concerning Yourself: 

“They pierced My hands and My feet; 

they have numbered all My bones.”

 

Our Father.  Hail Mary. Glory be

 

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen. 

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