Bishop Alan suggests scriptural Way of the Cross

Bishop Alan Hopes has asked Catholics across East Anglia to consider using a Scriptural Way of the Cross from Pope John Paul II to help observe and pray their way through Holy week in their homes and families. He writes…

I hope this Scriptural Way of the Cross as used by Pope John Paul II in 1991 will be helpful to you all as we seek ways to observe and pray our way through Holy Week this year in our homes and families.

You will see that it is different from the usual Way of the Cross but is based on the Passion Narratives of the Gospels (and especially Matthew whose Gospel we are reading throughout this year).

Click here to download the Scriptural Way of the Cross

We can use the usual prayer before each Station:

We adore thee, O Christ and we bless thee, because by thy Holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.

After each station we can spend a few moments of silence meditating on the reading.

Then we pray:

I love thee, Jesus, My Love above all things. I repent with my whole heart for having offended thee. Never permit me to separate myself from thee again. Grant that I may love thee always and then do with me what thou wilt. Amen

Our Father……   Hail Mary……….   Glory be ………

May this Holy Week be truly blessed and filled with grace for us all as we follow our Saviour to the Cross. We do so at a time when our world has changed, our lives have been turned upside down and the whole world is experiencing a time of fear and grief, great suffering, the loss of so many loved ones.

Yet we bring all of this and our own fears and concerns to our Crucified and Risen Saviour as we pray the Stations of the Cross with hope and trust in Him who is our true life and hope of resurrection.

Pictured top is master stonemason Paul Blake with the Stations of the Cross ready to be hung on the walls of St Henry Morse church in Diss.

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