Journey 2 | Scripture Focus

I am the way, I am truth and life. No one can come to the Father except through me. (Jn 14, 6)

He whom God has sent speaks God’s own words for God gives him the Spirit without reserve. The Father loves the Son and has entrusted everything into his hands. Anyone who believes in the Son has eternal life. (Jn 2, 34)

There is no need to be afraid little flock, for it has pleased the Father to give you the kingdom. (Lk 12, 32)

Lord Jesus, you called us to walk with you, to take up our cross every day and follow you. It is not we who loved you, but you who first loved us. Drawn to you by God our Father, we praise him for his unfathomable love: that he sent you, Lord, to dwell with us so that we might live in you.

Loving Lord, open our hearts. Fill them with the fire of your Holy Spirit, so that we might have the courage to die to worldly ways and live fully in you.

You are the Way: we walk with you in your suffering on your path to glory. You are the Truth: in coming to know your suffering, the truth will set us free. You are the Life: through your suffering on the cross we find life everlasting.

Through this journey with you, Lord, I pray for the inner peace, hope and joy that come only from God’s love.

Lord Jesus crucified, have mercy.

Jesus is condemned to death

The high priest put a second question to Jesus saying, ‘Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?’ ‘I am,’ said Jesus. (Mk 14, 61)
I tell you, if anyone openly declares himself for me in the presence of others; the Son of Man will declare himself for him in the presence of God’s angels. (Lk 12, 8)

Do not be taken aback at the testing by fire which is taking place among you, as though something strange were happening to you. But in so far as you share in the sufferings of Christ, be glad, so that you may enjoy a much greater gladness when his glory is revealed. (1 Pet 4, 12–13)

If you declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and if you believe with your heart that God raised him from the dead then you will be saved. It is by believing with the heart that you are justified and by making the declaration with your lips that you are saved. (Rom 10: 9–10)

Lord Jesus, as we stand with you, the victim of unjust accusation and abuse, we remember that you taught us not to be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. The world hated you because you are not of this world. You are the Christ, the Anointed One of God. You loved your enemies, you blessed those who cursed you, and prayed for those who injured you. You turned the other cheek, you gave up your cloak, you were silent before your accusers.

Loving Lord, as you declared yourself for the Father, I here and now declare myself for you. I am your disciple, you, the Christ, the Son of the living God, who lived on earth as man, and who died so my sins might be forgiven. God the Father raised you from the dead to be seated at his right hand, and through you, calls me to share the fullness of your life with him.

Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy.

Jesus accepts his cross

I have come to bring fire to the earth and how I wish it was blazing already. There is a baptism I must still receive and what constraint I am under until it is completed. (Lk 12, 49–50)

I shall take up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I shall fulfill my vows to him in the midst of all his people. (Ps 116, 13–14)

Lord Jesus, by willingly accepting the cross in obedience to the Father, you set us free from the debt that stood against us. We cannot save ourselves through our own efforts; nor by those same efforts can we earn eternal life.

Loving Lord, I place my trust in God the Father, and humbly accept the cross by which he draws me to himself. I choose to walk with you, Jesus, in carrying my cross. I gladly share in your sufferings as the Christ, my teacher, my brother and my friend. As you go now to die for my sins, so too do I die to sin, trusting that as I die with you, so shall I live in you forever.

May I live in obedience to your command to love my neighbour as myself, and to love my brothers and sisters as you love them. As I, within one human family, share the burden of the sufferings of my brothers and sisters, so may you use me to bring hope to the needy, to the sick, to the underprivileged and the oppressed.

Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy.

Jesus falls for the first time

It is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life. (Mt 7, 14)

Everyone, no matter how firmly he thinks he is standing, must be careful he does not fall. (1 Cor 10, 12)  k

In the world you will have hardship, but be courageous, I have overcome the world. (Jn 6, 33)

Lord Jesus, you fell under the burden of the sin of the world. You kept your eyes on the Father, and he bore you up in your distress. It was your love for humankind and your desire to do the Father’s will that bore you onward. When you walked our earth as man, you were subject to temptation, but like no man before you, you did not give way.

Loving Lord, I am sorry that in my weakness I have given way to all kinds of temptation. In my foolishness and pride I have told myself I can walk this path alone,  but the way is not easy. I have strayed from the truth and lost sight of the light.

I commit myself now to follow you, the good Shepherd, and to carry my cross amidst my brothers and sisters. And if one should stumble, let me not speak words of condemnation, but rather words of encouragement, for we all struggle to bear our cross. Let me share with them only a joyful confidence in a loving Savior.

Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy.

Jesus meets his Blessed Mother

As the child’s father and mother were wondering at the things that were being said about him, Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘Look, he is destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign of contradiction – and a sword will pierce your own soul too – so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare.’ (Lk 2, 33–35)

My mother and my brothers are those that hear the word of God and keep it. (Lk 8, 21)

Lord Jesus, as Simeon blessed you in infancy he also foretold your mother’s suffering. Mary stayed with you throughout your passion, her pain and sorrow beyond our comprehension. In confidence, we call on her to comfort us also, at the hour of our death.

Loving Lord, may the sword of the Spirit that is the Word of God pierce my soul and lead me to true wisdom. I ask you to give me the courage to hear and bear witness to the Word of God, keeping it faithfully, so that by your grace I may be worthy to be called brother or sister to you.
As church we walk together the journey of faith, with Mary at our head. We honour her not only as your mother and your first disciple, but as Mother of the Church, your mystical body. May she be there to help me bring you to birth in my world too.

Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy.

Simon helps Jesus to carry the Cross

Whoever serves me must follow me. My servant will be with me wherever I am. (Jn 12, 26)

You are my friends if you do what I command you. I shall no longer call you servants because a servant does not know his master’s business. I call you friends because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father. (Jn 15, 15)

Lord Jesus, what a privilege to carry your cross on your way to glory, yet Simon of Cyrene was reluctant to answer the call. In fact, no one, Lord, was willing to help carry your cross.

Loving Lord, I am deeply sorry that I have not always been willing to bear my cross, to follow you and to die to myself. Often I have turned away from you in my self-centeredness. I have neglected to seek the inner quiet in which alone can I hear you within my heart. I have paid little heed to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Let me now heed your call, and offer unreservedly my service in carrying out the work of God. May I become worthy to be called not merely your humble and dutiful servant, but also your friend.

Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy.

Veronica wipes the face of Jesus

He had no form or charm to attract us, no beauty to win our hearts; he was despised, the lowest of men, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering. He was one from whom we averted our gaze; one despised, for whom we had no regard. (Is 52, 2–3)

O Lord, hear my voice as I cry. Pity me, answer me. Of you, my heart has said, ‘Seek his face.’ Your face, O Lord, I seek. Do not turn away from me. (Ps 27, 7–9)

All of us with our unveiled faces like mirrors reflecting the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the image that we reflect in brighter and brighter glory. This is the working of the Lord who is Spirit. (2 Cor 3, 18)

Our love must be not just words or mere talk, but something active and genuine. (1 Jn 3, 18)

Lord Jesus, when you were physically abused, tormented and mocked, exhausted from carrying your cross and ours, and afflicted with great sorrow, one woman, moved by her love for you, showed extraordinary courage and compassion in breaking from the crowd to wipe your sweating and bleeding face with her veil.

Loving Lord, I come before you openly and unabashed, to offer you my service however small and simple that may be. Give me courage and strength, Lord, to serve you in my brothers and sisters, especially those whom I may have rejected, despised or simply disregarded. In their features, Lord, I seek yours. By mirroring your love in my actions may I come to reflect your glorious image. In all I do and in everyone, I meet may I always seek your face.

Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy.

Jesus falls the second time

The Lord supports all who stumble and lifts up those who are bowed down. (Ps 145, 14)

Come to me all you who labour and are overburdened and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light. (Mt 11, 28–30)

None of the trials which have come upon you is more than human strength can bear. You can trust that God will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with any trial will provide a means by which you are able to bear it. (1 Cor 10, 13)

Lord Jesus, abused by torture, your human frailty caused you to fall a second time, but you did not give up the struggle. You placed your trust in the love of your Father so that the joy of knowing you were doing the Father’s Will sustained you in your time of trial.

Loving Lord, sometimes it seems I cannot bear my cross further, and would dearly wish to lay it down. But when I see your arms outstretched to take my burdens too, I am able somehow to bear it once more. For I know that you walk with me always, and your unending love renews my faith and my strength. Help me, Lord, to reach out to others and share my faith, to share their load as I walk with them. For as I do so, my own cross seems so much lighter.

Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy.

Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. (Mt 5, 5)

In all truth I tell you, you will be weeping and wailing while the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful but your sorrow will be turned into joy. (Jn 16, 20)

If we say we have no sin we are deceiving ourselves and truth has no place in us. If we acknowledge our sins, he is trustworthy and upright, so that he will forgive us our sins and will cleanse us from all evil. (1 Jn 1, 8–9)

Lord Jesus, even as you were being led to your death on the cross you had compassion for the grief of others and comforted them. You bear our sorrows, Lord, our suffering and our guilt. We are healed by your bruises.

Loving Lord, I am fully and truly sorry for all my faults, and for the punishment which you took upon yourself when you suffered death on the cross. I am deeply pained when I realise how far from your side I have strayed. Yet in this moment I find you already beside me, sharing my grief and sorrow, your tears washing me clean. Through you I seek reconciliation with the Father for the times I have broken faith with him; for great and merciful as he is, he calls me to himself through you.

Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy.

Jesus falls for the third time

Even were I to walk in a ravine as dark as death, I shall fear no danger, for you are at my side. Your crook and your staff are there to comfort me. (Ps 23, 4)

When the Lord has given you the bread of suffering and the water of distress, he who is your teacher will hide no longer and you will see him with your own eyes. Whether you turn right or left, your ears will hear these words behind you, ‘There is the way; head for it’. (Is 30, 20–21)

Lord Jesus, burdened with the sorrow of the depth of mankind’s fall, you fell a third time under the weight of the cross. Yet you were able to rise once more because you knew in your heart the love of the Father.

Loving Lord, it is when I fully accept my cross that you reveal the depth of your love for me. You raise me up and fill my heart with joy. With you at my side the way is clear, and I count it a privilege and a blessing to carry my cross with you. You call me, Jesus, to love the unlovable in their suffering. May I find the grace to embrace them just as they are, for in them I embrace you, my Lord and Saviour in your sufferings.

Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy.

Jesus is stripped of his garments

God chose those who by human standards are fools, to shame the wise. He chose those who by human standards are weak, to shame the strong, those who by human standards are common and contemptible, indeed those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing all of those that do count for something, so that no human being might feel boastful before God. (1 Cor 1, 27–29)

No one of you can be my disciple without giving up all that he owns. (Lk 14, 33)

If you make my word your home you will indeed be my disciples, you will come to know the truth and the truth will set you free. (Jn 8, 32)

You are to be clothed in heartfelt compassion, in generosity and humility, in gentleness and patience… and over all these clothes put on love, the perfect bond. (Col 3, 12–14)

So stand your ground with truth a belt round your waist, and uprightness a breastplate, wearing for shoes on your feet the eagerness to spread the gospel of peace; and always carrying the shield of faith so that you can use it to quench the burning arrows of the evil one; and then you must take salvation as your helmet, armed with the sword of the Spirit that is the Word of God. (Eph 6, 14–17)

Lord Jesus, at your crucifixion even your clothes were taken from you. You submitted yourself to be humbled completely, and to be counted as the lowliest of the low.

Loving Lord, I count the things of the world as nothing; I desire only to love and serve you. I renounce all attachment to this world. Let me place my whole trust in the Word of God, so that I am no longer distracted from gazing on your loving face by the business of life, the desire for material possessions or worldly pleasures. Take your rightful place at the centre of my life, I beg you, and clothe me in the full armor of God.

Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy.

Jesus is nailed to the Cross

My trust does not fail even when I say I am utterly bereft. In my terror, I said, ‘No human being can be relied on.’ What return can I make to the Lord for his goodness to me? I shall take the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. (Ps 116, 10–13)

No ear has heard, nor eye seen any god but you act like this for the sake of those who trust him. (Is 64, 4)

Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection. For the sake of the joy which lay ahead of him, he endured the cross, disregarding the shame of it, and has taken his seat at the right hand of God’s throne. Think of the way he persevered against such opposition from sinners, and then you will not lose heart and come to grief. (Heb 12, 2–3)

For him, I have accepted the loss of all other things and look on them as rubbish if only I can gain Christ, and be given a place in him. With the uprightness, I have gained, not from the law but through faith in Christ… may I come to know him and the power of his resurrection, sharing his sufferings by being moulded into the pattern of his death, striving always towards the goal of resurrection from the dead. (Phil 3, 8–11)

Lord Jesus, as man you knew the terror of confronting death. But as Son of the living God, you acted as no other before you in humbling yourself at the hands of those who knew you not, yet mocked and tortured you.

Loving Lord, I know that I too must ultimately confront death so that I may live with you in the Spirit. But I am filled with dread. Grant me the grace of courage and of trust in you, Lord Jesus, so that I may willingly share your sufferings and find redemption in the fullness of your resurrection promise.

Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy.

Jesus dies on the Cross

Just as all die in Adam so in Christ all will be brought to life. (1 Cor 15, 22)

Look there is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. (Jn 1, 29)

Into your hands I commit my spirit, for by you have I been redeemed. (Ps 31, 5)

I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. (Jn 10, 11)

This is my commandment, to love one another as I have loved you. No one can have greater love than to lay down his life for his friends. (Jn 15, 12–13)

Death is swallowed up in victory. Death where is your victory? Death where is your sting? (1 Cor 15, 55)

Lord Jesus, you are the Christ, the Anointed One, the Lamb of God. You offered yourself as the redemptive sacrifice for our sins. You stay the hand of the angel of death who hovers over us, and instead bring us the living water which is the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of Life.

Loving Lord, by your death on the cross you have freed me from sin and brought me everlasting life. I live only through you and in you, and into your hands I commit my spirit. I now hand my life over to you and place no other before you. Worthy is the lamb that was sacrificed to receive power, riches, wisdom, strength, honour, glory and blessing. To the One seated on the throne and to the Lamb, be all praise, honour, glory and power for ever and ever. (Rev 5, 12–13)

Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy.

Jesus is taken down from the Cross

In the presence of angels, I sing to you. I bow down before your holy temple. (Ps 138, 2)

Over the House of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem I shall pour out a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look to me. They will mourn for the one they have pierced. (Zech 12, 10)

Now as they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and when he had said the blessing he broke it and gave it to the disciples. ‘Take it and eat;’ he said, ‘this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them saying, ‘Drink from this, all of you, for this is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which is to be poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’ (Mt 26, 26–28)

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in him. As the living Father sent me, and I draw life from the Father, so whoever eats me will also draw life from me. (Jn 6, 56–57)

Look, I am standing at the door, knocking. If one of you hears me calling and opens the door, I will come in to share a meal, side by side. With anyone who proves victorious I will share my throne, just as I was myself victorious and have shared my Father’s throne. (Rev 3, 20–21)

Lord Jesus, your lifeless body was taken down from the Cross and given into your mother’s arms. As your first disciple, she is Mother of the Church which receives your living Body in the Eucharist, a sign and promise of the fullness of life with you in the bosom of the Father. By her intercession may we continue to bring you to birth in our world.

Loving Lord, I desire always to live in you. Make me worthy to receive you and then remake me in your own image. I open the door of my heart to you, that nourished by your Body and Blood, I might learn to take my place in, and contribute to, a strengthening faith community.

Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy.

Jesus is laid in the tomb

As for me if I lie down and sleep I shall awake for the Lord sustains me. (Ps 3,5)

Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. (Jn 2, 19)

Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in the One who sent me, and whoever sees me sees the One who sent me. I, the Light, have come into the world so that anyone who believes in me will dwell in darkness no longer. (Jn 12, 46)

You know well that all of us when we were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death… so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glorious power, we too should live a new life. If we have been joined to him by dying a death like his, so we shall be joined by a resurrection like his, realizing that our former self was crucified with him so that the self that belonged to sin might be destroyed, and we be freed from the slavery of sin… We know that Christ has been raised from the dead and shall never die again. Death has no more power over him, since by dying he is dead to sin once and for all, and now the life that he lives is life with God. In the same way, you must see yourselves as being dead to sin but alive for God in Christ Jesus. (Rom 6, 3–11)

You are sad now but I shall see you again and your hearts will be full of joy, and that joy no one shall take from you. (Jn 16, 22)

Lord Jesus, you did not escape the experience of death, and nor do we. Death is a veil through which we cannot see to the life beyond. Rather we trust in the love of the Father to bring us to eternal life through your redeeming sacrifice.

Loving Lord, I have handed my life over to you, turning my back on the ways of this world. Raise me up. Send me your Holy Spirit so that I may be born again in the Spirit, living only in you and through you. Father, may your kingdom come, may your will be done.

Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy.

Jesus rises from the tomb

In all truth, I tell you, whoever listens to my words and believes in the One who sent me has eternal life. Without being brought to judgment such a person has passed from death to life. (Jn 5, 24)

I am the resurrection. Anyone who believes in me even though he dies will live, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. (Jn 11, 25–26)

In the abundance of his glory may he through his spirit enable your inner self to grow in power, so that Christ may live in your hearts through faith. And then planted in love and built on love with all God’s holy people, you will have strength to grasp the breadth and the length, the height and the depth, so that knowing the love of Christ which is beyond all knowledge, you may be filled with the utter fullness of God. Glory be to him whose power working in us can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. Glory be to him from generation to generation in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever. Amen. (Eph 3, 16–21)

And for this God raised him high and gave him the name which is above all other names, so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld should bend the knee at the name of Jesus, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil 2, 9–11)

Lord Jesus, you have brought me out of the darkness into the light of your love. You have washed me clean of the stain of sin. You have shown me the way to the Father. You bring me to life everlasting.

Loving Lord, I walk this journey of faith with you, my Shepherd, beside me. Guide me in your ways so that I may walk with you evermore. Bind me to yourself with the bonds of love in our faith community. Give praise and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honour and power and strength to our God forever and ever. Amen.

Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy.