We adore You, o Christ, and we bless You,

for by Your Holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.

A plaything of intrigues and power politics, a victim of jealousy and stupid narrow-mindedness. Known to be innocent but condemned out of fear. Pilate sacrifices Jesus and chooses for his own interest and safety. There is no place in this world for Him, who did no wrong. Pilate washes his hands, as if the guilt for this innocent blood can ever be washed away.

With dirty hands we stand before the Lord. Guilty through fear or from self-interest, guilty of the words we did not speak, the look we cast away. Guilty because our hearts harden every time we are asked to choose for the Lord.

Let us pray: God, we have condemned You to death. We're still doing that to the people around us. We implore You: do not judge us as people do, but teach us to see the truth and do justice to the best of ability. Teach us to choose for what contributes to Your love in this world.

Our Father, Hail Mary.

Have mercy on us,

Lord, have mercy on us.

God, have mercy on us sinners.

We adore You, o Christ, and we bless You,

for by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Jesus taking up his cross becomes a festive event. Torturers enjoy humiliating the defenseless. Evil doesn't just want to break this son of man; He has to be put down into their pool of bestiality. Thus, it is fulfilled that He becomes one of us in all respects, except in sin. Behold the man...

How much evil are we, humans, capable of? How much misery and pain are we inflicting on each other? How much do we hurt and belittle each other? What are we capable of when hatred and aversion are our motives? The cross that Jesus carries on his shoulders, is still being placed on many people every day.

Let us pray: Jesus, mocked and cast out in many of your sisters and brothers, we pray for the grace not to be their torturers, and ask for the courage to carry our own crosses, as You have shown us, in silence.

Our Father, Hail Mary.

Have mercy on us,

Lord, have mercy on us.

God, have mercy on us sinners.

We adore You, o Christ, and we bless You,

for by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Fallen beneath the weight of the cross. Weakened, tortured, powerless He lies on the ground. A screaming, shrieking multitude hanging over Him, surrounding Him. The one who lies below, is being jeered, kicked, beaten. Getting up, He drags himself along, in the midst of many, alone.

No loneliness is more lonely then when all are against you. Plenty of hands, but only to hurt, not to help. Plenty of arms, but only to threaten, not to support. Plenty of eyes, but only to mock, not to weep. Plenty of mouths, but only to curse, not to comfort.

Let us pray: When life with its burdens becomes too heavy, when we receive crosses that nearly make us succumb, make us see, God, that our crosses are also your cross. Let us keep trusting You as Jesu does, and go on with his courage and his strength.

Our Father, Hail Mary.

Have mercy on us,

Lord, have mercy on us.

God, have mercy on us sinners.

We adore You, o Christ, and we bless You

for by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Mary, brave woman, motherly Mother, where else would you be but beside your child while He suffers agony and torment? Your love must have relieved his pain, your presence must have eased his loneliness. You did not run away from your own pain. The sword that Simeon foresaw, has not been spared you. Mary, brave woman and strong Mother. Beneath your cloak you shelter all mothers who suffer for their children: missing, murdered, lost.

Why does life have to begin in so much pain? Could it be that all those motherly pains become the birth pangs, the labour pains, of a new, peaceful world?

Let us pray: God, You have asked Mary to be the Mother of Jesus, and share his suffering until death. We pray to You, from her appalling grief and that of all those suffering mothers in her trail, that their love will help to conquer the evils of this world, and help to bring about the salvation which your Son intended..

Our Father, Hail Mary.

Have mercy on us,

Lord, have mercy on us.

God, have mercy on us sinners.

We adore You, o Christ, and we bless You,

for by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Who is that man, that was allowed to help Jesus? Someone of whom you could make a demand without asking for his opinion. Is it a worker, a farm worker, a migrant worker? With his muscled arms and broad shoulders, he is noticed by the Roman officer. Maybe he obeys, because there is no escaping it anyway. Maybe he caught Jesus' gaze, felt his suffering, and was moved by compassion. Simon, his name means: someone who listens.

There is probably no better way to help people bear their cross, than to listen intensely to their story. Who has the consideration, the time and the love to listen to us?

Let us pray: God, who is silence, we pray to You, that You never tire of listening to our endless prayers, our story, lamentations, petitions, desires. And may You, who never closes your ears for us, make us in turn able to patiently listen to the joys and sufferings of our neighbours.

Our Father, Hail Mary.

Have mercy on us,

Lord, have mercy on us.

God, have mercy on us sinners.

We adore You, o Christ, and we bless You,

for by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

De legend of Veronica tells of a woman who wiped the face of Jesus. At home she finds that the facial features of the suffering Jesus are imprinted on her cloth. Pious tradition has given her the name Veronica. It means 'she who brings victory'; victory over herself, her own trepidation, fears and revulsion. Her act of love conquered the hateful screams of the mob. The name 'Veronica' also hides the words 'vera icon': true face.

In the features of this suffering servant, the true face of evil becomes visible, and God's will to save us from it.

Let us pray: In Veronica’s footsteps, many have tried throughout the ages to ease people's suffering with acts of loving devotion and, in this way, have shown the world your true face. We pray to You, God, that we may be those people in this time and place,, who conquer themselves and offer a helping hand to the suffering people around us.

Our Father, Hail Mary.

Have mercy on us,

Lord, have mercy on us.

God, have mercy on us sinners.

We adore You, o Christ, and we bless You,

for by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

For a second time to fall beneath the same burden. To drop down for the second time on the same journey. Incapable of putting one foot before the other. Not capable of avoiding any stumbling blocks anymore. Near exhaustion, crestfallen, felled by suffering.

On the roads of this world there is an endless procession of fleeing, displaced, desperate people. On a daily basis we see their faces in the media: old and young, men and women, pleading, hoping, determined, and utterly worn out. How many times have they fallen on their way? A large part of humanity is on the run from violence and unreasonable power. And the Son of God wavers among their ranks.

Let us pray: You, God, are on the side of the beaten. You, God, turn Yourself away from those doing the beating. Can I, if I am beaten, hold your hand? And would You hold my hand back if I threaten to beat others with it?

Our Father, Hail Mary.

Have mercy on us,

Lord, have mercy on us.

God, have mercy on us sinners.

We adore You, o Christ, and we bless You,

for by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Jerusalem, city where women weep, deeply aware of the innocence of the man going to his execution. Jesus looks at them with a blooded countenance, a gaze clouded by sweat and tears, but also with a prophetic look, that sees women weeping for centuries to come until this very day. Jerusalem, built to be a city of peace. How many times has it been conquered, destroyed, and even now remains divided.

Mothers weep for sons and daughters, victims of fanatical and desperate battles. Who will give all peoples a home, a peaceful fatherland?

Let us pray: God, for your Son the women wept: women who did not harden their compassionate hearts, and did not close their eyes to his unjust fate. We pray to You God, let the suffering of Jesus, and of the many after him, provide the only comfort which can stop the weeping. May there be peace in our times, and an end to such utterly destructive violence.

Our Father, Hail Mary.

Have mercy on us,

Lord, have mercy on us.

God, have mercy on us sinners.

We adore You, o Christ, and we bless You,

for by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Something which happens three times, is very important and essential. We mustn’t ignore it. It should not elude us, but should be carved into our memory forever. The Son of Man: stretched out, powerless, knocked out and lying on the ground. God's image and likeness, beaten to the ground.

That we shall never forget this, when we fear God. That we shall think of this exhausted man of God when we lift up our hearts to God in need. That we do not expect from God a display of power, no other miracles than the total solidarity of God, who became so human for us that he even shared in our dejection.

Let us pray: Eternal God, your powerlessness gives strength to those who have been beaten down, and gives hope to those who have become despondent in life. You share our lives even in our suffering. You show us empathy,, even in our failings. We pray to You, God, do not let us fall from your love. Do not turn away from our inadequacy, but help us believe that You stay close to us, just like Jesus did all the days of his life.

Our Father, Hail Mary.

Have mercy on us,

Lord, have mercy on us. God, have mercy on us sinners.

We adore You, o Christ, and we bless You

for by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

The soldiers grab Jesus and rip the clothes off his body. This is a moment of total contempt. Clothes don't just cover the body; they veil the mystery of the person. Jesus is robbed of his personal, human dignity, dishonored.

And there with him are countless others, the dishonored throughout our history. Abel stands there with all those who were killed, and Joseph with all the people who were sold as slaves. All the Jews are standing there, driven naked into the gas chambers. All the people who have suffered unjust discrimination for their religion, race, gender or sexual preference, are standing there with him. There are all the people who have been discarded, declared unprofitable. Standing there with him are all those men and women, at whose nakedness we are gaping. People stand there, around this man of God, robbed of their humanity by fellow humans, safe only with God.

Let us pray: God, Eternal one, only before You can we appear uncovered, because we know for certain that your love surrounds and embraces us. Forgive us, for the sake of your dishonored Son, all the inhumane things we do to each other, all the honour which we withhold from each other. Forgive us if we treat others in a belittling, condescending way. But when our hour of disillusionment comes, place us with your Son, who went through this hell for us.

Our Father, Hail Mary.

Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us. God, have mercy on us sinners.

We adore You, o Christ, and we bless You,

for by Your Holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.

Jesus didn't just accidentally end up on the cross. He was nailed there by people, because they didn't like what He stood for. His values debunked their values, invalidated their position. Power, riches and status were exposed by his words as injustice and hypocrisy. God's ideal of what it means to be a person, a human being, has been banished by us humans and nailed to the cross.

Now Christ has no other hands than ours to continue his work in today's world. He has no other feet but ours to help people to go his way. Christ has no lips but our lips, to tell people about Him. He has no other help but our help to bring people towards Him.

Let us pray: God, all too often our words did not proclaim You. Our feet did not go your way. Our hands did not help our neighbours. And far too often we denied we even knew You. But when You come into your kingdom, look towards us, your people, who continue to sin time and time again. Remember us, and don't punish us in accordance with our mistakes.

Our Father, Hail Mary.

Have mercy on us,

Lord, have mercy on us.

God, have mercy on us sinners.

We adore You, o Christ, and we bless You

for by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Abandoned. Abandoned by God and by everyone. No one comes to save Him. No one cares to reach out a hand. Mockery and derision are his reward, a reward for a life given, given so that all people may live. Alone. That's how we will die. Each and every one of us. Alone.

That no-one should die feeling abandoned by God. That no-one should die without another person beside him, crying for him. That no-one should die as a sacrifice to hatred and envy. That no-one should die totally unprepared. It is finished. Father, into your hands I command my spirit.

Let us pray: God of life, silent and powerless we stand before the cross, where your Son, our brother, finished his life. He gave His spirit. And we believe He gave us His Spirit, so that we might live as new people, and accomplish the work He left us to do. Free us again from our eternal failings. Renew the assignment You gave us. Fulfill us, God, with Jesus' spirit: with his love of life..

Our Father, Hail Mary.

Have mercy on us,

Lord, have mercy on us.

God, have mercy on us sinners.

We adore You, o Christ, and we bless You

for by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

The dead Jesus is returned to those who love Him. For His mortal enemies, His lifeless body has lost all significance. Betrayal, scourges, nails and the lance have all done their job. The icy coldness of death is now enshrouded in warm love, tenderness, reverence and respect. Time seems to stand still. The Earth holds its breath. The mother receives the one she bore on her lap.

Silence surrounds the end of a person’s life. Speechlessness remains. There are no words, there is no real comfort. There are memories, stories. Words he spoke are being mentioned. Gestures he made are being made in his remembrance. And there is the belief that this cannot be the end, that the grain of wheat did not fall into the ground just to perish, but to bring forth new, fruitful life again. The murderous work of human beings has been done. Now God gets to speak.

Let us pray: We pray to You, God, for hope.. For hope, that all the dying in this world will not be in vain, that all human lives are not ultimately lived pointlessly. We hope and pray that You will be faithful to who You are: the Living God, the God of the living, the God of the risen Lord, the God of all who have lived their lives in your sight; our God.

Our Father, Hail Mary.

Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us. God, have mercy on us sinners

We adore You, o Christ, and we bless You,

for by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

The grave, the last tribute, the last resting place, the last step, it is over. The big stone as a full-stop at the end of this life. Those who had seen their purpose fulfilled with Jesus' death, could breathe freely when the stone was rolled into place. Or do their restless hearts not manage to find rest, now that Jesus' body has been laid to rest?

The guards at the grave betray their fearful suspicion that this particular dead person won't leave them be, won't let us be. No, this is the real beginning, life. The women at the graveside mourn and wait, not knowing what to expect. The stone seems to hold Jesus pinned down in death, just like their grief keeps the women by the grave. But the stone didn't hold. The women became messengers of life.

And throughout the centuries, up until this day, we experience that death doesn’t have the final word. All victims, the unjustly repressed, those who didn't stand a chance in this world, see that no stone is large enough to make them be forgotten in death. He who descended into hell pulls them up with God's power of resurrection.

Let us pray: Dear God, with the women we wait at the closed tomb, the tomb of our fears and despair, of our lack of faith and our doubts, the tomb of our infertile self-love and heartless inhumanity. And we pray to You, God: roll away the stone that holds us imprisoned in ourselves. Open us so that we may live and become messengers of life for all people around us.

Our Father, Hail Mary.

Have mercy on us,

Lord, have mercy on us.

God, have mercy on us sinners.