A new take on the traditional fourteen Stations of the Cross, a devotion prayed as part of Catholic spirituality and that of other denominations. One temptation for each station.
The Temptations of the Stations
Introduction: Tonight, we remember Jesus and His passion through this treasured prayer of the Church, the Stations of the Cross. Now there have been many versions of this prayer passed down through the centuries, but tonight, let us contemplate the way Our Lord may have faced temptations along the way, one temptation for each of the stations; then, may we experience the grace to see how we too are tempted as we walk our life’s spiritual road. Fourteen stations, fourteen temptations.
The first station, Jesus is condemned to death.
Right at the gate, at the starting line of the Way of the Cross, sits Pontius Pilate. In him do we see the foremost temptation. He washed his hands. When face-to-face with Jesus and his fearful passion, the easiest thing for us to do is nothing. Why not save ourselves the headaches and complications? If we never begin, never commit, there’s no obligation to get to the end. The simplest race to run is the one we never start. The crucifixion, the cross, the whole thing’s too depressing we say. We see it in the news, our planet’s got enough problems. Don’t the experts tell us to think positive? Yet so many in our world brush off religion, dismiss it completely, for so many reasons. When questioned by Pilate, Jesus held his peace. He could have given into the temptation to defend himself, to speak out. He could have stopped the whole bloody thing before it even got off the ground. In that case, we’d only have one station to worry about and our prayer tonight would be a whole lot shorter. Jesus could have stopped it, but he chose not to; rather, he chose to embrace it for our sake. As for Pilate, he washed his hands of it all. Will we do the same?
O Lord, when we are tempted to disregard your passion,
Help us to make it even more a part of our lives.
Amen.
Jesus is Condemned to Death.
The second station, Jesus carries His cross.
There’s nothing hidden about how Christ was tempted here, at least at first glance. We see Jesus willingly bearing his cross; yet he was God, and he could have simply put it down and walked away. Who was going to stop God? The key to a deeper meaning lies in a single word: “His.” Jesus didn’t just lift a cross, he lifted “His” cross. Here things got personal–so it is with us. Our Lord’s cross was the sins of the world, of you and of me. What is ours? What is yours? For the mother, it’s her sick daughter; for the teacher, a defiant student; for the shop worker, the thought of doing the same job for the next ten years; for the pastor, his congregation rejecting the changes he’s proposed. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “Taking up one’s cross each day and following Jesus is the surest way of penance.” If at times you wander away from Christ and want to know what to do to return to him, carry your own unique cross.
O Lord, when our own crosses grow heavy,
Lead us not into the temptation to set them down and walk away.
Amen.
Jesus Carries His Cross.
The third station, Jesus falls for the first time
I was doing so well. I made a promise to myself to never to do it again. I went to confession and received God’s mercy and peace, and yet, here I am again, face-down in the dirt. Jesus had just started carrying his cross and he’s already fallen. This third station is the temptation of failure. Yet another chance for Christ to just call it quits. If I’m this tired this early on, I’ll never make it all the way to Calvary. How about us? Can we accept a few false starts? Do we throw in the towel when it’s one step forward and two steps back? Failure screams “You’ll never make it. You’re really not cut out for this. Better quit now before you make a fool of yourself.” Grace answers with mercy and peace.
O Lord, when our failings and weaknesses tempt us to give up,
Help us to see in them a road to new life.
Amen.
Jesus Falls the First Time
The fourth station, Jesus meets His afflicted mother.
In this fourth step, the weight of the cross has begun to take its toll. Sweat pours down Our Lord’s face, the wood presses into His shoulders. Was Jesus tempted to just walk on, pass Mary by? After all, His pain must have been greater than hers, for He was carrying the heavy sins of the world. Yet, through the sweat, Jesus still takes time to see, and to comfort His mother. In doing so, He notices our affliction through her. What a special place God has given to Mary in His kingdom! When we are hurting, it’s easy to go through life with blinders on, easy to focus on our own suffering, give into self-pity. Yet, we come to learn that the Way of the Cross was never meant to be a private prayer. It was meant to be shared, prayed with. Sooner or later, following Jesus brings us eye-to-eye with the afflicted; and there are so many anguished faces –the friend going through a bitter divorce, the sobbing child, the beggar on the street, the mother who can’t remember her children’s names, the grumpy boss, the alcoholic. When we’re at our worst, will we have the grace to see the needs of others?
O Lord, when we are tempted to just walk by,
Help is to meet the needs of those around us.
Amen.
Jesus Meets His Afflicted Mother.
The fifth station. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry His cross.
How did you become a soccer coach, a Cub Scout den leader, a Eucharistic Minister or a cantor at mass? So many times it’s because someone pressed you into service. You weren’t planning on it, but the need was there, and you did your best to help out. Simon had no choice but to help Jesus, after all he was pressed into service by powerful Roman soldiers. Jesus did have a choice whether or not to accept Simon’s assistance. Was this his temptation? The truth may be that God placed on the road that day, the perfect person, a rugged, strong man, to shoulder our Lord’s cross; so it is with us–when we are down and out, God will meet our need, almost always, in the form of another person. It’s up to us to be humble enough to accept what they have to offer.
O Lord, when we need the help of others,
Help us resist the temptation to go it alone.
Amen.
Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus Carry His Cross.
The sixth station. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.
I always wondered about Veronica. Did she really wipe our Lord’s face the way it is so often depicted on the walls of churches? Did the image of the face of Jesus actually remain on the cloth she used? How do we know her name? Wasn’t she just a stranger performing a random act of kindness? It all seems far-fetched. It is difficult to come up with an idea of how Jesus may have been tempted in this scene. Perhaps He was tempted to see the woman who wiped His face as just another stranger on the road. Instead, He sees her as an individual. She has a name, Veronica. He sees her courage, her stepping outside of her circle of fear and doubt to lend a hand. In the same way, Christ knows our name and sees in our actions the true motive for what we do. We may be tempted to underestimate the impact of our deeds because they are so small and simple. As it was for Veronica, so it is with us: when we wipe the face of another, no matter how scarred, we are actually wiping the face of Jesus; and that leaves a lasting imprint, perhaps even an eternal one.
O Lord, when we are tempted to dismiss the importance of little things,
Let us see, in them, the building blocks of God’s kingdom.
Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus.
The seventh station. Jesus falls for the second time.
It happened again. No, rather, I did it again. When I fell the first time, I could dismiss it as weakness, but not this time. This time I knew it was wrong, but I did it anyway. In this second fall, was Jesus tempted to give up on us? After all, it was our sins that cast him to the ground. When we sin, are we tempted to give up on ourselves, on God’s desire to forgive and heal us? Maybe Our Lord’s second fall presents more questions than answers.
O Lord, when sin gets the best of us,
Help us to resist the temptation to give up on ourselves.
Amen.
Jesus Falls for the Second time.
The eighth station. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem.
Self-pity is a temptation for all of us. When we’re down and out, it’s easy to adopt a woe is me attitude. When Jesus saw these woman crying for Him, he tells them not to weep for Him. He could have wept, with them, for Himself, but He didn’t go there. He would not give into self-pity. Jesus tells the women to weep for themselves and for their children. We are not to feel sorry for Our Lord’s sufferings. We are to feel sorrow for our own sins and the sins of others. We weep for ourselves. We mourn our sins. We mourn the sins of the world, the sins that sent Jesus on His way to the cross in the first place.
O Lord, when we are tempted to give into self-pity,
Help us to mourn our sins instead, and to trust in your mercy.
Amen.
Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem.
The ninth station. Jesus falls for the third time.
That’s it. I’m done. I’ve reached the end of my rope. I had faith in others, but they let me down. I had hopes, but they all were dashed. I had love, but all the love I gave was trampled down. I did exactly what I said I wouldn’t do. I go to confession, only to confess the same sins over and over again. I am a mockery of myself. People actually ask me, “Why are you frowning?” They say, “You look like you’ve lost your best friend.” Maybe I have. I’ve fallen unto the ground, fallen away from the friendship of God, and that’s a terrible feeling. What hope do I have left? This station has always moved me, at times, to tears. It’s the one I most identify with, Christ face-down in the dust. When I’m tempted to give up, do I realize that Jesus may also have been tempted to do the same? His human side is crying out in pain and frustration, not sure if He can finish the journey to the cross. It is often in our weakest moment that God comes with his grace. He is able to comfort us, identify with us, because he knows what it is like to fall a third time, and to fall hard.
O Lord, in my worst falls, my darkest hours,
Help me resist the temptation to fall into despair.
Amen.
Jesus Falls for the Third Time.
The tenth station. Jesus is stripped of His clothes.
How appropriate to our modern times is this station? Each time a person is sold in human trafficking, each time a young person is lured into pornography, each time a sex abuse victim fights back feelings of shame, is not our Lord stripped of His clothes? The Lord stands shoulder to shoulder with anyone who has ever been humiliated, teased, bullied, laughed at–all of the things that expose a person, kick them when they’re already down. Did you hear what she did? I can’t believe he said that? You think you know a person. The gossip goes on. Is not the homeless person stripped of his basic means of shelter? What about the child sent out in the cold without a good coat and hat? Was our Lord tempted to clothe himself again instead of stand there naked? When we are stripped of our pride, of our job, of our reputation, do we cover it up with lies or do we accept our human frailty with humility?
O Lord, when we are stripped of our pride,
Help us not to be tempted to give up humility.
Amen.
Jesus is Stripped of His Clothes.
The eleventh station. Jesus is nailed to the cross.
Have you ever felt physical pain? A throbbing toothache, a bad back, even a paper cut can shake up our world and throw us off. What about emotional pain? The betrayal of a friend, seering jealousy, bitter regret, gnawing guilt–all these eat away at our confidence and sense of well-being. Then there’s spiritual pain. What’s that? There are times, like Jesus, that we hurt, hurt down to the very core of our being. There are even times we feel cut off from everyone and everything, even God. Whatever pain we feel in this life, know that Jesus went through it all. Maybe the temptation of this station is the tendency to do anything to numb the hurt, anything to take the edge off a little. Some drink, some escape on drugs, others turn to sex, the casino, or a damaging relationship. Whatever the temptation to “numb out,” know that Jesus understands. He is with you, even in your addictions and darkest hours. By his stripes we were healed. When the bone-slicing nails pierced his hands and feet, He could have done something to end it all. Instead, He thought about you and me, and would have gone through it all, as they say, even if you were the only person on earth.
O Lord, when I am tempted to sin to avoid pain,
Let me unite my suffering to yours.
Jesus is Nailed to the Cross.
The twelfth station. Jesus dies on the cross.
“If you are the son of God, come down from the cross.” It is here at the twelfth station that Christ faced His ultimate temptation. This was His chance to prove everyone wrong, prove He was the son of God; then there would be no doubt in anyone’s mind. People would have no choice but to put their faith in Him. Hadn’t he suffered enough? This was His chance to put an end to it all. Runners know what it’s like to approach the finish line. Do they hold back? No, they pour on the power, giving it all they’ve got. The runner is tempted, each and every second to let up, just a little, and then, to miss their best time yet. Jesus didn’t let up. He finished the race. and even used the words, “It is finished.” Only one tempted in every way can help us resist every kind of temptation and to finish the race started at our baptism.
O Lord, when we are tempted to hold back,
Let us charge forward to finish the race.
Amen.
Jesus Dies on the Cross.
The thirteenth station. Jesus is taken down from the cross.
How hard it is to trust others! As a culture, we pride ourselves in being self-sufficient, in being a self-starter and in knowing we did it ourselves. What’s the problem with this picture? It’s all about me, myself, and I. Did you ever play that game where you fall back and trust that others will catch you? That may be a little of what’s going on in this station. Jesus dies and God entrusts the sacred body of his only son into human hands–the hands of John, the arms of Mary, the care of Joseph of Arimathea. It may be a stretch, but there may have been the temptation for Christ to ascend to His Father as soon as He died. What would be the point in waiting? This station may be teaching us about the temptation to go it alone in our spiritual walk. We need to entrust ourselves to the nearness of friendship, or to our all too flawed family members. It may even mean accepting the help an occasional stranger offers. When we see Mary cradling Jesus, may we trust that she also cradles us. Let us trust God with all of our hearts.
O Lord, when we are tempted to look only to self,
Let us trust in the help others can give.
Jesus is Taken Down From the Cross.
The fourteenth station. Jesus is placed in the tomb.
It’s all over. The funeral dinner is done, the flowers are in back of the car, and it’s time to go home. Go home to what? In the fourteenth station, the last station, one temptation is to see each ending, each failure, each final chapter, as the end of the world, or at least the end of our world. Deep wounds take time to heal. Huge falls take time to recover from. We may be tempted to not allow ourselves the time needed to mend. I am not sure Jesus was actually tempted in this station of His passion. We may never know. What we do know, all of us eventually, is death–the taste of death a serious illness brings, the feeling of losing a job, and finally, the death of someone we dearly loved. In the end, we all identify with the fourteenth station.
O Lord, when we are tempted to see death as the final ending,
Let us cling ever more closely to the hope of your resurrection.
Amen.
Jesus is Placed in the Tomb.
Conclusion: After meditating on the stations of the cross, it is the tradition of many to remember Jesus resurrection from the dead on Easter morning. May this serve as a reminder that there will come a day when all temptations will cease, and that we will share in the glorious kingdom of heaven. As we part, may our reflection on the ways our Lord may have been tempted in the stations lead us to a stronger relationship with God who is Father, Son, and Holy Sprit, who is one God, forever and ever. Amen.
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