We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. 
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Our Father, Who art in heaven; hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen. 

Glory be to the Father and the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. 

Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit Thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. 

Have mercy on us Lord. Have mercy on us Lord.

I look at their faces.  So full of love and gratitude, loss and fear.  I contemplate what words might have passed between them. 

I remember all his tender, compassionate, merciful love for me.  I place myself with these women and children to support him. 

This is for me.  So, I let this scene stir up deep gratitude.

I pause to contemplate him there on the ground. The brokeness that makes me whole.  The surrender that gives me life. 

I pause to experience and receive how completely he loves me. He is indeed completely poured out for me. 

As I treasure this gifted experience, I express what is in my heart.

I pause to watch the stripping.  I contemplate all that is taken from him.  And, how he faces his death with such nakedness. 

I reflect upon how much of himself he has revealed to me.  Holding nothing back. 

As I look at him in his humility, I know that this is for me, and I share my feelings of gratitude.

I make myself watch the nails being driven through his flesh.  And I watch his face. 

I contemplate the completeness of his entry into our lives.  Can there be any pain or agony he would not understand? 

This is for me.  Nailed to a cross to forever proclaim liberty to captives.  What sorrow and gratitude fill my heart!

I stand there, at the foot of the cross, side by side with all of humanity, and behold our salvation. 
I carefully watch and listen to all that is said. 

And then, I experience the one who gives life pass from life to death, for me.  I console Mary and John and Mary.  And let them console me. 

This is the hour to express the deepest feelings within me.

I behold this scene at the foot of the cross.  I contemplate touching, caressing his body.  I remember all his hands have touched, all who have been blessed by his warm embrace. 

I pause to let it soak in.  He knows the mystery of death.  He has fallen into God's hands. 

For me.  That I might love as I have been loved.  I pour out my heart to the God of all mercies.

I pause to contemplate this act of closure on his life.  In solidarity with all humanity, his body is taken to its grave. 

I stand for a moment outside this tomb.  This final journey of his life has shown me the meaning of his gift of himself for me.  This tomb represents every tomb I stand before with fear, in defeat, struggling to believe it could ever be empty. 

In the fullness of faith in the Risen One, given by his own Holy Spirit, I express my gratitude for this way of the cross.  I ask Jesus, whose hands, feet and side still bear the signs of this journey, to grant me the graces I need to take up my cross to be a servant of his own mission.