THE WAY OF THE CROSS THROUGH EXTREME POVERTY

CONDEMNED Station 1

50,000 people are sentenced to die each day because of extreme poverty.

Lord, help us to find the Way of the Cross to be the way of life, justice and peace. Amen.

BURDENED Station 2

Consider the starving of the world, the 800 million people who go to bed hungry every day.

Lord, give bread to the hungry; give a hunger for justice to those who have bread. Amen.

OVERWHELMED Station 3

Unfair trade rules and crushing debt cost the world’s poorest countries more than $714 billion.

Lord, open our eyes to structures of oppression and free us from apathy and indifference. Amen.

LOVED Station 4

More than half a million women die in pregnancy and childbirth each year, one every second. 99% are in developing countries.

Lord, lead us to advocate for suffering mothers whose health, dignity and choices are in jeopardy from illness, poverty, hunger and violence. Amen.

ASSISTED Station 5

Education reduces poverty, providing choices and opportunities for a better life. 115 million children, 94% in developing countries, are not in school.

Lord, help us to share our blessings of health, education, food and clean water, offering a more hopeful life for millions of your children. Amen.

RECOGNISED Station 6

More than 2.6 billion people have no basic sanitation and more than 1 billion people use unsafe drinking sources of drinking water.

Lord, thank you for the beauty and abundance of the earth. Help us to be good stewards of Your creation. Amen.

STUMBLED Station 7

Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the destitute … defend the rights of the poor and needy.

Lord, let not the needy be forgotten nor the hope of the poor be taken away. Amen.

CRIED Station 8

Gender equality will ensure women an equal chance to improve their lives and the lives of their families especially through education and employment.

Lord, enlighten us to provide women everywhere with equal dignity and opportunity. Inspire every society to oppose violence against women and strengthen gender justice. Amen.

FALLEN Station 9

Every 30 seconds an African child dies from malaria. Every day 8000 people die of AIDS. These are preventable, treatable diseases.

Lord, empower us to be instruments of your healing by advocating for prevention programs and affordable medicines for those without the means to cope with their illnesses. Amen.

DISHONOURED Station 10

The world’s 32.8 million refugees and displaced persons, the results of conflicts over scarce resources and political discord, are those least likely to benefit immediately from global anti-poverty efforts.

Lord, give us courage to take the path of risk. Give us the grace to listen to those whose voice is lost, to hear their cries and shout for justice. Amen.

CRUCIFIED Station 11

When one part of the Body of Christ suffers, we all suffer. ‘God … has given us the ministry of reconciliation’. (2 Corinthians 5: 18)

Lord, in the midst of conflict and division you turn our minds to thoughts of peace. Your Spirit changes our hearts and nations seek peace together. For this we never cease to thank and praise you. Amen.

DIED Station 12

Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda, South Sudan, Darfur … the world is gradually waking up to the fact that genocide is the problem of immense evil.

Lord, forgive us our faint-heartedness and selfishness, for failing to love others as we should, for failing to believe that you have empowered us to protect our sisters and brothers. Amen.

MOURNED Station 13

More than 25% of children under the age of 5 in developing countries are malnourished. More than 11 million of them die each year from preventable illnesses.

Lord, give us the compassion to meet the basic needs of children worldwide for food, clean water, health care, freedom from exploitation, and education. Amen.

BURIED Station 14

Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons … will you strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being?

Lord, grant that all who are baptised into the death of your Son may live in the power of his resurrection and look for him to come again in glory. Amen.