THE FOURTEENTH STATION OF THE CROSS
Jesus Is Laid in the Tomb

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L:  We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
     (Bow)
All:  By your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

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L:  Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. He and Joseph took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. Now there was a garden in the place where Jesus was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.     (John 19:39-42)

(Kneel/sit and pause for reflection)

L:  Thus says the Lord GOD:

All:  "I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the LORD. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken and will act," says the LORD.     (Ezekiel 37:12-13a,14)

L:  Let us pray.  God of hope, you have promised that if we are buried with Christ in the waters of Baptism, then we too will rise with him to new life.  Make us ever mindful of our baptism and remove all stain of sin from us through repentance, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.

All:  Amen

(Stand and move to the next station, singing:)

          Jesus, risen, be our lover
          In Communion and each other,
          Lead us home to heav'n with you.

On to Closing Prayer
Before the Altar...

The Stations Of The Cross: . .

OPENING PRAYER
Before the Altar

THE FIRST STATION
Jesus Is Condemned to Death

THE SECOND STATION
Jesus Carries His Cross

THE THIRD STATION
Jesus Falls the First Time

THE FOURTH STATION
Jesus Meets His Afflicted Mother

THE FIFTH STATION
Simon Helps Jesus Carry His Cross

THE SIXTH STATION
A Woman Offers Comfort to Jesus

THE SEVENTH STATION
Jesus Falls a Second Time

THE EIGHTH STATION
Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem

THE NINTH STATION
Jesus Falls a Third Time

THE TENTH STATION
Jesus Is Stripped of His Clothes

THE ELEVENTH STATION
Jesus Is Nailed to the Cross

THE TWELFTH STATION
Jesus Dies on the Cross

THE THIRTEENTH STATION
Jesus Is Taken Down from the Cross

THE FOURTEENTH STATION
Jesus Is Laid in the Tomb

Closing Prayer
Before the Altar