Retz, Austria
Opening Prayer Help us O Lord to call upon you in all things because you will always listen to us. You promise that if we seek you, we will find you when we search for you with all of our heart. -Jeremiah 29:12-13 (silent reflection) Prayer of the Bible Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all… He poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. -Isaiah 53: 4-6, 12 (Free expression of praise and thanksgiving to God) Confession of Sin O Jesus, blasphemed, accused, and wrongfully condemned have mercy upon us. O Jesus, clothed with a habit of reproach and shame, have mercy upon us. -John Wesley (1703-1791) (Time of silence for confession of sin) The Words of Jesus So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. -John 19:17-20 (Think deeply on these life-giving words of Jesus) Prayers for Ourselves and Others O Lord, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me. -Psalm 22:19 (Time to bring before God our own needs and the needs of others) Closing Prayer I adore, I venerate, I glory in that cross, which You represent to us, and by that cross I adore our merciful Lord, and what He has in mercy done for us!…By You, hell is spoiled; its mouth is closed to the redeemed. By You, demons are afraid, restrained and defeated. By You, the whole world is renewed and made beautiful. Amen -Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109) 
Fussen, Germany
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