I have found the following version of THE WAY OF THE CROSS to be VERY helpful during Lent, especially when used in conjunction with this well-known Act of Contrition:
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee. I detest my sins because of Thy just punishments, but most of all because they offend Thee my God, Who art good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of thy grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin.
My preference, and the one indicated in the Missal, is to pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary in Latin. You can, of course, pray the Pater Noster and the Ave Maria in English if that works better for you.
(Many of the) Images used here are taken from Catholic Culture:
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/prayers/view.cfm?id=1010
INTRODUCTORY PRAYER:
O Jesus, my adorable Saviour, behold me here prostrate, emploring Thy mercy for myself, and for the souls of all the faithful departed. Vouchsafe to apply to me all the merits of Thy passion on which I am now about to meditate. Grant that, while I trace this path of sighs and tears, my heart may be so touched with contrition and repentance that I may be ready to embrace with joy all the sufferings and humiliations of this life and pilgrimage.
V. Thou, O Lord, wilt open my lips.
R. And my tongue shall announce Thy praise.
V. Incline unto my aid, O God.
R. O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be, etc.
As it was, etc.
FIRST STATION
Jesus is condemned to death
V. I adore Thee O Christ and I bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
Leaving the house of Caiphas, where He had been blasphemed, and the house of Herod, where He had been mocked, Jesus is dragged before Pilate, His back torn with scourges, His head crowned with thorns; and He, who on the last day will judge the living and the dead, is Himself condemned to a disgraceful death.
Prayer -- It was for me Thou didst suffer, O blessed Jesus; it was for my sins Thou wast condemned to die. Grant that I may detest them, and by this repentance obtain Thy mercy and pardon.
Act of Contrition, Pater Noster..., Ave Maria...
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
A heavy cross is laid upon the bruised shoulders of Jesus. He receives it with meekness, nay, with a secret joy, for it is the instrument with which He is to redeem the world.
Prayer -- O Jesus, grant me, by virtue of Thy Cross, to embrace with meekness and cheerful submission the difficulties of my state, and to be ever ready to take up my cross and follow Thee.
Act of Contrition, Pater Noster..., Ave Maria...
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
Labouring under the weight of the cross, Jesus slowly sets forth on the way to Calvary, amidst the mockeries and insults of the crowd. His agony in the garden has exhausted His body; He is sore with blows and wounds; His strength fails Him; He falls to the ground under the cross.
Prayer -- O Jesus, Who for my sins didst bear the heavy burden of the cross, and didst fall under its weight, may the thoughts of Thy sufferings make me watchful over myself, and save me from any grievous fall into sin.
Act of Contrition, Pater Noster..., Ave Maria...
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
Still burdened with the cross, and wounded yet more by His fall, Jesus proceeds on His Way. He is met by His Mother. What a meeting that must have been! What a sword of anguish must have pierced that Mother's heart!
Prayer -- O Jesus, by the compassion which Thou didst feel for Thy Mother, have compassion on me, and give me a share in her intercession. O Mary, afflicted Mother, intercede for me, that through the sufferings of thy Son, I may be delivered from the wrath to come.
Act of Contrition, Pater Noster..., Ave Maria...
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
As the strength of Jesus fails, and He is unable to proceed, the executioners seize and compele Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross.
Prayer -- O Lord Jesus, may it be my privilege also to bear Thy cross; may I glory in nothing else; by it may the world be crucified unto me, and I unto the world; may I never shrink from suffering, but rather rejoice if I be counted worthy to suffer for Thy Name's sake.
Act of Contrition, Pater Noster..., Ave Maria...
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
As Jesus proceeds on the Way, covered with the sweat of death, a woman, moved with compassion, makes her way through the crowd, and wipes His face with a handkerchief. As a reward for her piety the impression of His sacred countenance is miraculously imprinted on the handkerchief.
Prayer -- O Jesus, may the contemplation of Thy sufferings move me to hate my sins, and kindle in my heart more fervent love for Thee. May Thy image be engraven on my mind until I am transformed into Thy likeness.
Act of Contrition, Pater Noster..., Ave Maria...
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
The pain of His wounds and the loss of His blood
Prayer -- O Jesus, falling again under the burden of my sins, how often have I grieved thee! Oh, may I rather die than ever offend Thee again.
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
At the sight of the sufferings of Jesus, some holy women in the crowd were so touched with sympathy that openly bewailed and lamented Him. Jesus turned to them and said: " Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, but for yourselves and for your children."
Prayer -- O Lord Jesus, I mourn, and will mourn, both for Thee and for myself; for Thy sufferings, and for my sins which caused them. Oh, teach me so to mourn so that I may be comforted, and escape those dreadful judgements prepared for all who reject or neglect Thee in this life.
Act of Contrition, Pater Noster..., Ave Maria...
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
Jesus had now arrived almost at the summit of Calvary; but before He reached the spot where He was to be crucified, His strength again failed Him and He fell for the third time, to be again dragged up and goaded onward by the brutal soldiery.
Prayer -- O Lord Jesus, I entreat Thee, by the merits of Thy third painful fall, to pardon my frequent relapses and long continuance in sin; and may the thought of Thy sufferings make me hate my sins more and more.
Act of Contrition, Pater Noster..., Ave Maria...
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
Arrived at last at the place of sacrifice, they prepare to crucify Him. His garments are torn from His bleeding Body, and He, the Holy of Holies, stands exposed to the vulgar gaze of the rude and scoffing multitude.
Prayer -- O Lord Jesus, Thou didst endure this shame for my shameful deeds Strip me, I beseech Thee, of all false shame, conceit and pride; and make me humble myself voluntarily in this life, that I may escape the everlasting ignonomy in the world to come.
Act of Contrition, Pater Noster..., Ave Maria...
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
The cross is laid upon the ground, and Jesus is stretched upon His bed of death. At one and the same time, He offers His bruised limbs to His heavenly Father on behalf of sinful man and to His fierce executioners to be nailed to the disgraceful wood. The blows are struck and the blood gushes forth.
Prayer -- O Jesus, nailed to the cross, fasten my heart there also, that it may be united to Thee until death; strike me with its fatal blow, and with my last breath I shall have yielded my soul to Thee.
Act of Contrition, Pater Noster..., Ave Maria...
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
For three hours Jesus hung upon His transfixed hands; His Blood ran in streams down His Body, and bedewed the ground; and in the midst of excruciating sufferings, He has pardoned His murderers, promised the bliss of paradise to the penitent thief and committed His blessed Mother and beloved disciple to each other's care. All is now consummated, and meekly bowing His head He dies.
Prayer -- O Jesus, I devoutly venerate that honoured Cross upon which Thou didst love me even unto death. In that death I place all my confidence. Henceforth, let me live only for Thee; and when dying, let me die loving only Thee.
Act of Contrition, Pater Noster..., Ave Maria...
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
The multitude have left the heights of Calvary, and none remain save the beloved disciple and the holy women, who, at the foot of the cross, are striving to stem the grief of Christ's inconsolable Mother. Later Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus take the Body of her divine Son from the cross, and deposit it in her arms.
Prayer -- O Mary, Mother of Jesus whose grief was boundless as an ocean that hath no limits, give me a share in the sorrow of thy sufferings of Thy Son, and have compassion on my infirmities. Accept me, with the beloved disciple, as thy child. Show thyself a mother unto us; and may thy Divine Son, through thee, receive our prayers.
Act of Contrition, Pater Noster..., Ave Maria...
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
The Body of her dearly beloved Son is taken from His Mother, and laid in the tomb. The tomb is closed, and the lifeless Body remains until the hour of its glorious Resurrection.
Prayer -- I too, O God, will descend into the grave whenever it shall please Thee, as it shall please Thee, and wheresoever it shall please Thee. Let Thy just decrees be fulfilled; let my sinful body return to its parent dust; but do Thou, in Thy great mercy, receive my immortal soul; and when my body has risen, place it likewise in Thy kingdom, that I may love and bless Thee for ever and ever. Amen,
Act of Contrition, Pater Noster..., Ave Maria...
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