Stations

One of my favorite Lenten devotions is the Stations of the Cross. Although they are not just for the Lenten season, this is the time that they are celebrated more in the Parish that I belong to. Stations of the Cross also know as Via Crucis, Via Dolorosa (the sorrowful way), and the Way of the Cross, contemplates the Passion of Christ. The Stations of the Cross is a devotion consisting of Scriptures, prayers and meditation on 14 different occurrences Christ experienced on His way to the crucifixion. The Stations were originally done outdoors as a result of pilgrims to the Holy Lands walking the footsteps of Christ from Pilate’s Praetorium to Calvary. Since it is impossible for most pilgrims to visit the original site, other reproductions of the Stations began to appear.

The officiating celebrant, usually one of the Priests, moving from station to station while the devout make the responses, celebrates the Stations of the Cross at our Parish. The devotion may also be conducted personally by the faithful while they make their way from one station to another as they say the prayers. The Stations at the Church consist of beautiful sculptures depicting each of the 14 Stations and also present is a cross. This is also a favorite practice among the faithful Catholics of our community at an outdoor reproduction of the Stations of the Cross. Here each Station is a full sized cross with the number and a picture that it represents.

The fourteen occurrences of the Stations are as followed:
1. Christ condemned to death;
2. the cross is laid upon him;
3. His first fall;
4. He meets His Blessed Mother;
5. Simon of Cyrene is made to bear the cross;
6. Christ's face is wiped by Veronica;
7. His second fall;
8. He meets the women of Jerusalem;
9. His third fall;
10. He is stripped of His garments;
11. His crucifixion;
12. His death on the cross;
13. His body is taken down from the cross;
14. He is laid in the tomb.

I invite you now to walk the Way of the Cross with me through images, prayers, and mediation.

"First thing in the morning, the chief priests, together with the elders and scribes and the rest of the Sanhedrin, had their plan ready. They had Jesus bound and took him away and handed him over to Pilate. Pilate put to him this question, 'Are you the king of the Jews?' He replied, 'It is you who say it.' And the chief priests brought many accusations against him. Pilate questioned him again, 'Have you no reply at all? See how many accusations they are bringing against you!' But, to Pilate's surprise, Jesus made no further reply."
Mark 15:1-5

"Now as he was seated in the chair of judgment, his wife sent him a message, 'Have nothing to do with that upright man; I have been extremely upset today by a dream that I had about him.'"
Matthew 27:19
"So Pilate went back to the Praetorium and called Jesus to him, 'Are you the king of the Jews?' Jesus replied, 'Do you ask this of your own accord or have others said it to you about me?' Pilate answered, 'Am I a Jew? It is your own people and the chief priests who have handed you over to me: what have you done?'"
John 18:33-35