From the earliest days of the church, a favored devotion of Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem was to retrace the via dolorosa, the “path of sorrow” that Jesus walked on his journey to Calvary. St. Francis of Assisi is credited with developing the practice of replicating the Way of the Cross by an artistic depiction of its “stations”—each scene along the final journey of Jesus. You now find Stations of the Cross around the walls of most Catholic churches. Though traditionally set at fourteen, some churches have a fifteenth station representing the Resurrection. Jesus’ way of the cross did not end on Calvary; God raised him up to new life for us all. One typical pattern of prayer is as follows:

  • At each station, pause and say: “We adore you, o Christ, and we praise you, because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.”
  • Name the station. For example, “The first station, Jesus is condemned to death.”
  • Mediate for a few moments on the event that the station represents.
  • Pray an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be; move to the next station.

The following fourteen are the more traditional stations:

  1. Jesus is condemned to death.
  2. Jesus takes up his cross.
  3. Jesus falls the first time.
  4. Jesus meets his mother.
  5. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry his cross.
  6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.
  7. Jesus falls the second time.
  8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem.
  9. Jesus falls the third time.
  10. Jesus is stripped of his garments.
  11. Jesus is nailed to the cross.
  12. Jesus dies on the cross.
  13. Jesus is taken down from the cross.
  14. Jesus is laid in the tomb

WRITTEN BY: Thomas H. Groome—from the book, “Catholic Spiritual Practices”

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