The Stations (or Way) of the Cross are a mini pilgrimage; a set of prayers and meditations which help us to remember and share in the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ. This meditation on the death of Our Lord is undertaken by individuals and groups throughout the whole year. However it is a particularly popular devotion during the season of Lent.
History
During the early centuries of the church, Christians travelled to Jerusalem to walk in Jesus’ footsteps. Pilgrims travelling to the site of Christ’s crucifixion often walked one particular route (known from the 16th century as the Via Dolorosa). Following the ‘Way of the Cross’ they would stop at regular intervals to pray and to remember key moments of Jesus’ suffering and crucifixion. During the Middle Ages, as pilgrimage to the Holy Land became difficult, imitation Ways of the Cross spread across Europe.
The number of stations (scenes) marking Jesus’ journey to the Cross has varied considerably over the centuries. Starting as an outdoor devotion on roads leading to a church or shrine, by the end of the 17th century sets of images had found their way inside religious houses and churches.
In 1731 Clement XII fixed the number at 14 and that has remained the custom since then, although the scenes and prayers continue to change. The addition of a 15th station, the Resurrection of the Lord, has grown in popularity during the twentieth century.
Sharing the Stations of the Cross
We invite you to join our Parish, either in person or online, in sharing the Way of the Cross. In our online version we are grateful to the Kiltegan Fathers (Saint Patrick’s Missionary Society) for permission to use a text written by them. The following websites carry a selection of other versions of the stations and may also be of interest.
www.fisheaters.com This version of the stations prayers was written by St. Alphonsus Liguori in approx 1787 and is one of the most popular forms of the devotion used today.
Vatican Website On Good Friday 1991, Pope John Paul II established a new set of meditations known as the Scriptural Way of the Cross. This link contains the new Scriptural Way of the Cross with meditations written by Pope John Paul II as they were prayed on Good Friday 2000 AD.
www.cptryon.org (Bread on the Waters Website) provides an excellent introduction to the Stations of the Cross for Children.
www.cptryon.org/links A good page of links to other information about the Stations of the Cross.
University of Dayton Marian resources A page of information about the hymn “Stabat Mater” which is traditionally sung as congregations move between stations in church.
Praying the Stations of the Cross
Praying the Way of the Cross requires only that you meditate on each station.
Before each station you may say: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you, because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.
After each station you may say an Our Father, Hail Mary, or Glory be to the Father.
Please visit our online Stations of the Cross. The images appear in St. Edward’s Church, Kettering. They were donated to the church in 1940 by the Drake Lee Family, in memory of Dr. Daniel Drake Lee, a local parishioner.