Stations of the Cross – When, Where & Why
Lent is a time for reflections, renewal of covenant, and revival of spirit (When & Where)
This year we will have the opportunity to publically profess our faith by walking and praying the
Stations of the Cross near the beginning of Lent.
“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
(Luke 9:23)
You are welcome to come and join us as we take this walk – stopping at each station for prayer and
meditation. This can be a moving experience for individuals or families. Please plan to prayerfully
participate in this very personal walk with Jesus.
Come, just as you are.
How did these Stations come to be? (Why)
From the earliest of days, followers of Jesus told the story of his passion, death and resurrection.
Pilgrims to Jerusalem were anxious to see the sites where Jesus was. These sites become important personal connections with Jesus. After many years and people moving around, it was no longer easy or even possible to visit the holy sites. By the 1500’s, people all over the world started creating “replicas” of the places along the route in Jerusalem. Eventually, these shrines became the 14 stations we now know and celebrate.
You may be wondering why the sites are called Stations of the Cross. The word station comes from the Latin word that means to stand. We are walking from Christ’s trial to His crucifixion at Calvary and we stop and stand at certain sites (stations) that commemorate various events that took place along the way. As you come to each station, you stop, pray, read the scriptures, pray the prayers, and contemplate the situation before moving on. As you walk from one station to the next, your walking becomes a devotional act, because you are walking with Jesus as He walks to Calvary.
On the pages that follow you will find the 14 Stations of the Cross with pictures, the story associated with each station, prayers and meditations.
14 Stations of the Cross
First Station -
Jesus is condemned to death
Prayer
This is for me, such incredible freedom, the availability of a servant. I find the words to express what is in my heart.
Story
: Jesus stands in the most human of places. He has already experienced profound solidarity with so many on this earth, by being beaten and tortured. Now he is wrongfully condemned to punishment by death. His commitment to entering our lives completely begins its final steps. He has said “yes” to God and placed his life in God’s hands. We follow him in this final surrender, and contemplate with reverence each place along the way, as he is broken and given for us.
Prayer
: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Meditation
: As I view the scene, I become moved by both outrage and gratitude. I look at Jesus. His face, the crown of thorns, the blood, His clothes stuck to the wounds on his back. Pilate washes his hands of the whole affair. Jesus’ hands are tied behind his back.
This is for me that I might be free that I might have eternal life.
As the journey begins I ask to be with Jesus, to follow his journey. I express my love and thanks.
Second Station -
Jesus carries His cross
Story
: Jesus is made to carry the cross on which he will die. It represents the weight of all our crosses. What he must have felt as he first took it upon his shoulders! With each step he enters more deeply into our human experience. He walks in the path of human misery and suffering, and experiences its crushing weight.
Prayer
: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Meditation
: I contemplate the wood of that cross. I imagine how heavy it is. I reflect upon all it means that Jesus is carrying it. I look into his eyes. It’s all there.
This is for me. So I place myself with him in this journey, in its anguish, in his freedom and surrender, in the love that must fill his heart.
With sorrow and gratitude, I continue the journey. Moved by the power of his love, I am drawn to him and express my love in the words that come to me.
Third Station
- Jesus falls the first time
Story
: The weight is unbearable. Jesus falls under it. How could he enter our lives completely without surrendering to the crushing weight of the life of so many on this earth! He lays on the ground and knows the experience of weakness beneath unfair burdens. He feels the powerlessness of wondering if he will ever be able to continue. He is pulled up and made to continue.
Prayer
: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Meditation
: I stare at the weakness in his eyes. I can look at his whole body and see the exhaustion. As I behold him there on the ground, being roughly pulled up, I know forever how profoundly he understands my fatigue and my defeats. This is for me. In grief and gratitude I want to let him remain there. As I watch him stand again and gain an inner strength, I accept his love and express my thanks.
Fourth Station
- Jesus meets his mother
Story
: Jesus’ path takes him to a powerful source of his strength to continue. All his life, his mother had taught him the meaning of the words, “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord.” Now they look into each other’s eyes. How piercedthrough her heart must be! How pained he must be to see her tears! Now, her grace-filled smile blesses his mission and stirs his heart to its depth. Love and trust in God bind them together.
Prayer
: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Meditation
: As I watch them in this place along the way, I contemplate the mystery of love’s power to give strength. She knows the sorrow in every mother’s heart who has lost a child to tragedy or violence. I look at the two of them very carefully and long for such love and such peace.
This is for me, such incredible freedom, the availability of a servant. I find the words to express what is in my heart.
