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nwicatholic.com >> Community>>Lent>>Stations of the Cross

STATIONS OF THE CROSS

The Remembrance is 'The Way of the Cross.'    
The Events that took place are the 'Stations of the Cross.'

The One Day to Remember
Jesus suffered and died on the cross for the love of God and for the love of us.  His way of the cross was a way of love.

 

Station One:  Jesus Meets Pilate
Jesus was betrayed by His own apostle named Judas. 
Jesus was taken to prison where He was beaten and crowned with thorns.
Then He was taken to the palace where His enemies shouted that they wanted Jesus put to death. The governor of the palace, Pontius Pilate, gave the order to condemn Jesus to die on the cross.  Jesus was innocent, and yet, He accepted the punishment and would die for the love of His Father God and for the love of us, God's children, who are sinners.

 

Station Two:  Jesus Carries the Cross
The soldiers prepared and brought to Jesus a large wooden cross.
Jesus was tired and weak and in enormous pain for the beating He was given at the palace. 
Yes, Jesus put the heavy cross on His shoulders and began to carry the cross to Calvary where He would die.  The cross is symbolic of a sign of hope and salvation for each one of us. 

 

Station Three:  Jesus Falls for the First Time
The soldiers continue to whip and beat Jesus as He walks the road carrying the enormously heavy cross. 
The crowd throws stones at Him.
The cross is so heavy, that Jesus falls from lack of strength. 
He stumbles forward and falls to the ground, and the cross falls on top of Him further crushing His limp body. 
No one comes forward to help Jesus. 
He is unable to get up.
 

Station Four:  Jesus Meets His Mother
As Jesus lay in the street, He catches a glimpse of His mother, Mary crying.
His mother walked the road to Calvary with her son, Jesus.  Mary traveled with her son many times throughout His life while He taught His people and cured the sick and helped those who sought Him.
Without words passing between them, Jesus knew that His mother Mary loved Him.
He was grateful that she was there for Him.
His love for her gives Him the strength to rise to His feet and lift the cross up onto His shoulders again.  


Station Five:  Simon Helps Jesus Carry the Cross
With every step that Jesus took, the cross seemed to become heavier and heavier. 
A soldier notices that Jesus is so weak, that He is stumbling and will no longer be able to carry the cross by Himself. 
The soldier sees Simon of Cyrene, who is not one of Jesus' followers, and forces him to help Jesus carry the cross the rest of the way. 
Simon of Cyrene shouts out to the crowd in fear that he is not guilty of any crime like Jesus was accused of, but that he was being forced to help Jesus carry his cross. 
Out of fear, he refused to help, but too frightened, he picked up the cross and began to walk with Jesus to Calvary.

Station Six:  Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus
Now there were lots of people who were standing on both sides of the street.
Some were they to see Jesus die, while others were there to see Jesus for the last time.
When they saw him, and the pain He was suffering, and his weakened state, their hearts broke.
A woman approached Jesus with a cloth, and held it out to Jesus, and wiped the blood and sweat from His face.  Her name was Veronica. 
That simple act of selflessness and kindness was the only incident that happened to Jesus that day that was the most loving gesture He could have received. 
As Jesus stepped away, an impression of the face of Jesus was left on the cloth. 
Veronica kissed the cloth and clung to it with both hands.
(Some believe that this is the first "picture" of Jesus. Veronica is the patron saint of photographers.)


Station Seven:  Jesus Falls a Second Time
Even though Jesus had Simon of Cyrene to help carry the weight of half of the cross on His shoulders, Jesus still continued to grow weaker and weaker.
And Jesus fell a second time, and the weight of the cross fell on top of Him.
Simon of Cyrene picked the cross off of Jesus and helped Jesus to His feet.
How could this cross ever be the 'cross of salvation?'
This cross that crushes His body... this cross would save our souls?


Station Eight:  Jesus Meets the Women and Children
Those whose hearts broke when they saw Jesus were the women and children.
The women asked for forgiveness from Jesus for the way so many of them had treated Jesus so cruelly.  They wished they could embrace Jesus and hold Him in their arms the way that Jesus held their own children in His arms when He was teaching them.

 

Station Nine:  Jesus Falls a Third Time
The soldiers continued to whip Jesus and Simon of Cyrene as the crowds mocked and scorned Him.
Those who were followers of Jesus were very frightened, so much so, that some went into hiding.
Jesus could see the top of the hill on Calvary.  He knew it was almost done.
Jesus had lost almost all His strength by the time He took his final steps up the step hill.
Jesus fell for the third and last time under the weight of His own body and the cross.
This time, Jesus does not get up right away, as if this last fall was the fall of His defeat.
 

Station Ten:  Jesus is Stripped of His Clothes
Jesus rose to His feet, and the soldiers tore off his clothing, leaving Him without any dignity.
He was being treated as a common criminal, and the crowds cheered and mocked and humiliated Him.

Those in the crowd that saw Jesus as their enemy, also thought of Jesus as a worthless human being.
Those who followed Jesus and loved Him, believed He was sacrificing His own life so that their might be saved.  They fell down to their knees before Him.


Station Eleven:  Jesus is Nailed to the Cross
It was the practice, at that time in history, that many criminals died on the cross. 
Their hands and feet were tied to the cross, and there they hung and forced to die that way for all to see.
But Jesus was not tied to the cross. 
Instead, the soldiers took razor sharp nails and pierced His hands and His feet to the
cross with the nails. 
The cross was lifted and pushed into a hole the soldiers dug for the cross to stand upright and not fall.
How much more pain and suffering was Jesus to bear for us?



Station Twelve:  Jesus Dies Upon the Cross
Jesus hangs on the cross for our sins.  This might be the 'cross of salvation' after all.
Jesus calls out to God because He felt frightened and abandoned just moments from His death.
He had just about enough strength to take in a breath. 
Mary knelt at the feet of Jesus, kissed His feet, for she knew this was the moment...
Jesus said to Mary and to John, His apostle, "Mother, take care of your son; Son take care of your Mother."
With all His strength drained and His fear gone, He handed over His spirit to God, and died...



Station Thirteen:  Jesus is Placed in Mary's Arms
When all were gone, John, Mary Magledine and some others, took Jesus down from the cross and laid His body in His mother Mary's arms.
Mary recalls when she held Jesus as a child in her arms.
Mary held Jesus like He was a child, except there was no life left in His body.
Mary's heart was broken and empty and she grieved. 
Mary remembers the happiness she had with Jesus, but she also remembers the prophesy.
Her son was the Savior of the World!


Station Fourteen:  Jesus is Laid in the Tomb
When Jesus was born, there was no 'special place' for Him to come into this world.
Jesus was born in a manger, and He rested in His mother's arms. 
She cared for Him and loved him with all her heart.
When Jesus died on Calvary hill, there was no 'special place' for Him to leave this world.
His mother placed his body in a tomb, which became the final resting place for Him.
With the same love she showed to Him when He came into this world,
Mary washed His body and anointed it with perfumes and covered it.

Three days later, on Easter Sunday, Jesus rose from the tomb very much alive,
and our sins were forgiven and our souls were saved!  Amen.


Stations of the Cross for Children
http://www.domestic-church.com/CONTENT.DCC/20020301/FRIDGE/lent_activity.htm
http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0251.html
http://www.cptryon.org/prayer/child/stations/index.html
http://www.sfaparish.com/lent_activities.htm
http://www.sofc.org/CHROSARY/cr_146.htm
http://www.cptryon.org/prayer/child/lent/01.html
http://www.catholiccatechist.org/Files/Lent/Coming_From_the_Tomb.doc
http://www.stpaulsec.org/Stations%20Of%20the%20Cross.pdf


Prayers for Reflection and Meditation
Each station usually begins with:
V. We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
R. Because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

After each station, often sung:

The Stabat Mater
At the Cross her station keeping
Stood the mournful Mother weeping,
Close to Jesus to the last.
Through her heart his sorrow sharing,
All his bitter anguish bearing,
Lo! The piercing sword had passed.
For his people’s sins rejected,
Saw her Jesus unprotected,
Saw with thorns, with scourges rent.
Saw her Son from judgment taken,
Her beloved in death forsaken,
Till his spirit forth he sent.
Jesus, may your Cross defend me,
And your Mother’s prayer befriend me:
Let me die in your embrace.
When to dust my dust returns
Grant a soul, which for you yearns,
In your Paradise a place. Amen.

Prayer Before the Crucifix
Behold, O kind and gentle Jesus, I kneel before you and pray that you would impress upon my heart the virtues of faith, hope, and charity, with true repentance for my sins and a firm purpose of amendment. At the same time, with sorrow I meditate on your five precious wounds, having in mind the words which David spoke in prophecy: "They have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones" (Ps 22).

Anima Christi ("Soul of Christ")
Soul of Christ, sanctify me;
Body of Christ, save me;
Blood of Christ, inebriate me;
Water from the side of Christ, wash me;
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O good Jesus, hear me;
Within your wounds hide me;
Never permit me to be separated from you;
From the wicked enemy defend me;
In the hour of my death call me
And bid me come to your side,
That with your saints I may praise you,
For ever and ever.
Amen.

A Prayer by St. Clare of Assisi
Praise and glory to you, O loving Jesus Christ,
for the most sacred wound in your side,
and by that adorable wound
and by your infinite mercy
which you made known to us in the opening
of your breast to the soldier Longinus,
and so to us all.
I pray to you, O most gentle Jesus,
having redeemed me by baptism
from original sin,
so now, by your Precious Blood,
which is offered and received
throughout the world,
deliver me from all evils,
past, present, and to come.
And, by your most bitter death,
give me a lively faith,
a firm hope, and
a perfect charity,
so that I may love you
with all my heart
and all my soul,
and all my strength;
make me firm and steadfast
in good works
and grant me perseverance
in your service
so that I may be able to please you always.
Amen
.


Origins of the Stations of the Cross
     While many believe the Franciscans founded the devotion of the Stations of the Cross, its roots precede the followers of St. Francis by several centuries, and its development draws from numerous sources.
     Tradition holds that Mary often traced her Son’s route to Calvary, and St. Jerome (c. 342-420) talks about the pilgrims who visited the holy sites in his day. Yet, no set practice existed in the earliest days of the Church. In the fifth century, St. Petronius erected a series of connected chapels that represented locations in Jerusalem at the monastery of San Stefano in Bologna. However, it was not until the Middle Ages that something like our modern stations began to emerge.
     To understand the Stations of the Cross, one needs to examine the medieval mind. Since much of the piety of the Middles Ages was focused on the suffering humanity of Christ, we might view many of the common devotional practices of the time as bordering on the morbid. Jesus, bloodied and battered, was the object of intense medieval adoration. Devotions that centered on the sacred wounds, the precious blood, the supposed "
Seven Falls," the seven last words, the crown of thorns, and the holy cross flourished.
     Inflamed by the desire to join spiritually in Christ’s passion, death, and burial, the well-to-do often made pilgrimages to the Holy Land. While a via sacra ("sacred way") is mentioned by the twelfth century, the word "station," referring to a stop or halting place, was first used by an Englishman, William Wey, who visited the Holy Land in 1458 and 1462.
     In the beginning, the customary route apparently was the reverse of ours, starting with Calvary and ending at Pilate’s house. In addition, many of the stops — including the house of Dives, the city gate, the Ecce Homo arch, the Blessed Virgin’s school, and the house of Simon the Pharisee — are no longer considered part of the Via Dolorosa ("Sorrowful Way").
     When medieval pilgrims returned home, they often brought back a bit of Palestine. In addition to relics, the pilgrims also brought back the desire to re-create scenes from the Holy Land in order to share their experiences with those unable to visit the holy places firsthand.
     When the Turks closed access to the Holy Land, European replicas of the sacred sites became increasingly popular. Commemorative shrines were set up in as many as thirty different locations, including Córdoba, Antwerp, Nuremberg,
Rhodes, and Louvain.
     While the intent was to "re-create" the sacred way, the number of stops varied from as many as forty-two to as few as five. Our current number seems to have derived more from pious literature than actual pilgrim practice. A book written in 1584 lists twelve stations identical to our first twelve; and devotional manuals known as "spiritual pilgrimages," from Germany and the Low Countries, popularized the idea of fourteen stations, but the number was not mandatory. The diocese of Vienne, for instance, used a set of eleven stations as late as 1799.
     One popular German devotion that seems to have exercised considerable influence over the development of the Stations of the Cross was the Seven Falls of Christ. Although the Gospels do not mention any falls, pious tradition held that Christ fell seven times on the way to Calvary, the number seven perhaps corresponding with the seven deadly sins he would soon conquer.
     Jesus was thought to have fallen when he met his mother, when Simon of Cyrene took Jesus’ cross, when Veronica used her veil to wipe his face, and when the women of Jerusalem began to weep — incidents that are reflected in our fourth, fifth, sixth, and eighth stations. The other three falls, which correspond to our third, seventh, and ninth stations, may have had no other distinguishing characteristics and were retained simply as falls.
     The Franciscans became active in the development of the stations when they gained custody of the sacred sites of Jerusalem in 1343 and began promulgating devotion to Christ’s passion. One friar, St. Leonard of Port Maurice, expressed his zeal by erecting 571 sets of stations between 1731 and 1751, becoming known as the "preacher of the way of the cross." It is likely he was also responsible for reversing the order of the stations so that they ended at Calvary rather than at Pilate’s house.
     In 1686, Pope Innocent XI granted to the Franciscans the exclusive right to build stations and, in addition, attached the same indulgence to making the stations as to visiting the sacred sites in Jerusalem. At first, only those associated with the Franciscans, such as members of the Third Order, could obtain the indulgences, but Pope Benedict XIII opened the practice to all the faithful in 1726. While the Franciscans maintained a monopoly on erecting stations for many years, in 1731 Pope Clement XII extended the right to non-Franciscan churches. Today, most American churches contain them, although many great basilicas and European churches do not.
     Because several of the traditional incidents portrayed in the stations are not found in Scripture, Pope Paul VI approved a new, Gospel-based set of stations in 1975. Pope John Paul II himself has prayed this new scriptural Way of the Cross, which begins at the Last Supper and ends with the Resurrection.
     Since the Stations of the Cross is essentially a meditation on the passion and death of Christ, it is unlikely that the stations will ever vanish from Catholic devotional life. As the directory on the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops states: "The sound desire to promote liturgical life carries with it the desire to preserve, foster and even spread those devotions that express and nourish the spirit of prayer," including "the devout meditation on the Lord’s passion known as the Way of the Cross."

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