During Lent, the Church asks us to
turn towards God by Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving. During Eastertide,
we are to rejoice that the Lord is truly risen. However, any progress
that we may have made during our Lenten effort should not be abandoned.
Eastertide is a great time to consolidate our Lenten effort but with joy
filled attitude.
In this series 'Eastertide Prayer Series', I wish to focus on 6 different types of prayer, all of which we can use during the year, but may concentrate upon during this time of rejoicing. This week, the prayer focus is on The Stations of the Cross.
The erection and use of the Stations did not become at all general before the end of the seventeenth century, but they are now to be found in almost every church. Formerly their number varied considerably in different places but fourteen are now prescribed by authority. They are as follows:
The Stations of the Cross, often referred to as Via Crucis, and Via Dolorosa are used to signify either a series of pictures or tableaux representing certain scenes in the Passion of Christ, each corresponding to a particular incident, or the special form of devotion connected with such representations. Taken in the former sense, the Stations may be of stone, wood, or metal, sculptured or carved, or they may be merely paintings or engravings. Some Stations are valuable works of art, which have been much copied elsewhere. They are usually ranged at intervals around the walls of a church, though sometimes they are to be found in the open air, especially on roads leading to a church or shrine. In monasteries they are often placed in the cloisters.
The object of the Stations is to help us to make in spirit, as it were, a pilgrimage to the chief scenes of Christ's suffering and death and this has become one of the most popular of Catholic devotions. It is carried out by passing from Station to Station, with certain prayers at each and devout meditation on the various incidents in turn. It is very usual, when the devotion is performed publicly, to sing a stanza of the "Stabat Mater" while passing from one Station to the next.
In this series 'Eastertide Prayer Series', I wish to focus on 6 different types of prayer, all of which we can use during the year, but may concentrate upon during this time of rejoicing. This week, the prayer focus is on The Stations of the Cross.
The erection and use of the Stations did not become at all general before the end of the seventeenth century, but they are now to be found in almost every church. Formerly their number varied considerably in different places but fourteen are now prescribed by authority. They are as follows:
- Christ condemned to death;
- Jesus carries His cross.
- Jesus falls the first time;
- Jesus meets His Blessed Mother;
- Simon of Cyrene is made to bear the cross;
- Veronica wipes the face of Jesus;
- Jesus falls the second time;
- Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem;
- Jesus falls the third time;
- Jesus is stripped of His garments;
- Jesus is nailed to the cross;
- Jesus dies on the cross;
- Jesus is taken down from the cross; and
- Jesus is laid in the tomb.
The Stations of the Cross, often referred to as Via Crucis, and Via Dolorosa are used to signify either a series of pictures or tableaux representing certain scenes in the Passion of Christ, each corresponding to a particular incident, or the special form of devotion connected with such representations. Taken in the former sense, the Stations may be of stone, wood, or metal, sculptured or carved, or they may be merely paintings or engravings. Some Stations are valuable works of art, which have been much copied elsewhere. They are usually ranged at intervals around the walls of a church, though sometimes they are to be found in the open air, especially on roads leading to a church or shrine. In monasteries they are often placed in the cloisters.
The object of the Stations is to help us to make in spirit, as it were, a pilgrimage to the chief scenes of Christ's suffering and death and this has become one of the most popular of Catholic devotions. It is carried out by passing from Station to Station, with certain prayers at each and devout meditation on the various incidents in turn. It is very usual, when the devotion is performed publicly, to sing a stanza of the "Stabat Mater" while passing from one Station to the next.
Now the Stations of the Cross are mostly 'performed' during Lent, but it does not prevent us from making the stations of the Cross in Eastertide or throughout the year. In fact, it may help us to reflect in a deeper way the suffering and death of Jesus. Although the stations stop at the tomb, we may also continue our journey enjoying the company of the Risen Lord. It is good to remember that every Friday of the year, except for any major feasts, is also a day of penance. Some people like to make the Stations of the Cross as their form of prayerful penance on Fridays throughout the year.
So although making the Stations of the Cross at first glance may seem an odd focus during Eastertide, it may indeed be a fitting consolidation of our Lenten effort and/or it may give us another opportunity to consider the great love for which Our Saviour suffered and died for each of us personally.
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