Stations of the Cross

One of my memories from my time as a student at St. Rose in the early 1960s is being an altar server on Good Friday. In our black cassocks and white surplices, we would carry the candles and the cross as the priest led a church full of parishioners in the Stations of the Cross.

They are hard to miss, the massive wood carvings that line the walls of St. Rose.  The Stations of the Cross - seven on each side, fourteen in all — each one depicting a scene from our Lord‘s last hours. Carved in Italy by craftsmen specifically for St. Rose, they were installed when the present church was built.

Devotion to the Stations of the Cross can be traced to the late 4th century when pilgrims flocked to the Holy Land from all parts of the world. Processions to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built by Emperor Constantine in 335 AD atop Calvary and the tomb of Jesus, were common.

The Gospels, especially St. Luke’s, recall incidents that occurred when Jesus was condemned and made his way to Calvary, but since the Jerusalem of his day was almost completely destroyed by Roman armies in 70 AD, only a few places such as the place where he died and was buried, were really known to early Christian pilgrims.

Over the years, pilgrim processions– beginning at the ruins of the Fortress Antonia and ending at the church of the Holy Sepulcher–were accepted as the way Jesus went to his death. The route was known as the “Via Dolorosa” or the “Sorrowful Way.” Today, it winds through the crowded areas of Jerusalem’s Old City and pilgrims still prayerfully travel it.

The Stations of the Cross are a Christian tradition and out of the fourteen traditional Stations of the Cross, only eight have a clear scriptural foundation. Some incidents in the Stations are not mentioned in the Gospels, for example his three falls, his meeting with his mother, and his meeting with Veronica who wipes his face with a cloth. Where then did these come from? They came from pilgrims devoutly meditating on the passion of Jesus. For example, John’s Gospel reports that Mary stood by the cross of Jesus. (John 19,25-27) Wouldn’t she been among the crowd accompanying him to Calvary and wouldn’t they have met on the way? Pilgrims believed that surely they did.

The practice of praying the Stations originated in medieval Europe when pilgrims were unable to visit the Holy Land, so instead “visited” these Holy places through prayer. St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan order, authored the Stations of the Cross that popularized the devotion throughout the world.

Here at St. Rose, we are blessed to have a number of different ministries that will lead us through the fourteen Stations, adding their unique perspectives to our meditations and prayers. Join us in the church every Friday evening in Lent, beginning on March 4 and concluding on Good Friday, April 15, as we walk with our Lord through the Stations of the Cross.

- Deacon Ed

Note: Stations of the Cross will be held in the Church every Friday @ 7pm during Lent.