Lent - Day 30, The Stations of the Cross

The daily readings for today are: Psalms am: 69, 73; Jere 22:13-23; Romans 8:12-27; and John 6:41-51

Lent is now coming closer to it's end, and following Lent is Holy Week which goes from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday.

As we come closer to the celebration of the cross, the death and resurrection, I want to stop at what has been traditionally called "The Stations of the Cross".

These "Stations" as they are called, were spots along the journey that took Christ from Gethsemane to Pilate where he was condemned to die through to his burial in the tomb on that Good Friday. The celebration of the Stations came about in the Middle Ages, presumably like stained glass windows, the enacting of these stations visibly spoke to a population of Christians who may have been largely uneducated.

There are several ways to approach the fourteen stations of the cross. While Catholics traditionally celebrate it one way, it has precedence to be celebrated more broadly. I like the revised version first done by Pope John Paul in 1991 because it is more comprehensive of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday's lessons.

First Station: Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane
Second Station: Jesus, Betrayed by Judas, is Arrested
Third Station: Jesus is Condemned by the Sanhedrin
Fourth Station: Jesus is Denied by Peter
Fifth Station: Jesus is Judged by Pilate
Sixth Station: Jesus is Scourged and Crowned with Thorns
Seventh Station: Jesus Bears the Cross
Eighth Station: Jesus is Helped by Simon the Cyrenian to Carry the Cross
Ninth Station: Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem
Tenth Station: Jesus is Crucified
Eleventh Station: Jesus Promises His Kingdom to the Good Thief
Twelfth Station: Jesus Speaks to His Mother and the Disciple
Thirteenth Station: Jesus Dies on the Cross
Fourteenth Station: Jesus is Placed in the Tomb

As stated before, this is a variation on the traditional stations of the cross, but nevertheless, it has been used before -- even by Pope John Paul himself.

There are spiritual exercises to entered into at each station. These consist mainly of prayer and contemplation - which is another way of saying these stations are not primarily intellectual exercises. There are usually prayers and liturgies for each station, but I prefer to contemplate and seek to put myself in the scene and then pray out of that meditative heart.

Why do them?

Because ultimately they help me remember what I read in the Psalms today, and what was spoken by both Paul in Romans 8, and Jesus in John 6...that in the death of Christ we have life. It is this life that is both eternal and present for us that makes life much more than survival, a gutting it out process, a hope that we'll get ahead if we just do the right things, and therefore all of life will be a pleasant journey. It is this life of Jesus that ends tragically in his death and burial that also leads towards resurrection. It's a way of reminding myself that Jesus ultimately didn't fall into the hands of political and religious rulers who apparently have the day -- even today at times that seems true -- but he fell into the hands of His father, and so death could not hold him, and resurrection to life was THE reality.

Think and pray...we will all someday also come to death's door. It is enough to know that our lives are in the hands of the Father of life, and that through His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, there is everlasting life and not simply just death.

A Prayer:

"Father of mercy and love, Jesus, My Savior and friend, Holy Spirit, my comforter and guide, to you, One God, belongs glory and honor and praise. For you are life and in you is life both now and forever. Amen."