Stations of the Cross

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The 12th Station of the Cross - Jesus dies on the Cross. This particular station is found in St. Raphael's Cathedral, Dubuque, Iowa.

The Stations of the Cross (or Way of the Cross; in Latin, Via Crucis; also called the Via Dolorosa or Way of Sorrows, or simply, The Way) refers to the depiction of the final hours (or Passion) of Jesus, and the devotion commemorating the Passion. The tradition as chapel devotion began with St. Francis of Assisi and extended throughout the Roman Catholic Church in the medieval period. It is less often observed in the Anglican and Lutheran churches. It may be done at any time, but is most commonly done during the Season of Lent, especially on Good Friday and on Friday evenings during Lent.

1 Spiritual significance
- 1.1 Catholic reparations
2 The stations
- 2.1 Traditional form
- 2.2 Alternate forms
  - 2.2.1 Including the resurrection
  - 2.2.2 Scriptural Way of the Cross
3 Modern Usage
4 Debates regarding the Stations of the Cross
- 4.1 The place of the resurrection in the Stations
- 4.2 De-Latinization and the Stations of the Cross in the Ukrainian Byzantine Catholic Church
5 Gallery
6 References
7 See also
8 External links

[edit] Spiritual significance

The object of the Stations is to help the faithful to make a spiritual pilgrimage of prayer, through meditating upon the chief scenes of Christ's sufferings and death. It has become one of the most popular devotions for Roman Catholics, as well as featuring in the worship and devotion of other Christian denominations.

[edit] Catholic reparations

10th Station of the Cross - Jesus is stripped of His garments
Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

In the Roman Catholic tradition, the meditation is often performed in a spirit of reparation for the sufferings and insults that Jesus endured during His Passion.^[1]

In his encyclical letter, Miserentissimus Redemptor, on reparations, Pope Pius XI called Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ a duty for Catholics and referred to them as "some sort of compensation to be rendered for the injury" with respect to the sufferings of Jesus.^[2]

Pope John Paul II referred to Acts of Reparation as the "unceasing effort to stand beside the endless crosses on which the Son of God continues to be crucified".^[3]

[edit] The stations

[edit] Traditional form

Reenacting the Stations of the Cross in Jerusalem on the Via Dolorosa from the Lions' Gate to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Tomb of Jesus

The Stations themselves are usually a series of 14* pictures or sculptures depicting the following scenes:

Jesus is condemned to death
Jesus receives the cross
Jesus falls the first time
Jesus meets His Mother
Simon of Cyrene carries the cross
Veronica wipes Jesus' face with her veil
Jesus falls the second time
Jesus meets the daughters of Jerusalem
Jesus falls the third time
Jesus is stripped of His garments
Crucifixion: Jesus is nailed to the cross
Jesus dies on the cross
Jesus' body is removed from the cross (Pietà)
Jesus is laid in the tomb and covered in incense.

[edit] Alternate forms

[edit] Including the resurrection

An alternate set of stations is widely used in the Philippines,^{[citation needed]} where most of the population is Roman Catholic. Although not part of the traditional set of Stations, the Resurrection of Jesus is now more and more integrated as part of The Way. Usually at the end of these stations there is a place where one can light candles and place them upon an altar.

Note that this form departs from the traditional form by including the resurrection (see later section on the place of the resurrection in the Stations).

Jesus institutes the Eucharist
Jesus prays in Gethsemane
Jesus before the Sanhedrin
Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns
Jesus carries the cross to Calvary
Jesus falls under the weight of the cross
Jesus is helped by Simon of Cyrene
Jesus meets the pious women of Jerusalem
Jesus is nailed on the cross
Jesus promises Heaven to the repentant thief
Jesus entrusts Mary and John to each other
Jesus suffers and dies on the cross
Jesus is taken down from the cross, and is laid in the tomb
Jesus rises from the dead

[edit] Scriptural Way of the Cross

El Greco's Jesus Carrying the Cross, 1580.

Main article: Scriptural Way of the Cross

Out of the fourteen traditional Stations of the Cross, only eight have scriptural foundation: Stations 3, 4, 6, 7, and 9 being unattested in any of the gospels; and Station 13 being a misrepresentation of the gospel account (it represents Jesus's body being taken down off the cross and laid into the arms of Mary, while all four gospels state that Joseph of Arimathea alone took Jesus down from the cross and buried him). In order to correct these deficiencies, Pope John Paul II introduced a new form of devotion, called the Scriptural Way of the Cross on Good Friday 1991. He celebrated that form thereafter at the Colosseum in Rome.^[4]^[5] In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI approved this set of stations for meditation and public celebration: They follow this sequence:

Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemani,
Jesus is betrayed by Judas and arrested,
Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin,
Jesus is denied by Peter,
Jesus is judged by Pilate,
Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns,
Jesus takes up his cross,
Jesus is helped by Simon to carry his cross,
Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem,
Jesus is crucified,
Jesus promises his kingdom to the good thief,
Jesus entrusts Mary and John to each other,
Jesus dies on the cross,
Jesus is laid in the tomb.

[edit] Modern Usage

The 4th station of the way of the cross on the Matyska in Radziechowy, Poland.

In the Roman Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II led an annual public prayer of the Stations of the Cross at the Roman Colosseum on Good Friday. Originally, the Pope himself carried the cross from station to station, but in his last years, he presided over the celebration from a stage on the Palatine Hill, while others carried the cross. Just days prior to his death in 2005, Pope John Paul II observed the Stations of the Cross from his private chapel in the Vatican. Each year a different person is invited to write the meditation texts for the Stations. Past composers of the Papal Stations include several non-Catholics. The Holy Father himself wrote the texts for the Jubilee year 2000 and used the traditional Stations.

The celebration of the Stations of the Cross is especially common on the Fridays of Lent, especially Good Friday. Community celebrations are usually accompanied by various songs and prayers. Particularly common as musical accompaniment is the sequence Stabat Mater Dolorosa. At the end of each station, the Adoramus Te is sometimes sung. The Alleluia is also sung; however, that holy word is buried during Lent.

Structurally, Mel Gibson's 2004 film, The Passion of Christ, follows the Stations of the Cross. The fourteenth and last station, the Burial, is not prominently depicted (compared to the other thirteen) but it is implied since the last shot before credit titles is Jesus resurrected and about to leave the tomb.

While many station meditations focus on the cause of Jesus' suffering, which is human sin, there are some meditations that focus on the effects of Jesus' suffering, such as healing and forgiveness. In the 2006 version of Michael Tigue's "Charismatic Stations of the Cross", one finds a very positive outlook on the graces flowing from each station of the cross.

Will Scally, Produced and Directed `Stations of The Cross` for Radio Telefis Eireann (RTE), and several other language dubs, including `Welsh` for S4C.

[edit] Debates regarding the Stations of the Cross

[edit] The place of the resurrection in the Stations

Some Christians^{[citation needed]} maintain that the traditional Stations of the Cross are incomplete without a final scene depicting the empty tomb and/or Jesus rising from the dead (the Resurrection). This view comes about because without Jesus' rising from the dead he would not have accomplished the salvation that Christians believe was his mission. This same consideration that causes the three days commencing with the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper on Maundy Thursday and concluding with Vespers on the evening of Easter Sunday to be regarded as a liturgical unity, the so-called Holy Triduum (also known as the Easter Triduum or Paschal Triduum). Giovanni Campanioni of Croatia was instrumental in this.

Advocates of the traditional form of the Stations ending with the body of Jesus being placed in the tomb point out that the Stations are intended as a meditation on the atoning death of Jesus, and not as a complete picture of his life, death, and resurrection.

The Stations of the Resurrection (also known by the Latin name of Via Lucis) are used in some churches at Eastertide to meditate on the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus.

[edit] De-Latinization and the Stations of the Cross in the Ukrainian Byzantine Catholic Church

In recent years, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has embarked on a campaign of de-Latinization reforms consisting of the removal of the stations of the cross, the rosary and the monstrance from the liturgy and parishes of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. In response a schismatic group, the Society of Saint Josaphat (SSJK), has formed with a seminary in Lviv, at which currently thirty students reside. The SSJK is affiliated with the Society of St. Pius X. Critics claim that the SSJK's liturgical practice favors severely abbreviated services and favors imported Roman devotions over the traditional and authentic practices and devotions of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Proponents counter that these symbols and rituals, borrowed from their Roman Catholic Polish neighbors have been practised by Ukrainian Greek Catholics for centuries now, and to deny them is to deprive themselves of a part of their sacred heritage which is a valuable reminder of Jesus' suffering.