Stations of the Cross during Lent:  Noon at St. Mary’s Church,                                                                                                                               5pm at Sacred Heart Church

Lenten Pilgrimage: Stations of the Cross

When was the last time you went to the Stations of the Cross in our parish community? Sadly, attendance is often weak at these Lenten devotions. This is understandable. We live in a busy world and may not be able to get to church for the scheduled time. Yet this beautiful, ancient tradition should not be overlooked. The Stations of the Cross, as we know them today, have been practiced by Catholics for nearly 1,000 years. In 1731, Pope Clement XII gave Catholics permission to display the stations in their churches. Since that time, especially during Lent, the faithful have gathered at church to pray and reflect upon the Stations of the Cross.

During the Lenten season, Catholics of all ages will be spending the 40 days reflecting on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. One of the ways that communities relive the path of the Lord to His final hours on earth is through the Stations of the Cross. Catholic Community of Holy Family show and witness our unity in purpose, support and goal through the Lenten Stations of the Cross. Every Friday during Lent, all parishioners are invited and encouraged (12.00 PM St. Mary’s, Dansville and 5.00PM Sacred Heart, Perkinsville), to make a pilgrimage to the hoisting church and pray together the powerful and most traditional Catholic prayer and devotion of the Stations of the Cross. The Stations of the Cross, the mini pilgrimage along the road to Calvary reveals to its participants the very heart of Christianity. Not only do the Stations display the love of God for His people, but they also provide the answer to the fundamental problem within the human experience: the problem of suffering.

The Via Crucis, the Way of the Cross, or commonly known as the Stations of the Cross, is a journey made in the Holy Spirit, that divine fire which burned in the heart of Jesus (cf. Lk 12:49-50) and brought Him to Calvary. This is a journey well esteemed by the Church since it has retained a living memory of the words and gestures of the final earthly days of her Spouse and Lord. The prayer of the Stations of the Cross serves us with many other purposes—it is a reminder that our life is a journey, or a pilgrimage from our exile home to our true home in Heaven; it reminds us also that our life is a journey of our own personal commitment in answer to the demands of following Christ which imply that His disciples must follow behind the Master, daily carrying their own crosses.

There are times that even after the Lenten season; we do not experience the triumph or the victory of Easter Sunday, because life does not work that way: No matter what victory we claim as Christians, the realities of life are too often difficult to bear even for people of Faith. We suffer the pain of power struggle in society, including church. We sometimes struggle on the journey, trying to understand the inequities of life large and small. We witness firsthand the wounds created by hatred and prejudice. Sometimes we are misjudged and misunderstood by others. We suffer physical and emotional pain as part of being human. All too often we experience painful endings. Marriages fail. Children make destructive decisions. Friends betray us. Loved ones die. Sometimes the world becomes dark and hopeless, like the world of Good Friday as Jesus journeyed to the Cross. To face such darkness, we need some glimmer of light, some hint of hope beyond endings, some model of perseverance that comes from a faith that does not know the outcome yet is willing to trust God with it. In Jesus’ journey to the Cross on Good Friday, we see faithfulness during Passion (from the Greek word for “suffering”), perseverance amid endings, and courage in the midst of hopelessness. As we trace Jesus’ journey, we take up our own cross, the symbol of our own passion, and bear the imprint of his cross in our own. But in accompanying Jesus on the Via Dolorosa, the Way of Sorrow, we also gain courage from his commitment to the Father in that journey, from his courage to face what comes, and finally from the realization of the truth that with God endings become the building blocks of new beginnings. Resurrection Sunday has no meaning without Good Friday. This journey reminds us of the darkness as a basis to celebrate the light.

In this sense, we need to remember that the Stations of the Cross are primarily a context for prayer and reflection.  When we open our hearts and minds to God in this symbolic journey, we are led to communion with God that draws us closer to His love for us.  It also allows us to identify with Jesus as he identifies with us.  We are drawn to contemplate, not only the suffering and pain of our own journey mirrored in His, but as we follow the Christ, we are compelled to identify with those around us who suffer in their own journey.

During Lent, it is worth taking children to the Stations of the Cross, at least once, so that they can participate with other Catholics in this timeless and very moving devotion. It would be worth making a visit with children so that they can look closely at the depictions of Christ’s way to Calvary. The visual representations, combined with the prayers and meditations, help to deepen our understanding of the Way of the Cross, which will be of great spiritual benefit for Catholics of all ages.

As we move through the Lenten season, our faith and understanding are increased, and our joy is even greater when Easter arrives. Praying the Stations of the Cross allows us to walk with Jesus, confident that he will lead us into the presence of God. We choose Jesus as the model of life’s journey, of which our Lenten observance should be symbolic.  Jesus’ journey to the Cross simply dramatizes what his whole life has been; and offering of praise to God and of loving service to humanity. This is what we want for our lives, too.  Like the rest of his life, Jesus’ passion and death were acts of praise, a response to God’s infinite love for him.  We, too, want to praise God in sharing Jesus’ cross; not simply out of a dreary sense of responsibility or guilt, but as a grateful response to the good news of his burning love for us.  In Jesus’ loving face and wounded body, we have a powerful image of God’s care for us and the entire world. It is my sincere hope that this journey will make us renew personal prayer life, seek God’s forgiveness for past failings and mistakes and renew a commitment to the worship of the Church community

Make this Lent pilgrimage truly a time of renewal and rising to new life. Fr. John

Mission Statement

To live the Great Commandment
Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  And
‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
Matthew 22: 37-38