Parishioner Story: Stations of the Cross - Walking with Jesus

By Carol Fountain, Nativity parishioner 1980-81 and back since 2006

When I was growing up, my family routinely went to Stations of the Cross during Lent. Stations on Friday, Confession on Saturday and, of course, Mass on Sunday.

So, I’ve grown up with the Stations of the Cross and have been comfortable with them for as long as I can remember. But in 1999, I was asked to give a presentation about the Stations of the Cross to a group of Christian women (Catholic and Protestant) at our military chapel, and in preparing that presentation I gained a much deeper understanding and appreciation for this devotion, the roots of which go back to the Middle Ages.  Here’s what I learned and how it helped me grow in my love of Jesus*.

The practice of the Stations of the Cross was developed as a substitution for an actual pilgrimage to the Holy Land, to give us a chance to follow the Way of the Cross in our own churches by “walking” from station to station, each one representing a significant event in Jesus’ path from condemnation to crucifixion.  The fourteen traditional Stations as we know them were established in the 16th century.

Of these fourteen Stations, nine are mentioned in the Gospels, an important point I wanted to make to my Protestant friends.  For instance, the first two Stations (Pilate Condemns Jesus to Death and Jesus Accepts His Cross) are from the Gospels of Luke, Mark and John.

Also found in the Gospel are Stations 10-14 (Jesus Stripped of His Garments; Jesus Nailed to the Cross; Jesus Dies on the Cross; Jesus Taken Down from the Cross; Jesus Laid in the Tomb) which describe in painful slow motion, His crucifixion.

The eighth Station (Jesus Speaks to the Women of Nazareth) is described in Luke’s Gospel and highlights the role of women in Christ’s passion (and makes plausible the Stations involving Jesus’ Mother Mary, and Veronica who wipes the face of Jesus, neither of which are specifically referred to in the Gospel accounts).  Lastly, the fifth Station (Simon Helps Jesus Carry the Cross) is Gospel-based.  It makes the three falls of Jesus (which are not found in the Gospels) believable and understandable.

One reason I relate to the Stations of the Cross is that they portray both suffering (Jesus’ falls in Stations 3, 7 and 9) and consolation (Stations 4, 5, 6 and 8).  This was Jesus’ story, but it’s ours too; sorrows and consolation.  Every life has both.  We walk with Jesus, through his condemnation and crucifixion using the Stations of the Cross, but because of his resurrection and His love He walks with us as we bear our own crosses.  Jesus loves us that much!  Because by Your Holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.

No matter a person’s circumstances, the suffering and consolation reflected in the Stations of the Cross can be a source of strength and hope. Perhaps that’s why so many different devotions of them have been written, published, meditated upon.  You can find Ways of the Cross written for children, youth, women, parents, seniors, the suffering/ill/disabled, the bereaved.  Many people have written their own reflections on the Stations:  John Paul II, Pope Francis, St. Oscar Romero, St. Faustina, St. Alphonsus Liguori, Henri Nouwen, Immaculee Ilibagiza to name a few.

I had an experience in 1990 that illustrated to me the beauty of the Stations of the Cross:

There was a little girl and her mother sitting in front of me in Church, and the little girl had big tears in her eyes as we concluded the Fourteenth Station, Jesus Laid in the Tomb.

The mom, seeing her daughter’s sadness, leaned over and quietly said to her, “Don’t worry, Sweetie; that’s not the end of the story.”  Then she leaned in a little closer and whispered in the girl’s ear, “Jesus comes back.”

And therein lies our hope.

*The book I used as a basis for my presentation and this article is “Where Joy & Sorrow Meet: The Way of the Cross”, published by Ave Maria Press in 1999; and still available on amazon.com.