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STATIONS: Ancient devotion fosters deeper reflection on Christ
By J.D. Long-García, The Catholic Sun
February 21, 2008
Centuries ago, Christians began visiting the Holy Land to walk the Way of the Cross — 14 stations that commemorate the final steps Jesus Christ took on His way to Cavalry.
Some 500 years ago Franciscans began popularizing the devotion — also know also as the Via Dolorosa, or way of suffering — setting up Stations of the Cross at parishes throughout Europe.
“Everyone wanted to go to Jerusalem, so the Franciscans made that journey real for the people right where they were living,” said Franciscan Father Vincent Mesi, pastor of St. Mary’s Basilica.
Every Friday during Lent, Catholics throughout the diocese are walking with Christ by meditating on His passion at their local parish.
Around 40 parishioners turned out for the Feb. 8 Stations at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral.
“Meditating on the Lord’s final hours helps us put into perspective any and every difficulty that a human being can go through,” said Fr. Rob Clements, rector of the cathedral.
“When the apostles ‘conquered’ the world with the power of Christ it wasn’t with the message, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’” he said, “but rather with ‘Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.’”
Fr. Mesi, who leads stations at the basilica, said the Stations of the Cross is a devotion that, when properly practiced, leads to action.
“The prayer makes us aware of other people who are in sorrow,” he said, noting the station in which Jesus meets His mother.
The Franciscan friar said that when Jesus meets Veronica on His way to the cross, it is a call for Catholics to serve others.
“Every one of the stations has an application to our everyday life and our call to discipleship,” he said.
Megan McKenna, a Catholic theologian, agreed.
“We cannot just pray words or do devotions. We must actually practice what we say we believe,” she said.
McKenna said the stations could lead Catholics to be in solidarity with those suffering.
“If we cannot stop injustice, then we are to stand with others who stand at the foot of the cross and put our bodies next to those who suffer, are killed and are rejected by society,” she said.
In 1991, Pope John Paul II celebrated a scriptural version of the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday. Seven stations from the traditional Way of the Cross, McKenna said, are replaced by events taken from Scripture.
“There is no indication that Jesus fell on the way,” McKenna said, “so those three were removed.” In the scriptural stations, “Jesus only falls on His knees to worship and pray to His Father in the Garden of Gethsemane,” she said.
McKenna, whose book “The New Stations of the Cross” is a meditation of the biblical account used by the late pontiff, said the scriptural version inspires a far different devotion.
“There is no way Jesus would have met His mother on the way — this was a public execution and no one got near the convicted terrorist,” she said, adding that the “thieves” that were crucified next to Jesus were guilty of more than stealing.
McKenna also questions the non-scriptural Veronica, who in the traditional stations wipes the blood from Christ’s face and offers Him water.
Instead of finding sympathy, Jesus is persecuted or rejected in the first seven stations.
Whereas in the traditional version, He meets His mother in the fourth station, in the scriptural account no one helps Him until the eighth station — where the Lord meets Simon of Cyrene.
Also, in the 12th station of the scriptural version, Jesus entrusts the Blessed Mother to St. John’s care, telling the beloved disciple and the rest of us, “Behold your Mother.”
The scriptural version also adds Jesus’ words with the so-called “good thief,” to whom the Lord promises His kingdom — “today you will be with me in Paradise.”
“The Gospels are all very clear that our relationship with God is only as good as our relationship with the poor, our enemies and others in need,” McKenna said.
“If we truly follow Jesus we must sooner or later stand against those who kill, attack, disregard or disdain the poor and refuse to take responsibility for others in the world,” she added.
While Pope Benedict XVI led the scriptural stations on Good Friday in Rome last year, the traditional stations remain a popular and Church-approved devotion.
“The Church doesn’t so much have a preference,” Fr. Clements said of the different versions. “But she does look out for what conforms to authentic doctrine and devotion.
While some criticize the Catholic focus on the crucifixion, the cathedral rector said that Christ’s death bridged the separation between God and human beings.
“The Lord’s death was the moment when the devil was conquered and condemned, a fallen world was restored and the hope of heaven was revealed,” he said. “Seems to me we can’t emphasize such a moment enough.”
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