Since the eighteenth century, 14 Stations of the Cross have been recognized by Church authority. Prior to then, the number of Stations varied: sometimes less than 14 and sometimes more than 14. In the last ten years many people have added a 15th station. I believe that some people are uncomfortable with the Stations ending with Christ being laid in the tomb. They want Christ’s glorious resurrection to be included as a 15th Station. I believe that adding Christ’s resurrection to the Stations inserts personal preference into a centuries-old devotion that was designed to focus the Christian’s attention on our Savior’s passion, suffering, death, and burial.
The Stations of the Cross are a tremendous vehicle for the followers of Christ to focus on the sacrifice He made for our salvation. If you add a 15th station, you tend to focus too little attention on Christ’s pain, suffering, crucifixion, and death before you jump to Christ’s glorious resurrection. The Stations are a reminder that God loves us so much that His only begotten Son suffered and died for us.
No one knows for certain when the Stations of the Cross, as a form of devotion, were established. Most likely they were first observed in the city of Jerusalem where the local community could retrace the actual steps of Christ from his confrontation with Pontus Pilate to His death on Calvary. At each station people could stop for silent reflection and prayer. Christian visitors to Jerusalem would also walk the steps of Christ. As the Church spread to other parts of the world, traveling great distances to the holy city of Jerusalem became too expensive and dangerous for most Christians.
Devotion to the Stations of the Cross spread during the Middle Ages. The Franciscans played an important role in promoting this devotion. At their direction, many parts of the Christian world began to hang small images or crosses on the inside walls of churches. Each image or cross was associated with a Station. Christians would make regular visits to their church, walk the Stations, pray on Christ’s sacrifice, and develop a deeper appreciation for the pain and suffering that our Lord endured for our sins.
Before you read on, close your eyes and identify as many of the 14 Stations as you can. Relax. Take your time. The stations that you remember are probably the ones that are most important to you. Take another minute or two and ask yourself why a specific station may be important to you. When you’re ready, read as I identify each station.
Which of the stations are not explicitly revealed in the Gospels? There are three of them. Can you name them? According to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Veronica did not wipe the face of Jesus and Jesus only fell once, not three times.
When we walk and pray the Stations of the Cross we are making an inexpensive pilgrimage to the Holy Land where Christ suffered and died for us. They may be prayed individually or with others. They may be prayed indoors or outdoors.
Indulgences are attached to praying and meditating on the Stations of the Cross. The Handbook of Indulgences, Norms and Grants states, “A plenary indulgence is granted the Christian faithful who devoutly make the Stations of the Cross. This devout exercise of the Stations of the Cross helps renew our remembrance of the sufferings which our divine redeemer underwent on His journey from Pilate’s praetorium, where He was condemned to death, to Mount Calvary, where for our salvation He died on the cross.”
If you are to obtain this plenary indulgence, you must perform this devotion before 14 lawfully erected stations that represent the Jerusalem stations; you must mediate upon the passion and death of the Lord; and you must move from one station to the next. If crowd size makes individual movement from one station to the next difficult or impossible, then only the person leading the devotion must move from one station to the next. A homebound person can receive this plenary indulgence if he or she spends at least 15 minutes in devout reading and meditation upon the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Remember, an indulgence does not remove sin; it removes the stain of confessed sins (the temporal punishment left by our sinning).
All Catholic devotion should draw us closer to God. The Stations of the Cross helps us to deepen our understanding of what God endured for our salvation. This Good Friday, walk and pray the Stations with other parishioners at your church. Never forget that Jesus Christ died for our sins.
For more insight read CCC paragraphs 1674, 2669. Also, pull out your “Catholic” Bible and reference Mt 27:1-61; Mk 15:1-47; Lk 23:1-56; Jn 18:28 through 19:42.
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