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Stations of the Cross
by Paul Turner

The 14 Stations of the Cross adorn the walls of almost every Catholic church and chapel. Many parishes commemorate the Fridays of Lent with a prayerful remembrance of the passion of Christ by walking the stations with him.

Throughout our history, Christians have longed to literally walk in the footsteps of Christ. The shrines of the holy places in and around Jerusalem have drawn pilgrims inspired by the life and death of their master.

However, not everyone is able to travel to the Holy Land. So, ever since the middle ages, churches and chapels began erecting images devoted to an aspect of the passion. By the 15th century, the Franciscans had developed a devotion they called "stations." The word means a place where people stand still or gather together. So even though it implies something "stationary" the service obviously must include the movement of pilgrims following the footsteps of Christ. It took a while to fix the number and the names of the stations, but in 1731 Pope Clement XII established the 14 we know today.

We still find some variations on the number. Many places add a 15th station, for example, the resurrection of Jesus. Discontent with leaving Christ in the tomb when our faith expresses so much more, worshipers have found consolation in completing the story of the cross.

Over the years our church has authorized various versions of the stations for different occasions. For example, Pope John Paul II altered the traditional stations for his Good Friday service in Rome. He eliminated some stations which derived from tradition, and substituted them with events from the Gospels. Here are the stations he has used:

1. Jesus in the Garden of Olives
2. Jesus betrayed by Judas
3. Jesus condemned to death by the Sanhedrin
4. Jesus denied by Peter
5. Jesus judged by Pilate
6. Jesus flogged and crowned with thorns
7. Jesus carries his cross
8. Jesus is helped by Simon of Cyrene
9. Jesus encounters women of Jerusalem
10. Jesus is crucified
11. Jesus promises the kingdom to the good thief
12. Jesus on the cross
13. The mother of Jesus and his disciple at the cross
14. Jesus is placed in the tomb.

The stations inspire us all to follow Christ through suffering to peace.