Brief History of Stations of the Cross
It began in Jerusalem on the street known as the Via Dolorosa; the Way of Sorrows in which Jesus took to his crucifixion. Christians have been making pilgrimages to the Via Dolorosa for centuries and brought with them the devotion to Churches around the world. Make this devotion a part of your Lenten journey.
Group Stations of the Cross - Fridays of Lent 7:30pm
We will continue our tradition of Friday evening Stations of the Cross in a group setting this Lent. Those praying the stations will be seated in the pews rather than physically journeying from station to station. One minister will physically journey for us as a group. Of course, you are always welcome to come and pray the stations on your own anytime the church is open for private prayer. We hope you will join us this Lent.
Stations of the Cross FAQ
- At 7:30pm on all Fridays in Lent except Good Friday (April 15th) when they begin at noon.
- Stations of the Cross take about 30 minutes to complete.
- In the main church. Come in and grab your favorite seat in the pews.
- The congregation sits in the pews.
- There are stations of the cross booklets in the back of the church that have all the prayers and readings in them.
- The booklet we are using will cue you to read wherever it says “All”. Other parts of the booklet are read by the minister leading the stations and by readers who have volunteered to help.
- That’s a verse from the Stabat Mater hymn. It was written back in the thirteenth century in Latin, and it means "the Mother was standing." It describes the Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Jesus’ Passion.
- Feel free to sing along, the melody is easy to learn.
- The Stations of the Cross are also known as the Way of the Cross or Via Crucis.
- They help us to make a virtual pilgrimage to the places and events of Jesus’ last day before his crucifixion.
- The practice began as pilgrims to the Holy Land would trace Jesus’ path through Jerusalem on the Via Dolorosa (“Way of Sorrows” in Latin), a road in the old city of Jerusalem, where Jesus walked carrying the cross to Calvary.
- For those who could not make a trip to Jerusalem, a practice developed that eventually took the form of praying at fourteen stations that represent the stops made on the Via Dolorosa. Stations of the Cross are found in almost every Catholic church.
- The devotion is carried out by moving from Station to Station, with certain prayers or readings at each and devout meditation on what happened at each station.
- Yes, there is and it’s a plenary indulgence, which means it remits all the temporal punishment for those sins we have sacramentally confessed.
- To gain a plenary indulgence, one must perform the work attached to the indulgence (praying and meditating on the Stations of the Cross), make a sacramental confession, receive Holy Communion, and pray for the intentions of the Holy Father (reciting one Our Father and one Hail Mary, or any other suitable prayer). The conditions may be met several days before or after performing the work of the indulgence.
- You can learn more about indulgences and how they work and what they do here: https://catholicstraightanswers.com/what-are-indulgences/
Pray the Stations of the Cross
Self Guided Stations
During Lent, booklets are available in the church to aid in your praying of the Stations of the Cross. Additionally, there are links on this page you can use to guide you in your prayer at any time during the year.
