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CajunRick
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 5081 |
| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Sun Feb 10th, 2008 12:16 am |
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The Way of the Cross (Via Crucis) is a meditation on the different steps of the Passion and Death of Christ. It consists of fourteen "events" based on scripture and tradition.
In the earliest days of the Church, the followers of Jesus would walk the literal path which Jesus took, in much the same way people have visited the Dallas School Book Depository in Dallas, the site of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, or the Ford Theatre in Washington, D.C., where Abraham Lincoln was killed. The greatest tragic victory of all time was the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, and millions of Christians continue to flock to the site of the actual events of two millennia ago.
But not everyone is able to go to Jerusalem, so traditions have arisen around the world to commemorate the Via Crucis.
This veneration is encouraged by the Church. From the Vatican's Directory of Popular Piety and Liturgy:
"131. Of all the pious exercises connected with the veneration of the Cross, none is more popular among the faithful than the Via Crucis. Through this pious exercise, the faithful movingly follow the final earthly journey of Christ: from the Mount of Olives, where the Lord, "in a small estate called Gethsemane" (Mk 14, 32), was taken by anguish (cf. Lk 22, 44), to Calvary where he was crucified between two thieves (cf. Lk 23, 33), to the garden where he was placed in freshly hewn tomb (John 19, 40-42).
The love of the Christian faithful for this devotion is amply attested by the numerous Via Crucis erected in so many churches, shrines, cloisters, in the countryside, and on mountain pathways where the various stations are very evocative.
132. The Via Crucis is a synthesis of various devotions that have arisen since the high middle ages: the pilgrimage to the Holy Land during which the faithful devoutly visit the places associated with the Lord's Passion; devotion to the three falls of Christ under the weight of the Cross; devotion to "the dolorous journey of Christ" which consisted in processing from one church to another in memory of Christ's Passion; devotion to the stations of Christ, those places where Christ stopped on his journey to Calvary because obliged to do so by his executioners or exhausted by fatigue, or because moved by compassion to dialogue with those who were present at his Passion.
In its present form, the Via Crucis, widely promoted by St. Leonardo da Porto Maurizio (+1751), was approved by the Apostolic See and indulgenced(137), consists of fourteen stations since the middle of seventeenth century.
133. The Via Crucis is a journey made in the Holy Spirit, that divine fire which burned in the heart of Jesus (cf. Lk 12, 49-50) and brought him to Calvary. This is a journey well esteemed by the Church since it has retained a living memory of the words and gestures of the final earthly days of her Spouse and Lord.
In the Via Crucis, various strands of Christian piety coalesce: the idea of life being a journey or pilgrimage; as a passage from earthly exile to our true home in Heaven; the deep desire to be conformed to the Passion of Christ; the demands of following Christ, which imply that his disciples must follow behind the Master, daily carrying their own crosses (cf Lk 9, 23).
The Via Crucis is a particularly apt pious exercise for Lent.
134. The following may prove useful suggestions for a fruitful celebration of the Via Crucis:
- the traditional form of the Via Crucis, with its fourteen stations, is to be retained as the typical form of this pious exercise; from time to time, however, as the occasion warrants, one or other of the traditional stations might possibly be substituted with a reflection on some other aspects of the Gospel account of the journey to Calvary which are traditionally included in the Stations of the Cross;
- alternative forms of the Via Crucis have been approved by Apostolic See(138) or publicly used by the Roman Pontiff(139): these can be regarded as genuine forms of the devotion and may be used as occasion might warrant;
- the Via Crucis is a pious devotion connected with the Passion of Christ; it should conclude, however, in such fashion as to leave the faithful with a sense of expectation of the resurrection in faith and hope; following the example of the Via Crucis in Jerusalem which ends with a station at the Anastasis, the celebration could end with a commemoration of the Lord's resurrection.
135. Innumerable texts exist for the celebration of the Via Crucis. Many of them were compiled by pastors who were sincerely interested in this pious exercise and convinced of its spiritual effectiveness. Texts have also been provided by lay authors who were known for their exemplary piety, holiness of life, doctrine and literary qualities.
Bearing in mind whatever instructions might have been established by the bishops in the matter, the choice of texts for the Via Crucis should take a count of the condition of those participating in its celebration and the wise pastoral principle of integrating renewal and continuity. It is always preferable to choose texts resonant with the biblical narrative and written in a clear simple style.
The Via Crucis in which hymns, silence, procession and reflective pauses are wisely integrated in a balanced manner, contribute significantly to obtaining the spiritual fruits of the pious exercise."
There is no wrong way to pray the Way of the Cross, but it should always contain meditations on each of the individual events in the final hours of our Savior's earthly life.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has provided this text.
Sacred Heart Church offers this site with artwork and links to various texts.
BeliefNet offers a multimedia presentation called Bitter Journey which they say is based on the text used by Pope John Paul II in 1991.
The Franciscans at their Cyberspot offer a way of the cross featuring pictures of the actual places where the events took place in Jerusalem Via Crucis.
Work of God Ministries offers this site which includes artwork and brief meditations.
Olga's Gallery offers historical information about the devotion and how the stations came to be recognized.
The Passionist Missionaries offer Remembering the Passion featuring short meditations and charcoal-type artwork.
Finally, the Vatican offers this site including artwork and the text written by (then) Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and used in the Roman Colosseum in 2005, shortly before he became pope.
And of course, you can find the Stations of the Cross in any Catholic Church of the Latin Rite, and most parishes offer a communal Way of the Cross every Friday during Lent.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world.
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Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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