Stations of the Cross

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LENT 2007:
Red triangleWednesday evening program
Red trianglePray the Penitential Psalms
Red triangleRule of Prayer, Fasting, Almsgiving
Red triangleFridays: Stations of the Cross at 7 pm

From the earliest times Christians flocked to the Holy Land to visit the places sanctified by the events of our Lord’s earthly life. Especially popular was the pilgrimage along the path our Lord took on the first Good Friday.  This pilgrimage was made with great devotion, the procession stopping (or making “stations”) at  the various traditional points where special events took place.  For those who were unable to visit the Holy Land, the custom arose throughout Europe of setting up replicas of the different incidents along the Way of Sorrows, so that the faithful could make spiritual pilgimages.   After a a long development, these little shrines became restricted to fourteen and it is now customary to set them up along the walls of Christian churches.

This devotion is primarily a private one for the use of individuals, but it is customary in Lent, and at other times, for the people to make the Stations in common.    No official prayers have ever been prescribed for this devotion, whether in private or in public. It is only necessary that there be a movement from one Station to another and that the people meditate, however briefly, on each particular incident.

-- From St. Augustine’s Prayer Book

Opening devotions

The Stations