Stations of the Cross

Just prior to Ash Wednesday, I contemplated on Lent and what my own intentions were for Lent. This is what I came up with:

My intentions for this Lent are:

To be more prayerful-
*by saying the Rosary at least once, preferably twice
*to say the Chaplet of Divine Mercy at least once
*to attend Mass and/or Eucharistic Adoration as much as possible
*to attend the Stations of the Cross every Friday


To be lest wasteful
*to eat at home more often
*to not take snoozes in the morning.. to not waste time

To be a better friend
*by writing a letter or email every day to one person who has made a difference in my life

To give up candy during Lent, and Meat on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays.

I am keeping a journal this Lenten, and writing about each day, and things that happen during prayer and throughout the day. To date, this experience has been very powerful. I am so motivated and inspired, that it surprised me when today at lunch I was feeling lethargic and blah. I explained to a friend that I had planned on going to go to the Chapel for the Stations of the Cross at 3, but that I was not sure I have the energy to do so.

How quickly we can be tempted away from our good intentions! I never saw it coming!

Truth be told, my lethargy is nothing more than laziness. My conscience spoke to me, loud and clear. This is a commitment you made to yourself and to God. And of course, my conscience was right. So I flew out of the office shortly before 3 and rushed to the Chapel. Breathless, I opened the door and there was Fr. Jerry and one other person, who was not staying. So, it was just the two of us… and we prayed the Stations of the Cross. Talk about a one on one audience with God. I’m so thankful that I went. It was awesome.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Stations of the Cross, Wikipedia defines the Stations of the cross as:

Stations of the Cross (or Way of the Cross; in Latin, Via Crucis; also called the Via Dolorosa or Way of Sorrows, or simply, The Way) refers to the depiction of the final hours (or Passion) of Jesus, and the devotion commemorating the Passion. The tradition as chapel devotion began with St. Francis of Assisi and extended throughout the Roman Catholic Church in the medieval period.

The object of the Stations is to help the faithful to make a spiritual pilgrimage of prayer, through meditating upon the chief scenes of Christ's sufferings and death. It has become one of the most popular devotions for Roman Catholics.

The traditional form of The Stations themselves are usually a series of 14 pictures or sculptures depicting the following scenes:

1. Jesus is condemned to death
2. Jesus is given his cross
3. Jesus falls the first time
4. Jesus meets His Mother
5. Simon of Cyrene carries the cross
6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
7. Jesus falls the second time
8. Jesus meets the daughters of Jerusalem
9. Jesus falls the third time
10. Jesus is stripped of His garments
11. Crucifixion: Jesus is nailed to the cross
12. Jesus dies on the cross
13. Jesus' body is removed from the cross (Deposition or Lamentation)
14. Jesus is laid in the tomb and covered in incense.

I find participating in the Stations of the Cross to be a very moving reminder of how Christ suffered for all of our sins.