Lent reminds us of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is customary in the Catholic Church to journey with Christ on the way to his death to remind us that God understands suffering too. In his suffering and death God truly embraces everything that makes us human. This ancient form of prayer started in Jerusalem very early in the history of Christianity. It later arrived in Europe in the form of 14 stations. I’ve been a participant in the Stations of the Cross since I was a little boy. My first experience of it frightened me. How could we do this to Jesus? Later as an Altar Server I carried a candle for my parish priest who led the devotion. My arms would get tired. I imagined that in my weakness Simon of Cyrene helped me to carry the candle. In high school and college I experienced the devotion in a new and creative way that was more interactive. I placed myself in the lives of the people that met our Lord on the way to his death. As a seminarian we walked the hill of Mt. Angel Abbey which seemed very comparable to Calvary. At that time I visualized Jesus walking up Calvary.
This lent we will remember the way of the cross on Friday’s at 7p.m. This is a bilingual service. We follow a traditional format based on the scriptures. The priest introduces the station, a lector reads a passage of the passion, and the people respond with another passage from scripture. Then the priest offers a prayer on behalf of the people, stands and proceeds to the next station singing part of the Stabat Mater in English. In my life as a priest I have found the Stations of the Cross to be a source of spiritual strength. With this devotion I have also found that God understands me better that I could ever know and guides me to take up the cross with Him: to die with Him in order to rise with Him on the last day.
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