March 13, 2025 // Diocese

Walk with Christ this Lent in the Stations of the Cross

Christopher Lushis

Freelance Writer

“We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you, because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.”

This prayer exclaimed by St. Francis of Assisi continues to echo in the lives of Catholics who seek to follow the footsteps of Christ through meditating on the Stations of the Cross.

The custom of tracing Jesus’ journey from his condemnation to his crucifixion and burial has its origins in the very place where these events occurred. In Jerusalem, the Via Dolorosa (Way of Sorrows), also called the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross), marks a path for pilgrims to walk near the same places where Jesus accepted His cross, fell along the way, encountered his mother, as well as Veronica, Simon of Cyrene, and other women of Jerusalem, then was stripped, nailed to the cross, suffered death, and was buried.

While the current city of Jerusalem is built several feet above the original city, and the exact locations marked out for many of the stations are approximations, walking the Via Dolorosa in parishes across the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend remains one of the most powerful experiences a Christian can undertake on their faith journey.

St. Francis of Assisi desired to walk this Way of Sorrows himself. After coming to Jerusalem and doing so, he and his followers (among others) worked to promote this devotion for the good of the Catholic faithful. In addition to encouraging Christians to visit Jerusalem for this purpose, the Franciscan order also began building outdoor shrines throughout Europe that reflected the Via Dolorosa. The number included in these stations varied greatly, ranging from as few as seven to as many as 30, as there are many moments of the Passion one could choose to reflect upon. Pope Innocent XI, in 1686, granted the Franciscans the right to erect the stations in their churches. Then, in 1731, Pope Clement XII fixed the official number of stations at 14, as it remains today. By 1862, the right was extended for any Catholic church in the world to erect the Stations of the Cross with the consent of the local bishop.

Today, Catholic faithful can receive a plenary indulgence (while also observing the conditions of Communion, confession, prayers for the Pope, and detachment from sin) any day of the year that one prayerfully makes the Stations of the Cross. This can be done by visiting any place the stations are legitimately erected (one’s local church or a nearby chapel), walking along and prayerfully meditating upon them, or attending the stations as a public prayer.

Following Christ’s passion with the Stations of the Cross is a common Lenten devotion, usually offered at local parishes on Friday evenings. Even if one is unable to travel to Jerusalem, the opportunity of making a pilgrimage to one’s local church still provides the experience of meditating on the most important moments in human history – the work of redemption and salvation by our God.

It can also become a creative spiritual exercise to visit other churches and meditate upon different images – as each artist will detail these scenes somewhat differently – and reflecting upon a new dimension of Christ’s Passion, which is limitless in its meditative potential.

In addition to St. Francis of Assisi and many others, St. Faustina, known as the saint of Divine Mercy, was also deeply devoted to the Stations of the Cross. She recounts in her Diary that Jesus told her about the 3 o’clock hour in the afternoon, writing, “My daughter, try your best to make the Stations of the Cross in this hour, provided that your duties permit it; and if you are not able to make the Stations of the Cross, then at least step into the chapel for a moment and adore, in the Blessed Sacrament, My Heart, which is full of mercy; and should you be unable to step into the chapel, immerse yourself in prayer there where you happen to be, if only for a very brief instant.”

As Lent continues, all are invited to meditate upon Jesus’ passion and death in order to increase gratitude to God, heighten awareness of sin and unhealthy attachments, and surrender anew to God’s goodness. Those who have walked the Via Dolorosa testify to the surprising difficulties that occur along it because Jerusalem is a bustling city filled with ordinary commerce, commotion, and congestion. One who attempts to pray the Stations of the Cross there during regular business hours finds him or herself surrounded by worldly noise, which can be distracting and unsettling. Yet, to recall Christ’s passion and Way of the Cross is to remember that Good Friday was an ordinary day to most of the world. Even those in Jerusalem would have seen a man carrying a cross, someone condemned to death by crucifixion, as an unfortunate occurrence, but not one deserving of much additional notice. Yet, in this hidden act of self-offering by the Son of God, all things were transformed and made new in their midst.

Therefore, Christians today, in whatever their circumstances, should seek out the Via Dolorosa with trust, bringing their own sorrows, sins, pains, difficulties, and burdens of life to Jesus Christ. The motto of the Carthusians, founded by St. Bruno, is Stat crux dum volvitur orbis, which means “the cross is steady while the world turns.” Jesus’ cross, suffering, and wounds all serve to heal our pain – if we truly surrender to Him.

This Lent, consider anew what the cross of Jesus Christ
means for your life by following Him on His walk of redemption and asking to be made new through His divine love.

Christopher Lushis teaches theology at Bishop Luers High School in Fort Wayne.