St. Margaret of Scotland Parish

Stations of the Cross

History of the Stations of the Cross

Since most Christians in Western Europe were unable to make the pilgrimage to the Holy Land, using the Stations became a way for them to join in this procession of visits to the sites thought to be the ones that marked the way Jesus carried the cross to his death.

The Way of the Cross, or Stations of the Cross, as they have come to be known, is a devotional exercise that traces the passion of Christ from the palace of the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, to Calvary and his burial. The erection and devotional use of this prayer did not become general before the end of the 17th century, although in the 15th and 16th centuries, representations of Christ’s passion were erected as shrines.

The Franciscans became responsible for promoting the Stations, simply because they were the guardians of the holy places from the time of the Crusades. The number fourteen was fixed by Clement XII in 1731. Before that the number varied from place to place.

The Stations

Stations of the Cross, a series of 14 crosses, usually accompanied by images, representing events in the Passion of Christ and its immediate aftermath. Each station signifies the actual site of the event in Jerusalem or on Calvary or Golgotha, and the series as a whole is a model of the route along which Christ was taken to Calvary. The stations may be placed along the walls of a church or a chapel. They also may be placed outdoors, along the way to a place of pilgrimage, as a wayside shrine, or in a freestanding group. The Stations of the Cross have considerable importance as a devotional exercise in the Roman Catholic Church; the devout meditate and pray at each station successively.

The object of the Stations is to help people make, in spirit, a pilgrimage to the main scenes of Christ's sufferings and death.

Each station signifies an event in the passion of Jesus.

1	Jesus is Condemned to die The crowd cried "Crucify Him!" Pilate hesitated, but he was frightened for his own position. He ordered Barabbas to be freed and Jesus to be crucified. The soldiers led Him away to the death He had prophesied. They laughed at Judas Iscariot when he tried to give back the 30 pieces of silver. He ran away and hanged himself.
2	Jesus takes up His cross They stripped Him of the cloak, dressed Him in His own clothes, and led Him off to the crucifixion. They made Him walk, carrying His own heavy cross.
3	Jesus falls for the first time The cross is too heavy and Jesus falls. He continues because He loves us.
4	Jesus meets His Mother Though wounded by His fall, He journeys on with the Cross still on His shoulders. He is bent down, but at one place, He sees His Mother, Mary. She stays with Jesus and suffers with Him. He goes forward.
5	Simon helps the cross So Jesus would not die before He could be crucified, they had Simon the Crenean, who was coming in from the fields helped carry the cross. A great crowd of people followed him.
6	Veronica wipes Jesus' face As Jesus toils along up the hill, covered with the sweat of death, a woman makes her way through the crowd and wipes His face with a napkin. In reward of her piety, the cloth retains the impression of the Sacred Countenance upon it. Veronica was a brave woman.
7	Jesus falls a second time The pain of His wounds and the loss of blood increasing at every step of His way, again Jesus falls on the ground again.
8	Jesus speaks to the women of Jerusalem A crowd of people followed Jesus, including women who beat their breasts and lamented over Him. Jesus turned to them and said: "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me. Weep for yourselves and for your children." Jesus prophesies that the days are coming when the world as they knew it would collapse.
9	Jesus falls a third time Jesus has now almost reached the top of Calvary, but Jesus fails again. He is again dragged up and goaded on by the brutal soldiers. Jesus continues.
10	Jesus' clothes are torn off When Jesus came to Golgotha, which means "Skull Place," the crowd tried to give him wine drugged with myrrh, but He would not take it. They crucified Him and divided up His garments by rolling dice for them to see what each would take.
11	Jesus is nailed to the cross A placard above his head read INRI, "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." The crowd crucified Jesus and the criminals as well, one of His right and the other on His left. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing."
12	Jesus dies The Crucifixion (5 Sorrowful) On the cross, Jesus prays "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." At the moment of His death, the sky grew dark, the earth shook violently, and the veil of the temple was torn down the middle. Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commend My spirit." He was put to death on the cross. He sacrificed Himself for the forgiveness of our sins.
13	Jesus is taken down from the cross Joseph of Arimathea, a secret follower of Jesus, asked Pilate for Jesus' body. Mary, His mother, was there was Joseph took the body from the cross.
14	Jesus is buried Joseph wrapped Jesus' body in fresh linen and laid it in his own tomb which had been hewn from a formation of rock. It was night, and the holy hours of the Sabbath had begun. The day after next, the body could be properly anointed. For now, they could only place it in the tomb. He rolled a huge stone across the entrance of the tomb and went away. After they left, the high priests sent guards to stand watch. They did not want any more trouble with the followers of Jesus of Nazareth.