Station of the Cross Question

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DLedoux

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So I am learning more about Catholicism day by day and I can not tell you how beautiful I think this religion is. I am trying to build a spiritual lifestyle so I can stay close to Jesus and I have come to one thing in Catholicism which spoke to me, which was the station of the cross. Jesus bore our sins on the day he died and I would like to make it up to him to pray and remember the sacrifice he did for us on that day each Friday. Friday being the day he died. Is there any wrong way to do the station of the cross? I know there are more than one ways of doing it, but I was wondering if I can make up my own special way. Is this possible?
 
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DLedoux said:
So I am learning more about Catholicism day by day and I can not tell you how beautiful I think this religion is. I am trying to build a spiritual lifestyle so I can stay close to Jesus and I have come to one thing in Catholicism which spoke to me, which was the station of the cross. Jesus bore our sins on the day he died and I would like to make it up to him to pray and remember the sacrifice he did for us on that day each Friday. Friday being the day he died. Is there any wrong way to do the station of the cross? I know there are more than one ways of doing it, but I was wondering if I can make up my own special way. Is this possible?
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@DLedoux

Hi! It’s nice to see your enthusiasm! The Stations of the Cross are most frequently said during the Lenten season, but, yes, they can be said at any time you wish.

During Lent, more than one person takes turns reading the different parts for each station. There is a descriptive paragraph or so for each of the crucial moments in Christ’s life, while we meditate at each station, followed by prayers of varying lengths. Some of the parts are read by single individuals, and some are read by all present.

I think you’ll gain a greater understanding of the stations if, in the beginning, you follow the outlined procedure, then ad lib silently down the road, once you’re familiar with the routine.

Sorry, but I don’t know how to link. Here’s what I Google for almost anything Catholic on either of my two favorite websites:
st charles borromeo — stations of the cross
usccb — stations of the cross
You’ll be able to click on scads of places, and other websites, also.

The Stations of the Cross will help you achieve a greater closeness to Our Lord. Please do ask the priest or parishioners about Adoration, for a sublime and unique experience.

Here’s hoping that you soon swim the Tiber!
 
Hello, I also pray the Stations of the Cross each Friday. I use the iPieta app on my iPhone to read through them. Since it is a private devotion, I wouldn’t get too hung up on the right / wrong way to pray them. For example, during Lent, when prayed in the church, we stand and genuflect / kneel at certain points. I don’t do that when I am praying them at home. In fact, I am usually sitting in bed when I pray them, since I do so right before I go to sleep. I also don’t pray the Our Father / Hail Mary / Glory Be after each station when saying them on my own.
 
The Stations of the Cross is a private devotion (unless you’re doing it with a group, who will probably have a leader and ask everyone to use the same prayer book), so (assuming you’re not with a group) you’re free to do them in whatever way you would like.

I would just note that there is a Indulgence for doing them, which can be a plenary indulgence if all the conditions are met, so if you wish to gain the Indulgence for yourself or the Holy Souls, you should follow all the guidelines in the current Manual of Indulgences. However, even if you follow those guidelines, they still allow a good amount of freedom to the person praying as to what they do at each station. Edited to add, if you are not a Catholic yet then you can’t yet do Indulgence practice, so you don’t have to be concerned about this right now.

I have done them using booklets or phone meditations, and also done them just walking between stations and meditating at each one for a couple minutes and maybe bowing at each.
 
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I, too, have a special devotion to the Stations. Part of my devotion is collecting versions of the Stations, there are so many! I have also written my own set of SOTC devotions.

This is one resource, the Vatican does a different set of SOTC devotions every year!

http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/documents/index_via-crucis_en.html

I wish more people would pray this devotion outside of “Friday in Lent”. It is one we can share with our Protestant and Orthodox brothers and sisters.

This is a giant outdoor Stations in Texas Stations of the Cross – Cross Ministries
 
TheLittleLady said:
I wish more people would pray this devotion outside of “Friday in Lent”.
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I try to do it sometimes during the year but I run into the following problems with it:
  • For the indulgence, it’s supposed to be done at “approved stations”. Many of the “approved stations” are only located inside churches, which outside of Sunday are only open during the daily Mass and for a short time before and after. Even when the churches are open and no Mass is going on, sometimes there is another devotion such as Adoration or group prayers going on in the chapel, which can make it difficult to “move between the stations” as you’re supposed to do or to focus your attention on the stations.
  • Even when you don’t have the issues above because the church is open with no conflicting activity, and/or the stations are outside, often the stations installed don’t meet the criteria specified in the Manual of Indulgences; the biggest issue is that often there is not a cross installed or otherwise visible at each station.
  • If one simply wishes to meditate on Christ’s Passion and not worry about getting an indulgence, there are other ways of doing this, for example St. Bridget’s Prayers, the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, or reading scripture, so it’s not technically necessary to do the Stations.
Having said all that, I always admire when I see people staying before or after Mass to do a quick Stations outside of Lent, and I will sometimes do them myself. I always plan to do them every day in Lent also but so far have been unable to actually carry out this plan, maybe next year. I wish there was a good set of approved outdoor stations closer to me because the nearest ones I have been able to find are about 12 miles away which isn’t practical for me every day.
 
Traditionally, at the beginning of each station you recite “We adore you oh Christ and bless you, for by Your Holy Cross, You have redeemed the world”.

Then, you could use your gospel accounts of the passion in your Bible to read from at each station.

After a couple of months, you’ll be a Biblical expert on the Passion.
 
I have a “Stations of the Cross” chaplet that I carry with me.

Not indulgenced 🙂
 
I wonder, for the purposes of ‘moving between them’ would not doing this online say youtube, and praying along suffice?
I missed attending a couple at my church during Lent due to my chronic illness and was intending to watch my church (its streamed 24/7) while they did but from home, which I did bit I couldn’t hear as the leader didn’t take a microphone around with him as it’s a temperamental thing and doesn’t work well, anyway I simply found another YouTube video of a priest doing the stations where the whole group moved from station to station and followed them. I thought this was acceptable? I wonder if it is…
 
There is no right or wrong way to pray the Stations of the Cross if you are doing them on your own. (Obviously, if a group is doing the Station of Cross, don’t go rogue.) The Stations are a means of mediation and to bring oneself closer to Christ in His passion and death. If a written form moves you, do that. If moving between the stations silently imagining each scene moves you, do that. The purpose of moving between the stations is to walk with Christ in those final steps of His, but usually when you’re in a group (unless the stations are outside or the group is small), you’re going to remain in the pew and someone walks to each station with the cross. There’s something very powerful, I think, about walking through the stations praying in a silent church.
 
Bluebright said:
I wonder, for the purposes of ‘moving between them’ would not doing this online say youtube, and praying along suffice?
I missed attending a couple at my church during Lent due to my chronic illness and was intending to watch my church (its streamed 24/7) while they did but from home, which I did bit I couldn’t hear as the leader didn’t take a microphone around with him as it’s a temperamental thing and doesn’t work well, anyway I simply found another YouTube video of a priest doing the stations where the whole group moved from station to station and followed them. I thought this was acceptable? I wonder if it is…
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First of all, if you’re saying them as a private devotion and not for the indulgence, then you can say them how you want, no need to move around. It’s traditional to move between stations but not required.

Second, if you’re seeking to get the indulgence, but you’re saying them at home with Youtube because you are ill, then you’re “legitimately impeded” and again there’s no requirement that you do anything other than read and meditate on the Passion and Death of Christ for at least 15 minutes. The Youtube would probably suffice.

Third, if you’re there in person and it’s a large crowd with a leader, it’s okay for indulgence purposes if the leader just moves between stations and everybody else stays in their pew. This is the way most Lenten stations at churches are done.
 
Here’s the whole Manual of Indulgences section for anybody interested in the conditions for getting an indulgence. The Plenary Indulgence is also subject to the “usual conditions” (be in a state of grace, have no attachment to sin, pray for the Holy Father’s Intentions, confession within 20 days before or after, and receive Communion within a few days), otherwise it’s a partial.
13 - IN MEMORY OF THE PASSION AND DEATH OF THE LORD

A plenary indulgence is granted to the faithful who
§1 devoutly assist at the adoration of the Cross in the solemn liturgical action of Good
Friday; or
§2 personally make the pious Way of the Cross, or devoutly unite themselves to the Way
of the Cross while it is being led by the Supreme Pontiff and broadcast live on television
or radio.
In the pious exercise of the Way of the Cross, we recall anew the sufferings which our divine
Redeemer endured while going from the praetorium of Pilate, where he was condemned to death, to
Mount Calvary, where he died on the cross for our salvation.
Regarding the acquisition of the plenary indulgence, the following is prescribed:
  1. The pious exercise must be made before stations of the Way of the Cross legitimately
    erected.
  2. To erect the Way of the Cross, fourteen crosses are needed, to which it is customary to
    attach a picture or image representing the fourteen stations of Jerusalem.
  3. According to common custom, the pious exercise consists of fourteen devotional
    readings, to which some vocal prayers are added. To make the Way of the Cross,
    however, it is sufficient to meditate devoutly on the Lord’s Passion and Death, and
    therefore reflection on the particular mysteries of the individual stations is not
    necessary.
  4. Progression from one station to the next is required. If the pious exercise is made
    publicly, and moving from station to station by all participants is not possible without
    inconvenience, it is sufficient that at least the one conducting the Way of the Cross
    progress from station to station, while the others remain in their place.
  5. Those legitimately impeded can acquire the same indulgence, if they spend some time,
    e.g., at least a quarter of an hour, in reading and meditating on the Passion and Death
    of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
  6. Equivalent to the pious exercise of the Way of the Cross, even with regard to
    obtaining the indulgence, are other pious exercises, approved by competent authority,
    which call to mind the memory of the Passion and Death of our Lord, likewise with the
    prescribed fourteen stations.
  7. For those belonging to the Eastern Churches, where this pious exercise may not exist,
    the indulgence can be acquired by means of some other pious exercise in memory of
    the Passion and Death of our Lord Jesus Christ, accordingly as each patriarch has
    established for his own faithful.
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@DLedoux

Out of curiosity, because I don’t recall having read a thread about the stations, I did a thread search and discovered that more than 50 such threads are archived. Happy reading to us! 😇
 
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