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Via Crucis
(Way of the Cross)
A Bilingual Commemoration of the Lord's Passion and Death
Good Friday • April 6, 2012
6:00-7:00pm • Queen of Peace Church, Waterloo
(followed by Adoration of the Cross)
• • •
"The texts, the meditations and the prayers of the Way of
the Cross have helped us to consider the mystery of the
Passion in order to appreciate the great lesson of love which
God gave on the Cross, that there might be born in us a renewed
desire to change our hearts, living each day that love which is
the only force able to change the world. This evening we have
gazed upon Jesus and his countenance marked by pain, derided,
outraged and disfigured by the sin of humanity; tomorrow night
we will look upon the same countenance full of joy, radiant and
luminous…."
-- Pope Benedict XVI, at the conclusion of
the Way of the Cross in the Colosseum in Rome in 2010.
• • •
History of the Way of the
Cross
According to Christian tradition,
what became known over the years as a pious devotion called
The Way of the Cross (or Stations of the Cross) originated among
early Christians, perhaps with Mary herself. The early
Christian community attached spiritual significance to the
practice of re-tracing Jesus' path along the via dolorosa ("the
way of sorrow") from the location of Pilate's court to the site
of the crucifixion on Calvary and to the nearby tomb.
As the Church expanded into Europe and Africa, participation
in this devotion became more and more impractical for the
average Christian. After the Muslim conquest of the Holy
Land in the twelfth century, it became virtually impossible,
even for wealthy Christians. In place of a pilgrimage to
the Holy Land itself, Christians began constructing a local Way
of the Cross with "stations" inside or outside parish churches,
chapels and shrines.
The Catholic Church standardized the traditional form of the
Stations in the eighteenth century. Today the devotion
consists of fourteen stations, usually consisting of paintings,
sculptures or plaques, depicting the events of Christ's passion.
Participants, or representatives of the community, pass from one
Station to the next, reciting prayers and meditating on the
saving events of Christ's passion and death at each one.
In Rome, a tradition of praying the Stations of the Cross publicly
in the Colosseum on Good Friday dates back to the Holy Year of
1750; the custom was revived by Pope Paul VI in 1964 and has
been continued by Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI.
• • •
La Via Crucis in Hispanic
Cultures
In Hispanic cultures of the
western hemisphere, the traditional Way of the Cross (La
Via Crucis) dates back to colonial times when Spanish
missionaries introduced the devotion to the indigenous
population in the Americas. The emphasis on the suffering
and death of Jesus in Spanish piety, combined with the social
and political conditions of the new converts, made the annual
Via Crucis a particularly powerful and evocative spiritual
experience.
Today in many Central American and Mexican Catholic communities
preparation for the re-enactment of the Lord's passion begins
weeks or months before the event, which is traditionally
celebrated on Good Friday. As many people as possible are
given roles in the pageant, which dramatizes each of the
Stations and concludes with the mock-crucifixion of a young man
playing the role of Jesus. In many locations the holy
pageant is held outdoors and the entire community
participates by journeying from station to station,
observing the life-like presentation of each event and
reflecting on their personal journey of repentance and
conversion.
• • •
The Way of the Cross and the Liturgy
The Way of
the Cross is considered an expression of popular devotion or
piety; like other popular devotions it plays an important role
in the prayer of the Christian community. As the
Catechism of the Catholic Church states, "Christian
prayer loves to follow the way of the cross in the Savior's
steps. The stations from the Praetorium to Golgotha and the tomb
trace the way of Jesus, who by his holy Cross has redeemed the
world" (# 2669).
While these devotions are inspired by the Liturgy, they cannot replace the liturgy. Popular devotions like the Way of the Cross and enactments of
the Lord's Passion
commemorate the Lord’s passion but do not actually
re-present it in the way that the Liturgy itself does.
“Since the liturgy is the center of the life of the Church,
popular devotions should never be portrayed as equal to the
liturgy, nor can they adequately substitute for the liturgy,”
the U.S. bishops wrote in 2003. The liturgy and popular
devotions “are two forms of worship which are in mutual and
fruitful relationship to each other;” such devotions “should
flow from and lead to a fuller participation in the liturgy" (Popular Devotional Practices,
United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops, 2003).
• • •
Way of the Cross Resources
• Pope John Paul II's Scriptural Way of the Cross:
http://www.usccb.org/nab/stations.shtml
• Meditations for the Pope's annual Way of the Cross in the
Roman
Colosseum:
http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/documents/index_via-crucis_en.html
•
"Together on the Journey--A
Migrant's Way of the Cross":
http://www.usccb.org/mrs/nmw/pdf/wayofthecross.pdf
______________________
For More
Information Contact:
Director of Adult Faith Formation
•
320 Mulberry Street,
Waterloo IA 50703.
Phone:
319-234-9912 • Email:
DBQ208s3@arch.pvt.k12.ia.us
Posted
04.08.11
•
Last Update
02.24.12
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