Our Good Friday meditations are adapted from the Pope's annual Way of the Cross, which usually takes place at the Colosseum in Rome on the evening of Good Friday. The meditations begin at 7:00am on Good Friday and arrive hourly by email, concluding at 8:00pm. Each meditation includes a short prayer, a reflection, and a suggested musical selection.
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 his successors.
Each year, the pope chooses a theme and an individual or group to write the fourteen reflections which accompany the Way of the Cross.
> The papal Way of the Cross begins at 9:00pm Rome time [2:00pm Iowa time] and is broadcast live on various media outlets. You can view it live on Vatican Media Live here or on Salt & Light Media here.
> Learn more about this year's reflections here.
> Learn more about why the Way of the Cross is enacted in the Colosseum here.
> Register to receive this year's meditations here.
The Way of the Cross (also called “Stations of the Cross” or Via Crucis) is a common Catholic devotion observed during the Lenten season. It originated among early Christians who found spiritual value in re-tracing Jesus’ path along the via dolorosa (“way of sorrow”) from Pilate’s court to the site of the crucifixion on Calvary. When participation in this devotion became impractical for the average person, Christians outside of Jerusalem began constructing the Way of the Cross inside or outside local parish churches, chapels and shrines. The Catholic Church standardized the traditional form of the Stations in the 18th century. Today the traditional devotion consists of fourteen “stations,” represented by paintings, sculptures or plaques depicting the events of Christ’s Passion; in some communities local custom adds a fifteenth station, depicting the Lord's resurrection.
[Posted 03.16.23]