Each year, during Lent, we look for external practices, things that we can do with our bodies that help us to reject sin and embrace Christ. 

 

We are body and soul. Our faith, including our Lenten penance, must include both.

 

There is a Lenten practice that the Church has loved for centuries that fits that very need. It is the Stations of the Cross. 

 

In many parishes, the Stations are held weekly, often on the Fridays of Lent to mark the day when Jesus died for us. 

 

While every Friday of the year should be a “mini Good Friday,” the Fridays of Lent with the abstinence from meat, are intended to be even clearer reminders of that Friday over 2,000 years ago.

 

Historically, the faithful of the early Church were moved to walk the steps of Jesus through Jerusalem to unite themselves to His passion and death. Over time, and with the subsequent Moslem domination of the Holy Land, it became increasingly difficult for pilgrims to come to Jerusalem. And of course, the poor did not have the resources to make such a difficult trip.

 

Consequently, piety and faith moved the Church to make recreations of the Stations available throughout the world. 

 

In the 1700’s, indulgences, the remission of the temporal punishment for our sins, was formally granted for those who prayed the Stations of the Cross.

 

Today, we have in the Church’s tradition and prayer 14 Stations. Those moments begin with Jesus standing before Pilate and being condemned to be crucified, not for His failures, but for ours. The 14th and final Station recalls the burial of Jesus.

 

So as we look for some way to deepen our Lenten spirituality, as we seek some form of penance for Lent — we should consider participating in the Stations of the Cross. We can do so in a parish church or even quietly at home.

 

Typically, the Stations do engage our bodies. At the beginning of each station, we genuflect as we reflect on the suffering of Jesus at each particular moment. 

 

If we do not walk along, we can reflect from our pews in church about each new moment of Jesus’ suffering.

 

Consider for example, the thoughts we have walking along with Jesus as He is beaten and scourged and takes up His heavy cross. 

 

We join ourselves to Mary as she encounters Jesus on the way. We take to heart the image 

and sound of the nails being pounded into the hands and feet of Jesus before He is raised up on the cross.

 

What is so moving about the Stations is that each one is a different reminder that Jesus did this for each one of us. It recalls that our sins were the reason for this terrible suffering. And we are reminded that Jesus’ love is so great that even in the agony of the cross, He wants to forgive the world, and forgive you and me.

 

Consider taking advantage of the Stations in the weeks remaining this Lent. Parents, take your children to this vivid and living reminder of Christ’s love. It is an excellent way to teach them to pray.

 

The Stations can also be an excellent preparation for confession of our sins during Lent. Once more, I invite each and every one to make a good confession. Especially if you are worried about something long past or have not been to confession in many years please come this Lent. 

 

And don’t forget that on March 21, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., we will celebrate Be Reconciled Day. Confessions will be heard continuously throughout the diocese on that day. 

 

Check your local parish, parish app and the diocesan website for times and details. 

 

Stations of the Cross and Lenten confession — an excellent preparation for Easter!