Lenten Campaign 2025
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One of the most popular devotions during Lent is the Stations of the Cross. Parishes around the world will hold special times when the faithful can come to the Church and pray the Stations together.
It is a devotion that simply "makes sense" during Lent, as it is focused on the intense passion and death of Jesus Christ.
The Directory on popular piety and the liturgy explains that it is a "synthesis" of various Lenten devotions:
The Via Crucis is a synthesis of various devotions that have arisen since the high middle ages: the pilgrimage to the Holy Land during which the faithful devoutly visit the places associated with the Lord's Passion; devotion to the three falls of Christ under the weight of the Cross; devotion to "the dolorous journey of Christ" which consisted in processing from one church to another in memory of Christ's Passion; devotion to the stations of Christ, those places where Christ stopped on his journey to Calvary because obliged to do so by his executioners or exhausted by fatigue, or because moved by compassion to dialogue with those who were present at his Passion.
While it certainly is focused on Jesus' passion, the Directory notes four additional lessons that we can learn from it.
1Life as a Pilgrimage
The Directory explains that the Stations of the Cross can open us up to the idea of, "life being a journey or pilgrimage."
When praying the Stations of the Cross, it is common to move from one station to the next. This physical movement is sometimes made even more dramatic when praying at outdoor stations that wind its way up and down a hill.
Our life is a journey, a pilgrimage, that will be difficult at times, but will lead us to our ultimate home.
2Preparation for Heaven
Connected to the previous lesson, the Stations can remind us that our life is "a passage from earthly exile to our true home in Heaven."
Life can be difficult and Jesus' passion puts this suffering on full display. When praying the Stations we can reflect on our own lives and how the many sufferings we experience prepare us for our true home.
3Uniting ourselves to Jesus' Passion
The Stations have an obvious lesson of igniting within us "the deep desire to be conformed to the Passion of Christ."
While we may not always feel a great inner desire to be united to Jesus' Passion, the Stations are a reminder to us that Jesus invites us to be with us at the cross.
In many ways Jesus looks out to us and asks us to be like Simon of Cyrene and walk with him to Calvary.
4Carrying our own cross daily
Another lesson is to remember, "the demands of following Christ, which imply that his disciples must follow behind the Master, daily carrying their own crosses."
The Stations can remind us of our own crosses that we are having a difficult time to carry. It is simply a part of life on this earth, and only increases as we embrace our Christian vocation.
If we want to follow Jesus, we need to carry our own crosses.
