The practice of re-enacting or visually representing the Stations of the Cross is very old indeed. The fourteen traditional Stations mark the passages from the moment Jesus was condemned to death until his burial in the tomb. To experience the Stations is not only to remember the gospel story of Jesus' crucifixion, but also is a way for us to reflect on the human condition of evildoing and suffering. The Stations are mirrors in which we see aspects of ourselves that we avoid confronting. By looking into the mirror that is the Passion story, we see truths about ourselves that are not only painful to behold, but also, paradoxically, are the means of our salvation.
Transformation begins with a clear-eyed encounter with difficult reality.
There are many ways to describe and interpret the Stations of the Cross. They have always been much more than a simple rendition of the story found in the gospels. Some of the Stations correspond to actual passages in the New Testament accounts of the Passion. But other Stations have no corresponding verses in scripture. Jesus' encounter with Veronica, for example, at Station number 6, is based on a legend that developed long after the biblical era.