Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1907-03-23
The Way of the Cross Is Human
ity's Attempt to Fellow
Christ.
Follower of st. Dominic Orgi-
mated the Devotion as
Now Practiced.
has SPREAD ALL OYER CHRlSYEHDOM

One the practices of devous
Catholics during the Lenten period
is to individually or collectively re
cite the prayers of the stations" or
sway of the Cross" AS rule during
Lent the faithful assemble in their
respective churches on Friday even
ings to practice this devotion. What
are the stations? Why do Catholics
practice this devotion? These are
questions frequently asked by those
not of our faith? sos ttn
The Way of the Cross is humanity's
attempt to follow Christ in his
journey from the court of PLATE to
his crucifixion and final consign-
ment to the tomb. The Catholic
church is poor indeed that has not a
representation of the stations"
whether they be in common prints,
stone, clay, paintings or other
devices. There are fourteen of these
stations.
The first calls to mind that our
Saviour was condemned by PLATE to
die an ignominious death on the
cross. Look at your print, oil paint
ing or statuary and you will see
PLATE washing his hands, as if he
were rid of the whole matter. while
Jesus is led away in bonds. Let any
one follow these pictures, whether he
be Catholic or non-Catholic, If he be
at all acquainted with Biblical history
he can not fail to understand the
scenes depicted.
The second station shows where
Christ is made to bear the cross. His
f,rst fall under the weight of the
cross is depicted in the third station.
Led along as a criminal to execution,
He meets his mother. This is shown
in the fourth station. In station five
we find an example of charity that
is all too rare in these days. 1t shows
ms where Simon, the Cyrenian, helps
our Saviour to carry his cross. Then
Veronica offers her kercbief to our
Lord to wipe the sweat and blood
from his holy face. In return the inn
print of his blessed countenance is
left upon the cloth. At the seventh
station Jesus falls the second time
beneath the weight o. the cross, and
at the eighth we see Him telling the
women Of Jerusalem. "Weep not for
me, but for your children" At sta
ton nine we see Him fall the third
time.
The real agony of the journey to
Calvary begins when Jesus is stripped
of his garments, as shown us in the
tenth station. Modesty personfied
was the Son of God, yet his enemies
barred Him to the world. Station
eleven shows us the crucifixion, and
twelve depicts his death. We see Him
taken down from the cross in thir-
teen and in fourteen He is consigned
10 the tomb.
A follower of St. Dominic, the
Blessed Alvarez, originated the devo-
ton of the sway of the Cross" as it
il now practiced by Catholics.
Alvarez, when he returned from Jeru-
salem to his convent in Cordova,
Spain, built little chapels, in which
he represented, station by station,
the principal events in our Saviour's
Journey to Calvary. Like many other
benefits that the world enjoys, the
son of St. Dominic was not given
credit for establishing the devotion in
Western Christendom. 1t was not until
the year 1912 that the stations began
to be a regular devotional exercise,
and then through the fundamentally
of the Franciscan Friars Minor
From the latter the devotion was
spread all over Christendom and has
been practiced more particularly dur
ing Lent