The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1912-03-23
STATIONS OF THE CROSS.

Grated by the consummation of the
work of redemption, and thousands of
Christians flocked annually to the land
in which the light of truth first shone,
where the Son of God in human guise
deigned to walk as man among men,
where the Lord taught, suffered, bled
and died, and rose again; where the
work of mans redemption was con-
summated. And when in Jerusalem the
Christians would invariably follow step
by step the various places made sacred
by the last hours of Christ's life, from
Pilates palace to Calvary's heights.
But when in the beginning of the
Middle Ages the Holy Land fell into
the hands of the infidels, the Turks
and Saracens, who profaned the holy
places, slew the Christians and cast
their bodies out upon the plains for the
fowls of the air and the beasts of the
fields to feed upon; when therefore for
many centuries Christians could not
visit the scenes of Our Lords suffer
ings without risk of life, the Catholic
Church permitted the erection of the
so-called Stations of the Cross" in her
churches, chapels, in the open air in
cemeteries, groves, on the slope of a
hill, along the banks of rivers. From
the thirteenth century the erection of
the Stations of the Cross became gen.
eral all over Europe. The religious of
st. Francis of Assist, to whom the care
of the Holy Sepulchre and the other
sacred places in the Holy Land are
entrusted, introduced this devotion
everywhere. And the multitude of the
faithful flocked to the places where
the Stations had been erected to per-
form the pious exercise of the Way OF
the Cross. The sovereign Pontiffs not
only approved of this devotion, but to
stimulate the faithful still more to it's
performance they enriched it with the
same great and many indulgences
which they were accustomed to grant
to the pilgrims to the Holy Land. In
consequence the devotion of the Sta
lions of the Cross became the most
popular and widespread in every Chris
tan country. The traveller of today
may see the Stations still in all Cath
Ollie countries, along the Rhine and
Danube, in the Lowlands and the Alps,
in Austria and Italy, and many of
them are exceedingly striking and
beautifully picturesque. In England
and Scotland even the name stations
of the Cross" is almost forgotten, ex-
cept as a matter of history. All the
crosses, crucifxes, Stations OF the
Cross were demolished and broken
into pieces by order of Queen Eliza
beth. Many of them were celebrated
works of art.
The stations in churches are either
fresco pictures or paintings in frames,
or bas reliefs; in the open air groups
in stone, marble, metal or wood. They
bring out fourteen incidents, scenes
which took place when Jesus bore His
cross from Pilates palace to Mount
Calvary. The scenes in the order in
which they follow are:
|. Jesus is condemned to death by
PLATE. 2. Jesus is laden with the
cross. 8. Jesus falls under the weight
of the cross. 4. Jesus meets his
mother. ). Simon of Cyrene helps
Jesus to carry the cross. 6. Veronica
offers Jesus her headcloth. z. Jesus
falls a second time under the cross.
s. Jesus comforts the women of Jeru-
salem. 9. Jesus falls a third time
under the cross. 10. Jesus is stripped
of His garments. II. Jesus is nailed
to the cross. r. Jesus dies upon the
cross. 10. Jesus is taken down from
the cross. IA. Jesus is laid in the
tomb.
Most of these scenes are recorded
in the gospels, and are, consequently
articles of faith. A few of them are
recorded in the Church's constant
tradition. For instance, we are not
told in the gospels that Jesus fell
three times while journeying the sad
via Dolorosa from Pilates court to the
hill of Calvary. We are not told in
the gospels that Veronica came and
offered Him the tribute of woman
devotion, and that He wiped His
bleeding face with the cloth which she
gave Him. But they have been handed
down as facts from the earliest tradl
tions of the Church. This is the his
tory of the Stations of the Cross.
Devotion to the passion and death OF
Christ have always been a character
istic mark of good Christian, and il
NAV be safely said that the special
privilege of those stepped in sorrow
and the refuge of every suffering
heart.
Tboroforo when standing on the
threshold of the penitential season OF
Lent the Catholic Church asks mel
children not only to fast and abstain
to pray more frequently and perform
special works of charity, but to medi
tate on the sacred sufferings and
death of the Saviour. She tell them
that no religious subject is more
worthy of our consideration, more
capable of occupying our minds, OF