Spiritual Practice - Stations of the Cross
Resources for Good Friday
The Stations of the Cross also called The Way of the Cross, consist of prayers and meditations commemoration the Passion and death of Christ. I did not grow up with this practice but first became aware of it through my good friend Mark Pierson who is a Baptist minister in New Zealand.
There are fourteen stations each representing an event which occurred during Jesus' Passion and death at Calvary on Good Friday. The Stations were originally performed many centuries ago by Christian pilgrims who visited the Holy Land. However the Franciscans, who were given custody of the Holy Places in the Holy Land in the 1300s, made it very popular. Countless Christians have all enriched their spiritual lives with this powerful devotion.
During the crusades (1095-1270), pilgrims in the Holy Land often walked in the footsteps of Jesus to Calvary. After the Moslems recaptured the Holy Land pilgrimages were too dangerous and the Stations of the Cross in churches became a popular substitute pilgrimage throughout Europe.
Stations of the Cross are a Holy Week activity not just restricted to Good Friday. A growing number of churches of all denominations set up Stations of the Cross at the beginning of Holy Week so that people can walk around them in their own time reflecting on Christ's suffering and death. Because of that I wanted to get this list up early for those that are still looking for ideas.
There are thousands of resources for Stations of the Cross out there. I have tried to put together a collection from around the world attempting to highlight some of the challenging issues of our turbulent world that are portrayed and have continued adding to that theme this year.
Most of the images I have collected are far from the traditional stations of the cross. Many of them have been constructed out of the pain and suffering of the people who created them - sometimes personal, sometimes cultural. If there are other international images you think should be a part of this collection please add them in the comments. I would like to continue to enrich this list each year and there is still enough time before Good Friday for me to update this post. If you are looking for a fairly traditional set of reflections and images this one on Catholic Online is hard to beat. Enjoy!
Explanation of the stations of the Cross:
There are traditionally fourteen Stations of the Cross. Each station represents a different moment in Jesus’ Passion and Death, including:
Jesus is Condemned to Death
Jesus Carries the Cross
Jesus Falls for the First Time
Jesus Meets His Mother
Simon Helps Jesus Carry His Cross
Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus
Jesus Falls a Second Time
Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem
Jesus Falls a Third Time
Jesus is Stripped of His Garments
Jesus is Nailed to the Cross
Jesus Dies on the Cross
Jesus’ Body is Removed from the Cross
Jesus is Laid in the Tomb
Stations of the Cross For Gaza
In the last couple of years as the war in Gaza continues, a number of Palestinian themed Stations of the Cross have appeared.
This one from Christians for Palestine is particularly powerful.
Australian Aboriginal Stations of the Cross
This series was imagined, dreamed and painted by John Dunn, an Olkola/Djabaguy man from Far North Queensland. Artist John Dunn was caught up in the pain of the stolen generation. He did not find his family until he was in his 40s, after many years of searching. The process of painting this story was for him a personal discovery of his Aboriginality and his own hurt and isolation; the journey led him to peace and a healing of his spirit.
I also find this image “Stations of the Cross.” by Shirley Purdie, who was the first aboriginal artist to win the Blake Prize for Religious Art with her painting.
This prayerful resource laments the stages in the death of part of God's Creation. It incorporates issues related to rainforest destruction, extractive industries, loss of biodiversity and climate change in the Philippines.
From New Zealand
This version of the Stations of the cross has traditional images with Maori cloth in the background.
This version powerfully draws us into the plight of some of the South Pacific Islands that are already threatened by rising sea levels and climate change.
Dr Warren Feeney on "Stations of the Cross", McAtamney Gallery, www.mcatamneygallery.co.nz
From Middle East and Sudan -
I am fascinated by this interesting set of Jordanian stamps which Mansour Mouasher has found depicting the Stations of the Cross.
Rachel Gadsden is a British artist who is exhibited internationally and who works across the mainstream and disability art sectors, presenting cross-cultural visual dialogues that consider the most profound notions of what it is to be human. Her stations of the cross for St Joseph's Cathedral Abu Dhabi are powerful.
From North America
This series with artwork by Gwynth Leech and poetry by Malcolm Guite sets the traditional imagery of the Stations of the Cross in the midst of contemporary conflicts. They were commissioned by Saint Paul's on the Green in Norwalk Connecticut in 2004. It is a heartrending presentation of the stations of the Cross using images of refugees from Iraq and Sudan as spectators and participants. It is profound but is about an hour in length so much sure you give plenty of time to participate.
Im/migration Stations of the Cross by Nanette Sawyer. It's a series of original art, looking through the lens of immigration/migration. How can the Jesus story teach us about immigration/migration issues, and how can the stories and experiences of immigrants and migrants increase our understanding of the Jesus story? Make sure you leave plenty of time for this one. Read the description and then click each station down the side - it is a very profound experience.
This series by Minnesotan artist Anne Brink is fascinating.
Mary Button has an incredible collection of artwork on stations of the Cross - everything from Indigenous Justice to Refugees and Mental health. Well worth a visit to her website.
James Tissot’s The Life of Christ at the Brooklyn Museum is also worth spending time reflecting on.
Busted halo always has good liturgical resources and I found this video presentation of The Stations of the Cross to be a good one to spend time reflecting on.
A very powerful presentation of the stations from the perspective of liberation theology by Adolfo Pérez Esquivel of Argentina. This is one I like to revisit each year.
This video is one of the first I put together with photos my friend Tom Balke took on a trip to Ecuador of artwork from Oscar Guayasamin, There is no music but I think it provides a powerful silent meditation for this season.
From Asia
I enjoyed meditating on this series by a nun in Bangalore India
And another very beautiful, Korean Stations of the Cross by Korean sculptor Choi Jong-tae from Myeong-dong Cathedral.
From Africa
I love this stations of the cross from Hekima College, Nairobi, Kenya. The designs were created by Father Angelbert M. Vang SJ from Yaoude, from the Cameroon who was a well-known historian, poet, musician and designer and executed by a Kenyan artist.
From Nigeria The Fourteen Stations of the Cross: “This rare set of linocuts was printed in 1969 in several editions of about fifty by Bruce Onobrakpeya, an Urhobo man who has become Nigeria’s mast famous – and arguably best – artist.”
And from Lodwar Cathedral Kenya this series of the Stations of the Cross seen through African eyes is very powerful. .
From U.K.
This Stations of the Cross series by Chris Gollon was commissioned by the Church of England for the Church of St John on Bethnal Green, in East London. Gollon took the unusual step of using his own son as the model for Jesus, his daughter as Mary, and his wife as Veronica. Fr Alan Green is cast as Nicodemus, and David Tregunna (Gollon’s friend and agent) as Joseph of Arimathea. The juxtaposition of real figures with imagined ones creates a heightened sense of reality. I think that the images are both compelling and powerful.
This series by David O'Connell hangs in St Richards Chichester is another powerful series.
Another series by Linda Sallnow in London
From Europe
Since 2010, the church of Santa Maria ad Martyres, in Rome, better known as the Pantheon, has been home to a beautiful set of bronze reliefs depicting the fourteen Stations of the Cross. The graphic reliefs are the work of the sculptor Federico Severino (b. 1953), who hails from the city of Brescia.
For Kids
Catholic Mom has helpful books and Stations of the Cross for Kids.
Check out this family Bible study for younger kids set up like stations of the cross.
Multimedia Stations of the Cross from Loyola Press.
Virtual stations online:
An excellent online video presentation from Jeruslaem.com I have not watched all of it yet but enjoyed what I watched.
And from Jonny Baker in England a great idea – QR Stations of the Cross.
Stations of the Cross Kits by our Friends
Godspace contributor, Lilly Lewin, has made her Stations of the Cross kit available through Free Range Worship.
Scott Erickson in Portland has also made variety of fantastic Stations of the Cross kits
I've used James Tissot's paintings from the late 1800s in the past for a PowerPoint I put together when I co-led Good Friday with a retired Catholic Priest. I used the updated Stations List from Pope John Paul II for the responses and a combination of a traditional list of longer scripture and prayers for a different year we did them together. At work (Senior LifePlan Community) we then did a cross processional after the service.