roses in my heart

The Stations of the Cross

The Stations of the Cross (or Way of the Cross; in Latin, Via Crucis or Via Dolorosa) refers to the depiction of the final days (or Passion) of Jesus Christ, and the Church's devotion commemorating the Passion.

The Stations themselves are usually a series of 14 pictures or sculptures depicting the following scenes:

1. Christ is condemned to death
2. The cross is laid upon him
3. His first fall
4. He meets His Blessed Mother
5. Simon of Cyrene is made to bear the cross
6. Christ's face is wiped by Veronica
7. His second fall
8. He meets the women of Jerusalem
9. His third fall
10. He is stripped of His garments
11. His crucifixion
12. His death on the cross
13. His body is taken down from the cross
14. His body is laid in the tomb

Lucille Castro explains the stations this way:
"Stations are places where people wait while they are going from one place to another. A school-bus stop is like a station. People wait at train stations or bus stations or airports... Stations are also places where people take time to think about Jesus as he went to die on a cross. They are "Stations of the Cross." They show us how much Jesus loved us.
You do not have to think of all of the Stations of the Cross on one day. You may want to stay at one Station with Jesus for a few days before you move to another Station. Whatever you decide, Jesus is with you and he loves you."

http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/stations.html
http://frpat.com/stations.htm (drawings of stations done by grade 5 children)
http://www.cptryon.org/prayer/child/stations/ (good site for families & children)
http://www.xpeastbourne.org/arch/stations/contents.htm