Sacred Heart Catholic Church at 302 West 11th Street, Elgin, TX 78621 US - Stations of the Cross
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Stations of the Cross |
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The season of Lent is the perfect time for praying the Stations of the Cross. By walking with Jesus on this journey, we contemplate, and enter into, the mystery of Jesus’ gift of himself to us.
Where did the Stations of the Cross come from?
After Jesus died and rose from the dead, many people reflected upon his passion and death. They began to make visits to Jerusalem and walk in Jesus' footsteps. The street Jesus walked is still called Via Dolorosa, the way of pain. People would stop along the way and remember what had happened to Jesus. It is likely that they marked the places for those who came after them to follow as well. These people became known as "pilgrims."
As Christianity spread throughout the world, distance made it nearly impossible for people to make the trip to Jerusalem. That didn't stop their need to know and remember. By the twelfth century the fervor of the Crusades and a heightened devotion to the Passion of Jesus created a demand in Europe for representations of the last events in Jesus' life.
When the Franciscans took over the custody of the shrines in the Holy Land in 1342, they saw it as their mission to encourage devotion to these places. In western Europe a series of shrines erected to help the faithful remember Christ's passion became commonplace. They were erected outside Churches and monasteries and in other places as well. As the years passed, many Catholic Churches had the Stations of the Cross placed along the walls of their worship space. "Pilgrims" can now come to Church at any time and pray, moving from station to station.
Throughout Lent, we will pray the Stations of the Cross every Friday at 12 noon and again at 7:00 p.m. in the main sanctuary. We hope you will join us as we walk in the footsteps of Jesus and contemplate his Passion.
The following links will take you to some online versions of the Stations of the Cross. We hope these will help you in your Lenten Journey.
The following are links to other websites that also have online Stations of the Cross: