April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
LENTEN REFLECTION
Stations are not pretty pictures
The stations are a permanent feature in Catholic churches. They are not seasonal appointments.
Over the centuries, different versions of the stations featured anywhere from 11 to 36 incidents in Jesus' Passion. Of the 14 that ultimately constituted the standardized version, six have no basis in Scripture. Some familiar episodes in the Gospels, like the scourging and mocking of Jesus, did not make the final cut.
The Stations of the Cross are fertile soil for the artistic and devotional imagination. Saints like Alphonsus Liguori and scholars like Henri Nouwen and Caryll Houselander have written prayers and reflections for the various stations. The stations continue to inspire sculptors, artists, craftsmen and musicians.
Early versions of the stations were very crowded with Roman soldiers and jeering or appalled onlookers. But Eric Gills' 1918 Stations of the Cross, carved in shallow relief for Westminster Cathedral in London, pointed in a new direction.
The compositions were simple and formal, not theatrical. They didn't dictate an emotional response. The stone panels left space for the devotee's own thoughts.
Recent Popes Blessed John Paul II and Benedict XVI have penned their own reflections on the 14 stations. The Holy Cross Order of Notre Dame University has a special version of its own, written by members of Holy Cross communities.
In that book, titled, "You Have Redeemed the World: Praying the Stations in the Holy Cross Tradition," each station concludes, "Ave crux, spes unica" ("Hail the cross, our only hope"). Graphics in the book depict the cross in diverse forms and shapes.
The believer, the preacher, the artist and musician inevitably flesh out the mystery of the Passion, adding detail and new perspective to help each devotee enter personally into the story and identify with the holy.
Most of Christ's earthly life was hidden. He was hidden in His mother's womb; He was hidden in Egypt and in Nazareth; He was hidden in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights while fasting.
Even during His public life, He was hidden when He fled up to a mountain to pray. During the 40 days of His risen life, again and again, He disappeared and hid Himself from men. Today, He is hidden in the Blessed Sacrament, in heaven and in His mystical Body on earth.
But in His Passion, He was exposed. Jesus was made public property to whole of humankind.
That is why the Stations of the Cross are not a museum piece on our church walls.
(Father Rosson is pastor of St. Mary's "Our Lady of the Lake" parish in Cooperstown.)[[In-content Ad]]
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