The Stations of the Cross is a powerful Lenten prayer: it’s like accompanying Jesus step by step on the way to His crucifixion. The agony He went through for our sake moves us to love Him even more.
Most Catholic parishes do the Stations on Fridays during Lent. Yet your schedule or your family needs might prevent you from making it.
If that’s the case, here are three ways you can participate in this great Catholic tradition at home.
Listen on the Amen app.
There are lots of recorded versions of the Stations out there, but we recommend using the Amen app. It’s free and easy to use. Since you don’t have to follow along with a booklet, you can sit back, listen and sink deep into the prayers read aloud.
Use Stations of the Cross cards.
You don’t have to pray the Stations by yourself -– you can do it as a family! There are many resources available that lend themselves to be printed and hung on the walls. Catholic Icing has gathered made it easy, adding many options in one place (coloring optional, but encouraged!).Pray with your imagination.
If you struggle to follow along with the traditional form of the Stations, you might try a more imaginative approach. Read the book “What Jesus Saw from the Cross” and pray with the vivid details you encounter. You’ll feel like you’ve dropped right into the scene.St. John Paul II once said about the Stations of the Cross: “We believe that every step of the Condemned Christ, every action and every word, as well as everything felt and done by those who took part in this tragic drama, continues to speak to us.”
May you too hear Christ speaking to you through the Stations this Lent.
