A Healing Journey through the Way of the Cross

A Healing Journey through the Way of the Cross at the HOLY LAND SUBIC SANCTUARY

by Maribi Mapa-Garcia

The Way of the Cross is a traditional devotion commonly prayed in a church or chapel where there are stations. If this is not possible, it can be prayed anywhere and anytime, not only during Holy Week as most people usually understand. Reflecting prayerfully on the passion and death of Jesus Christ, we are reminded that our sins have caused Him to suffer and die and that His passion continues today in suffering humanity.

The New Stations of the Cross gives the Stations a better liturgical and biblical foundaton since it not only emphasizes the significance of the passion and death of Jesus but also points out that He rose from the dead.

The way of the Cross as a devotion, started during the time of the Crusades (1095-1270). This prayer of the Church venerates and honors the Heart of Jesus and His Holy Name and the Incarnate Word. Jesus, who out of His great love for men was pierced in His Heart by all our sins but by His Holy Cross has redeemed the world.

It became popular for pilgrims going to the Holy Land to walk in the footsteps of Jesus to Calvary. In the next two centuries after the Moslems recaptured the Holy Land, pilgrimages became too dangerous so a substitute pilgrimage, the Station of the Cross became a popular outdoor devotion throughout Europe during the Middle Ages.

They represented the critical events of Jesus’ journey to Calvary and varied in number from five to twenty until the 18th century, when Pope Clement XII fixed the number at fourteen in the mid 18th century. Stations were allowed in churches and became a familiar feature in Catholic churches. In the 1960’s it became popular to add a 15th Station, representing the end of the journey, the Ressurection. Finally at the start of 1990 the New Way of the Cross with 14 Stations starting from the Last Supper and ending with the Ressurection was introduced. Some stations in the traditional Way of the Cross were replaced by events of Christ’s sufferings mentioned in Scripture. There are several versions of these new fourteen stations, however, we have used the version most cpmmonly prayed in Churches and used in most prayer books.