Stations of the Cross

The Rev. Lowell Grisham of Fayetteville walked in the footsteps of Jesus.

Throughout the city of Jerusalem, places are marked with brass Roman numerals and plaques recording their significance. This is the Via Doloroso, the path Jesus took to the cross -- also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Way of Suffering. Plaques with each numeral record the significance of the place, the horror of Jesus. For example, where Jesus took up the cross, where Simon helped him carry it and where Jesus was nailed to that cross.

Pilgrims visiting Jerusalem walk this path -- sometimes with guides, Grisham explained. During a 2010 trip to the Holy Land, Grisham's group stopped at several stations.

"We entered the lane along the Via Doloroso, where there are blocks that came from the Antonia Fortress," he wrote for Maundy Thursday that year. "On the blocks are markings for a game that the Roman soldiers played with their prisoners. The 'Game of Kings' was like a life-size game board with large rocks on the floor representing various squares. The soldiers would roll the dice and send the prisoner to different squares. On each square was a consequence -- a beating, spitting, whipping, or such, and one allowed a prisoner to be king for the day -- and then be executed tomorrow."

"These could have been the very stones where Jesus was tortured," he reflected Friday in a phone interview. "Thinking about it, I feel my whole body reacting in an aching, tearful way. I get a sense of deep sadness, pity and horror. The cruelty becomes so vivid. I get an image of Jesus taking that in all his goodness."

Pilgrimage

As early as the fourth century, Christians on pilgrimages to the Holy Land would walk the route Jesus walked to Calvary, a spot near the gate of Jerusalem where he was crucified. Political unrest kept Christians from Jerusalem, so the pilgrims found ways to follow the path with "stations" and devotions back home in Europe.

"Tradition holds that Mary, the mother of Jesus, herself led by example in making daily visits to the sites of her son's sufferings, death and resurrection following his ascension into heaven," reads the website of the Catholic Diocese of Little Rock.

"The devotion consists of meditating on 14 events which took place during Christ's Passion, from his being condemned to his burial," the site continues. Pope Clement XII fixed the number of devotions in 1731 for Catholics, but Pope John Paul II added one, to focus on the Resurrection of Christ, said Tom Murray, a parishioner of St. Bernard Catholic Church in Bella Vista.

"It should end in such a way as to convey hope in the Resurrection," the dioceses website reads. During last week's Stations of the Cross service at St. Bernard, the "pilgrims" stopped for the last time under the crucifix hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the knave.

Fifteenth Station: Jesus rises, victorious over death.

We adore you, O, Christ, and we bless you, because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Lord, from the tomb you filled our hearts with hope. Make it so we always look at this tomb in the moments when we feel ourselves closed in darkness.

May the victory of your Resurrection spread its peace throughout the world, may it inspire people to overcome prejudices and hate and grow in love and respect. Grant to the whole world the joy of your victory.

During the service, banners of purple -- the liturgical color for Lent -- hung in the sanctuary. The Rev. Barnabas Maria-susai -- wearing a white robe -- kept his hands folded in prayer, as he and three members of the church -- carrying a crucifix and candles -- traveled the few steps between each station, depicted in wood carvings hanging around the walls of the knave. Members led the congregation in worship with prayers and song.

The church boasts two other sets of stations, which hang year-round. A copper set, mounted on wooden frames by member Cliff Falkavage, hangs in the chapel, said member Roxanne Birchfield, and members often pray the station devotions during their shift in a 24-hour-a-day perpetual prayer. Detailed, moving bronze castings by artist Lynn Kircher, the son of a parishioner, stand along a garden path on church grounds.

"In the Christian tradition, there are lots and lots of versions of the Stations of the Cross," Grisham said.

His church, St. Paul's Episcopal in Fayetteville, displays during Lent black and white ink-block depictions and a set of needlepoint pieces, both made by members many years ago, Grisham said. Services are offered at 6 p.m. each Friday through Lent, with a small body of worshippers walking the path. Additionally, the church opens its sanctuary from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day, so Christians may walk the stations by themselves, with a prayer guide provided. The children of the church lead the Good Friday session of stations, offering first-person narrations of what happened at each scene of the Passion. Then all characters will join a tableau of the Crucifixion.

Fellowship Bible Church of Northwest Arkansas presents a one-day program from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at its annex in Bentonville, at 1201 S. Walton Blvd. (above the Bentonville Butcher and Deli). Six stations, each with an item representing the actions at that step -- a crown of thorns, 30 pieces of silver -- will be set up for individual reflection.

The meditations and prayers offered at the stations also vary from congregation to congregation. St. Paul's uses some included in the Episcopal church's Book of Occasional Services. Many Catholic churches follow devotions printed by the Vatican; St. Bernard created its own.

"Father Barnabas gives us homework," Birchfield said. "It might be to pray or read Scripture to prepare for next week. But one of his assignments was to write our own reflections." The women's club, the Knights of Columbus, the choir, the youth and other groups created their own, which are being used this Lenten season.

"Last week, I got chills," Birchfield continued. "It was very personal. It was written by a woman who had lost a child. She said seeing Jesus dying on the cross gave her closure, knowing from death comes a new form of life."

The Stations of the Cross are "a way of participating in the Passion of Jesus, remembering his arrest, his trial, his suffering and his death," Grisham said.

Walking the Stations of the Cross "makes things a little more personal during Passion week," said Bart Sego, a community pastor for Fellowship. "I think it gives people an opportunity to explore that aspect of Christ's sacrifice and focus on sin in a way that takes a little more time and gives them a more tangible seal."

The devotion "is important to me because the central item of the life, the death and the Resurrection is Jesus Christ. The stations remind me of what Jesus went through, how he died, how he rose, how he lives. It strengthens and confirms my faith," Murray said.

"Personally, it's a strong reminder of what Jesus did for us. It really brings that point home," Grisham said.

From the earliest days of Christianity, pilgrims journeyed to Jerusalem to walk in the footsteps of Christ's passion on the road to Calvary.

Tradition holds that Mary, the mother of Jesus, herself led by example in making daily visits to the sites of her Son's sufferings, death and resurrection following his ascension into heaven.- See more at: http://www.dolr.org/lent/stationsofthecrosshistory.php#sthash.9zU8QXbt.dpuf

From the earliest days of Christianity, pilgrims journeyed to Jerusalem to walk in the footsteps of Christ's passion on the road to Calvary.

Tradition holds that Mary, the mother of Jesus, herself led by example in making daily visits to the sites of her Son's sufferings, death and resurrection following his ascension into heaven.

• See more at: http://www.dolr.org/lent/stationsofthecrosshistory.php#sthash.9zU8QXbt.dpuf

From the earliest days of Christianity, pilgrims journeyed to Jerusalem to walk in the footsteps of Christ's passion on the road to Calvary.

Tradition holds that Mary, the mother of Jesus, herself led by example in making daily visits to the sites of her Son's sufferings, death and resurrection following his ascension into heaven.

NAN Religion on 03/22/2014