Stations of the Cross: How to Pray the First Four stations

Lent, Prayer
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In the movie “Chariots of Fire” Eric Liddell the Scottish Olympic runner and Christian missionary says,

You came to see a race today. To see someone win. It happened to be me. But I want you to do more than just watch a race. I want you to take part in it. I want to compare faith to running in a race. It's hard. It requires concentration of will, energy of soul. You experience elation when the winner breaks the tape - especially if you've got a bet on it. But how long does that last? You go home. Maybe your dinner's burnt. Maybe you haven't got a job. So who am I to say, "Believe, have faith," in the face of life's realities? I would like to give you something more permanent, but I can only point the way. I have no formula for winning the race. Everyone runs in her own way, or his own way. And where does the power come from, to see the race to its end? From within. Jesus said, "Behold, the Kingdom of God is within you. If with all your hearts, you truly seek me, you shall ever surely find me." If you commit yourself to the love of Christ, then that is how you run a straight race.

As a cross country coach and long distance runner, comparing faith to running a race resonates with me. It requires “concentration of will” to know how to run a marathon and “energy of soul” to finish it. Running is hard; sometimes very hard. Heat, hills, and competition make it tough. But I don’t necessarily see the fact that it’s “hard” as a bad thing. Some of the best things in my life have been born from adversity. The fruit of hard labor is sweet. Faith is no different.

As a child, I attended the Stations of the Cross with my classmates every Friday during Lent. I did not look forward to participating in this spiritual discipline. It’s never been easy for me. Reading and responding, standing, kneeling and meditating on the image of Christ as he undertakes the Via Dolorosa is demanding—spiritually, emotionally and physically demanding.

But as someone who still participates in this spiritual exercise, I have thought many times: I’m so grateful it’s not something I undertake alone. In the same way that a cross country runner gets to the start line and completes a 3.1 mile journey with her teammates, I pray the Way to the Cross with others. I’ve noticed that we all tire at different points. Some of the meditations are heavier than others. And we do more than just “watch.” In a unique way, it is something that we too take part in. And I think that makes this spiritual discipline that much more meaningful. Eric Liddell who became a Christian missionary would probably agree.

Commitment to the Stations

Perhaps the Stations of the Cross are a devotion that you undertake every Lent. If you have a parish like mine, you attend the stations and a simple soup supper after. I am grateful to have both my body and soul nourished through this tradition.

Or, maybe you find praying with Christ’s final hours too agonizing. The spiritual exercise is tough to gear up for after a long day at the office. I would however like to offer a word for encouragement—I think the greatest hurdle to praying the Via Crucis is simply committing the time to do so. “Just show up” are the words my spiritual director has said to me time and again with regard to prayer. “Just show up” to prayer…God does the work. “Just show up” on the retreat and God will find you. “Just show up” to the Stations and you will come to know Christ a little better.

Had I not coached girls cross country, I’m not sure I would understand how hard it is for some athletes to “show up”—to get to the start line. To get there and complete the race is not a given. The same can be said of our faith lives. The demands of daily living are exhausting. We are busy people. But we need something permanent. I believe the Stations of the Cross “point the way.” In undertaking the Cross with Jesus, we gain a deeper appreciation of His humanity. We come to know what carrying our cross truly demands. It is not without moments of Grace.

I encourage you will “just show up” for Stations of the Cross this Lent. Recognize and name that what might be the hardest part of praying this Lenten devotion is getting to the start line.

Speaking of which…

The Framework

I would like to offer a framework for how to pray the first four “Stations of the Cross.” Each one begins the same way:

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

These words serve as the antiphon for a Lenten tradition: the Stations of the Cross.

Even as a child, I was aware of their poignancy. I understood they called us to reverence Christ as Lord. We are to praise His holy name. They proclaim what His holy sacrifice has done for our world. And yet, the way we respond to the call of the priest suggests something much different.

We respond without enthusiasm. Why? Maybe it’s because before there can be Easter joy, there must be the Way of the Cross.

Too often in life, I would prefer to go around something, rather than through it. I seek an alternative path or at the very least, a short cut. But the Stations of the Cross, all fourteen of them remind us that the road to Calvary is long. We will fall. We will encounter loved us who weep for us. We will find respite in unexpected and others will help us carry our cross. We will be condemned and suffer. We will cry out for help and we will die.

To think of what Jesus did—the arduous journey he took, I cannot help but bow down in adoration and praise His holy name. So I encourage you to pray this antiphon with a deep love and respect, even if a somber tone prevails.

A Strategy for Prayer

The beauty of prayer is that it can be anything we want it to be. Prayer can free form and even playful. It need not be structured by time or word count. But in a communal setting, direction, ritual and guidance can be helpful. If I may dare say, it also helps to have a goal in mind. We are often seeking peace or the ability to forgive. Questions such as What am I hoping to understand? How might God lead me in this day? are likely ones to enter into our prayer. They are also “outcome based.” One need not apologize for hoping to “get” something from prayer. The Stations of the Cross need not be any different.

It might help to ask yourself, What am I hoping to learn about Jesus during this time? What might the Stations of the Cross “point the way” to in my own life?

Given the nature of the Stations of the Cross, it might be helpful to have a strategy or an approach toward undertaking this type of prayer. In this way, again the analogy of a race might be helpful.

The league championship for girls’ cross country takes place on a “true XC course”—meaning it’s not a public park or route that has been contrived to get kids to run three miles plus. Crystal Springs Cross Country Course gives no mercy. In order for our team to succeed, the head coach imparts a strategy: run the first mile with your mind, the second mile with your body and the third with your heart.

I offer this approach as a creative way to think about the Stations of the Cross. How might you experience the Stations differently if you prayed the first four with your mind? The next four to five with your body and the remainder with your heart!?

“Running with your mind” means that you race with a tape that operates on replay. It tells you the coaching and training you have received all season. You calculate pace and placement among other runners. You have to think about how you will run the best race you can.

To pray the first four stations with your mind means to think through the reality of what each Station invokes. I think it might be fruitful to ask questions about the literal nature of each one—meaning, consider the facts that might surround each one. What have you learned in your education about life in Roman occupied Palestine? Who crucified at this time? Why?

As you move through the “middle stations” you might pray with the “body.” Consider the physical demands of the stations and what Jesus’ humanity endured. As you pray the final stations, pay attention to matters of the heart. What might Christ feel?

As Eric Liddell said, Everyone runs in her own way, or his own way. Indeed, prayer is no different, but consider this “formula” for praying with the Stations of the Cross this Lent. I hope it will help you “commit to the Love of Christ.”

Amen

Some guiding questions for praying the first four Stations of the Cross with your head:

1. Jesus is Condemned to Die

What must have been like for Christ to be condemned to death—wrongfully condemned to die!?
Who else is condemned in our society today?
How are the condemned viewed and perceived? Do we?
What must it have been like for Jesus to be taken under the control of Roman soldiers?
“At the time of Jesus’ death, crucifixion was the punishment reserved for the lowest of society’s low, the prevailing method employed to publicly dishonor a person.”[1] How are people publicly dishonored today?

2. Jesus Carries His Own Cross

“Scholars generally agree that Jesus carried the horizontal beam of the cross, which weighed about 125 pounds.”[2] What kind of pain did Jesus endure?
What is the object of ridicule we ask those who are condemned to carry in today’s society?
What is the path of misery and suffering that people walk?
Jesus became obedient, to the point of death. Am I

3. Jesus Falls the First Time

Jesus’ brutal flogging was part of the practice and, as it sent his body into shock from pain and blood loss, was the likely cause of his fall. Consider Christ’s humility…