The Stations of the Cross are an ancient prayer practice, used by Christians throughout the centuries. From the earliest of days, followers of Jesus wanted to walk in the footsteps of the Lord, particularly in the holy places where Jesus suffered and died for our salvation. They felt a desire to spend time with Jesus in the hours of his passion.  When it was not possible to make a pilgrimage to the actual sites, Christians began to erect stations in their own communities and churches, so they could pray the Way of the Cross in every place and land and time.

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The Stations of the Cross are much more than a reminder of the suffering of Jesus in history. They are a glimpse into the solidarity that Jesus claims with all suffering throughout human history.  So fiercely does God take hold of us, that Jesus still falls whenever a beloved child of God falls. Injustice and cruelty and vulnerability in every time and place are nothing less than the continued passion of Jesus, who falls when we fall, and suffers when we suffer. The Stations of the Cross bear witness to the cruelty we have inflicted on one another in every generation. And they are a sign, too, of the gentleness and tenderness that is the way of Jesus.