The Stations of the Cross: Reflections 1

By the time this article is published Easter will have come and gone. That also means, of course, that Good Friday with the final Lenten Stations of the Cross observances have also. Many Church usually have their biggest attendance at Stations on this day and many make a big production out of it with some form or another of “The Living Stations” with people acting out each scene of the story. In some areas it’s called a “Passion Play” and normally includes someone playing the role of the Lord Jesus on the Cross…. usually tied there.

I say “usually” because in certain areas of the world (such as the Philippines) someone is literally nailed to the cross… nails through their hands and feet… literally wearing a crown of thorns. This is their personal form of penance and spiritual devotion… or so I imagine. I haven’t actually spoken to one of these people to get their story. Fortunately, our Church settles for just tying a man there.

Saint Joseph Catholic Church holds Stations each Friday morning during Lent beginning at 4 AM and followed by a Mass at 5 AM (+ or -… it’s the Philippines). There are stations set up at various businesses and homes around the middle part of town and we process the 2 or 3 miles course singing songs of Mercy and Praise in Bisaya (the local language, which I speak some but not a lot… yet). The attendance each Friday is around 25 or 30 people… until Good Friday. Then the line of procession stretches for nearly 2 miles.

I have started to write this article several times but wasn’t sure how I wanted to proceed. Beyond which there have already been several very good articles published on this site detailing the Stations one by one. I finally felt the okay from the Holy Spirit to go ahead and feel that what I should do is tell you what went through my heart and mind for the Stations. After all, what we’re supposed to be doing at each Station is not so much focusing on the Scripture or the prayers or even the ritual motions we Catholics go through in any formal prayer setting. Like with the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet we should be meditating on what Jesus went through in each Station and what it means in our lives. So, here are my “meditations” for each Station (or groups, as the thoughts might be the same for two or three of them)

Station 1: Jesus Gives us the Eucharist.

This is a great place to start and not just chronologically. The Lord established a means for us, a couple of thousand years in the future, to participate in the Cross and the events which will follow at the remaining Stations. I think of how the Lord clearly said “This IS My Body” and “This IS My Blood” … not “these represent or are a figure of”. He tells us that the miracle of Transubstantiation will happen each and every time we “do this in remembrance” of Him

Station 2: The Lord Prays in Gethsemane

I think about the agony of spirit that racked the Lord there in the Garden. The knowledge of what was to come not only physically but spiritually scared Him so bad that He asked that if possible the Cup be passed from Him. Remember that He was fully God and fully man. He had never known separation from the fellowship of the Father and the Holy Spirit in all of eternity past. But He knew that all the sins of mankind past, present and future would be poured out on Him… and He knew what the Holiness of God (He cannot look upon sin) would require at that moment. But He yielded Himself to the will of the Father in spite of His fear… as should we. I also think of the Apostles when Jesus returned and found them asleep. These are the words that would convict my heart if I skipped these Stations at 4 AM: “Could you not even watch one hour with me?”

Stations 3 Thru 8

The Creator of the universe allowed His creation to accuse and abuse Him and finally put Him under the terrible weight of the wooden beams of the Cross. The load was made worse because of how badly beaten the Lord was before they ever picked up the Cross. If you haven’t seen the movie “The Passion of the Christ” you should. You’ll never look at these Stations the same again.

Station 9: Jesus Is Nailed to the Cross

I have never been able to watch this scene in any movie about the Lord without breaking down. It’s no different during Stations. I think of what Jesus did for me, for all of us, as He yielded His hands that had caused the lame to walk and the blind to see to a cruel Roman hammer and three rusty nails. I’m getting emotional even typing this. Even to this day Jesus bears the print of those nails and the wound in the side from the spear, The Scriptures say that when He comes back at the end of time the people of Israel will “…look upon Him Who they have pierced”. They even ask Him where He got those marks… he replies “In the house of My friends”.

Station 10: The Repentant Thief

I have to mention this. The Stations are done in the local language of Bisaya (a form of Cebuano). At this Station and at several others I kept hearing the word “bugalbugal” and, since my last name is Bugal (pronounced like the horn) I was curious about what it meant. “bugal” (pronounced like “boo goll”) means “a mocker or a rude person” “Bugalbugal” means “mockery”. The thief on one side of the Lord joined the people at the foot of the Cross in mocking the Lord, saying “If You are God come down from the Cross and save us too” But the other thief didn’t but chided his cross mate telling him, “Look, we deserve what we’re getting. But this man is innocent and has done nothing.” Then he made a profession of faith that Jesus was truly the Son of God when he said “Lord, remember me when You come into your Kingdom”. The Lord told him that he would be with Him in paradise. That’s why they call him “The Good Thief”.

Unfortunately, some in Evangelical Christianity seize upon this story and say, “The thief didn’t have to be baptized so baptism isn’t required for salvation.” I’ve already refuted this in my series on Baptism so I won’t go into that here. But I refer to them as members of “The First Church of the Good Thief”.

In the second part we’ll look at the remaining Stations.