How Do You Feel When You Pray the Stations of the Cross?

How Do You Feel When You Pray the Stations of the Cross?

                  For Lent, so far, every Friday my parish congregates together to pray the Stations of the Cross. If you are familiar with the Stations of the Cross, then you know that there are 14 total. The prayers are led by either the priest or deacon, stopping at each Station for prayer, contemplation, and meditation. Sometimes, at least at my parish, we would end each station in song with a verse from the Stabat Mater Dolorósa, which is Latin for At the Cross Her Station Keeping. It is a very beautiful prayer. In the Stabat Mater Dolorósa, we are praying to our Blessed Mother as she sorrowed in her Immaculate Heart during the process of Jesus’s crucifixion. “At the cross her station keeping, stood the mournful Mother weeping, close to Jesus to the last…” I have recently taken up learning prayers in Latin. To me, it sounds even more beautiful in Latin verse. “Stabat Mater dolorósa, iuxta crucem lacrimósa, dum pendíbat Fílius.”

                  Of course, I must admit, while writing this article, I was listening to Gregorian chant on my Spotify account. What can I say? I love the Latin language!

                  Anyway, we all have a myriad of emotions and feelings when we pray the Stations. Some of us feel redemption, saved, because Jesus was the ultimate superhero in sacrificing himself for us. Hopefully, you the reader, are not one of those people who feel bored and tired and want to hurry up and get through all the Stations so you can go home and spend the rest of the night watching some game or go out for dinner. Maybe, perhaps, you are someone like me, who always feel saddened and sorrowful like our Blessed Mother. My eyes are even tearing up while writing this. Just knowing that our Lord and Savior went through so much pain, torment, and torture for all of mankind because of our sinful nature saddens my heart and soul. The reason why it makes me sad is because I know my sins are part of the reason why Jesus was crucified. It saddens me because I never want anybody I love to suffer, and Jesus, whom I love above all (as we all should) suffered the most.

                  I must admit, I even get this worked up every time I watch The Passion of the Christ by Mel Gibson, which I always try to watch for every Lent and Easter season. Interesting little tidbit…the actor who played Jesus in that movie, I’ve read that he suffered some in the making of that movie. I’m not sure how much of it was true, as the source I read was online, but I read that during the scourging, he was accidentally scourged once. There is even a rumor that he was struck by lightning during the scene of the crucifixion. They say that we can’t always believe what we read online, but I like to think that since he was playing Jesus during the most integral part of our Lord’s life, that maybe our Lord and Savior wanted to give him a small taste of what He went through in order to make the movie better in a way, to reach out to us even more, also maybe to help the actor connect more with Him while he was playing Jesus.

                  So, I bet I know what the actor who played our Lord feels if or when he prays the Stations of the Cross, he probably feels some of the actual pain our Lord went through, so he would probably feel a deeper understanding and empathy…I’m only guessing here.

                  So how about you? How do you feel when you pray the Stations of the Cross? Do you feel sad like I do, empathy, or saved? If you haven’t prayed the Stations of the Cross, then I strongly urge you to do so. When you do, pay attention to how you feel. If you cry at all during the Stations, I’ve read somewhere that it gains you some kind of indulgence…if I am wrong, please inform me.

                  So, if your parish is praying the Stations of the Cross, go join them. I promise you that it is in an uplifting and powerful experience.