The Stations of the Cross

The Stations of the Cross is a devotion consisting of 14 different parts - called stations - of Christ's passion and death. The devotion holds many great rewards attached to it including a plenary indulgence. In the Stations of the Cross, we commemorate and remember how much our Savior loved us - to the very end. As we profess at Mass, His dying destroyed our death, and His Rising Again restored our life.

Advice from St. Alphonsus Liguori: "The pious exercise of the Way of the Cross represents the sorrowful journey that Jesus Christ made with the cross on His shoulders, to die on Calvary for the love of us. We should, therefore, practice this devotion with the greatest possible fervor, placing ourselves in spirit beside our Savior as He walked this sorrowful way, uniting our tears with His, and offering to Him both our compassion and our gratitude."

Before each station, pray "We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you [genuflect] because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world."

The Stations of the Cross: 

1. Jesus is condemned to death 
2. Jesus is made to carry the Cross
3. Jesus falls the first time 
4. Jesus meets His Mother Mary 
5. St. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry the Cross 
6. St. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus 
7. Jesus falls the second time 
8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem 
9. Jesus falls the third time 
10. Jesus is stripped of His garments 
11. Jesus is nailed to the Cross 
12. Jesus is raised on the Cross and dies 
13. Jesus' body is taken down and laid in His Mother's arms
14. Jesus' body is placed in the tomb

A History of the Stations of the Cross by Fr. Haynes:

The Stations of the Cross originated in pilgrimage to Jerusalem and a desire to reproduce the Via Dolorosa. Imitating holy places was not a new concept. For example, the religious complex of Santo Stefano in Bologna, Italy, replicated the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and other religious sites, including Mount of Olives and Valley of Josaphat.

After the siege of 1187, Jerusalem fell to the forces of Saladin, the first sultan of Egypt and Syria. Forty years later Franciscans were allowed back into the Holy Land. Their founder, Saint Francis of Assisi, held the Passion of Christ in special veneration and is said to have been the first person to receive stigmata. In 1217, St. Francis also founded the Custody of the Holy Land to guard and promote the devotion to holy places. Their efforts were recognized when Franciscans were officially proclaimed custodians of holy places by Pope Clement VI in 1342.

Although several travelers who visited the Holy Land during the 12–14th centuries (e.g. Riccoldo da Monte di Croce, Burchard of Mount Sion, James of Verona), mention a "Via Sacra", i.e. a settled route that pilgrims followed, there is nothing in their accounts to identify this with the Way of the Cross, as we understand it.

The earliest use of the word "stations", as applied to the accustomed halting-places in the Via Sacra at Jerusalem, occurs in the narrative of an English pilgrim, William Wey, who visited the Holy Land in the mid-15th century, and described pilgrims following the footsteps of Christ to Golgotha. In 1521, a book called Geystlich Strass (German: "spiritual road") was printed with illustrations of the stations in the Holy Land.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Franciscans began to build a series of outdoor shrines in Europe to duplicate their counterparts in the Holy Land. The number of stations varied between seven and thirty; seven was common. These were usually placed, often in small buildings, along the approach to a church, as in a set of 1490 by Adam Kraft, leading to the Johanniskirche in Nuremberg.

A number of rural examples were established as attractions in their own right, usually on attractive wooded hills. These include the Sacro Monte di Domodossola (1657) and Sacro Monte di Belmonte (1712), and form part of the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy World Heritage Site, together with other examples on different devotional themes. In these, the sculptures are often approaching life-size and very elaborate. Remnants of these are often referred to as calvary hills.

In 1686, in answer to their petition, Pope Innocent XI granted to the Franciscans the right to erect stations within their churches. In 1731, Pope Clement XII extended to all churches the right to have the stations, provided that a Franciscan father erected them, with the consent of the local bishop. At the same time the number was fixed at fourteen. In 1857, the bishops of England were allowed to erect the stations by themselves, without the intervention of a Franciscan priest, and in 1862 this right was extended to bishops throughout the church.

Indulgences for the Stations of the Cross:

As a preface to all of the following, indulgences may only be earned by Catholics in the state of grace. Those unfamiliar with indulgences should consult: Indulgences - The Basics

• A plenary indulgence every time the devotion is completed.  [A plenary indulgence is the removal of all punishment due to sin. Even though you are forgiven in Confession, the punishment remains unless an indulgence is granted]
• An additional plenary indulgence if one receives Holy Communion on the day.
• Also an additional plenary indulgence if one performs the devotion ten times and receives Holy Communion within a month after so doing.
• A partial indulgence of ten years for every Station made if one was not able to finish the Stations.

The Conditions for Gaining This Indulgence:

• Walking from Station to Station when making the Way of the Cross privately; when making it publicly, it suffices for the priest with the altar boys to do so.
• Meditate at each Station on the sufferings of our Lord.
• These two conditions are essential. No oral prayers are prescribed; yet they are profitable.

A plenary indulgence is granted to the faithful for making the Stations of the Cross under the normal conditions:

• One is free from all attachment from sin
• One receives the Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist (Within 7 days before or after completing this devotion but if you are in the state of mortal sin, you can not complete this devotion and gain the indulgence. You must be in the state of grace while saying the stations, even if you satisfy this requirement of Confession after)
• One prays for the intentions of the Pope

While there are many benefits, including indulgences, from praying the Stations of the Cross in a Church, it is not always possible to travel to a Church for this. Normally, these prayers must be said in a church building, but those legitimately impeded from doing so may also gain the indulgence by holding a specially blessed crucifix and piously meditating on the Passion of Our Lord while reciting:

• One Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be for each Station
• Five Our Fathers, Hail Marys and Glory Bes in memory of the Holy Wounds of Our Lord
• One Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be "for the intention of the Sovereign Pontiff" (="the exaltation of Mother Church, the propagation of the Faith, the uprooting of heresy, the conversion of sinners, peace and concord among Christian nations, and the other needs of the Church.")
• If the prayers are said in common (as in a family) it is sufficient that only one person holds the crucifix.

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Don't support UNICEF or the March of Dimes

As Catholics we should always be cautious of what work our donations contribute towards, and I strongly recommend again the March of Dimes and UNICEF because these organizations support abortion, which is equal to the murder of another human being. Technically, the March of Dimes is neutral on abortion but they support destroying embryos with genetic abnormalities (1).

I'd like to point out that I recently read that UNICEF's work involves promoting abortion (2).

Note: Some other charities give to Planned Parenthood, the leading abortion provider in the US. See the list.

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The Doctrine of the Atonement of Sins

All Catholics must believe fully in all parts of the Nicene Creed and all articles of the Faith, Dogmas, and Canons proclaimed in the history of the Holy Catholic Church.

First of all, we believe that Jesus Christ was God-made-man and both fully human and fully Divine. We saw His divinity at the Transfiguration for example while His human nature was seen especially in the Garden of Gethsemane where He feared death as all humans do. Our Lord suffered hunger, pain, cold, and many other pains except sin proving He was fully human.

Well, since Jesus Christ is God every action of His, whether in a divine or human nature, is an act of infinite value because it was done by God Himself. When we go back to the sin of Adam we see the first sin that destroyed the human race and was passed down to us as descendants of Adam. Some people claim that is entirely unfair, but in truth, no one on earth except Mary and Christ didn't commit actual sin anyway. So, even if that sin wasn't passed to us we still would be committing sins as everyone still does after their Baptism when original sin is washed away.

The eternal price of sin is death. "Wherefore as by one man sin entered into this world, and by sin death; and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned" (Romans 5:12).

Therefore, Jesus Christ took our place on that Cross at Calvary and died for our sins and His death was of infinite value, so He died for everyone past, present, and future. Jesus Christ descended unto the dead and broke the chains of death because even death is lower than God. And, finally, Jesus Christ rose from the grave and our sins' debt has totally been paid by Him dying our deaths. Heaven is now open, and we all shall also rise from death as Our Lord did if we follow Him and His Church on earth.

In the Old Testament, priests of the Old Testament would frequently offer an animal sacrifice to God in atonement for sins as was prescribed by the law of Moses. However, as children of the New Testament, we offer to God the only true Sacrifice - Jesus Christ – which is offered in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass by priests of the New Testament. Jesus is the Lamb of God because He was the sacrifice that paid the price for all our sins.

For more information please research St. Anselm's doctrine of Atonement.

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Devotion to the Most Holy Rosary

St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort wrote: "The rosary is the most powerful weapon to touch the Heart of Jesus, Our Redeemer, who loves His Mother."

How to pray the Rosary:

The Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a prayer given to St. Dominic in 1214 by Mary, and today this is said by saying certain prayers typically kept track by using Rosary beads. Here is how to say the Rosary:

STEP 1: Make the sign of the Cross:

In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

STEP 2: Say the Apostles' Creed:

I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.  He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day, He rose again. He ascended into heaven And is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.

Amen.

STEP 3: Say 1 "Our Father":

Our Father, Who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, On earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Amen.

STEP 4: Say 3 "Hail Mary's":

(For the virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity)

Hail Mary, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death.

Amen.

STEP 5: Say 1 "Glory Be":

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

[Note: This prayer may be omitted during Passiontide, which consists of the two weeks leading up to Easter]

STEP 6: Say 1 "Our Father":

And announce the first mystery that we are praying for today.

STEP 7: Say 10 "Aves":

Say 10 Hail Marys while reflecting on the mystery

STEP 8: Conclude the Decade:

Say a Glory Be and a Fatima Prayer.

Fatima Prayer: O My Jesus, forgive our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to Heaven especially those that most need your divine mercy.

STEP 9: Continue the Rosary:

To continue the Rosary, announce the next mystery and repeat steps 6-8 for all the mysteries of that given day. 

STEP 10: Conclude the Rosary:

Conclude the Rosary with the Hail Holy Queen and the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel (shorter form).

Why pray the Rosary? 

First, the Rosary is a devotion that allows us to contemplate on the life of Christ and Mary and join in a more mystical union with God through prayer. Why the Rosary? Because the Rosary is everything: It praises God through the Our Father, contemplates the life of Jesus and Mary, and seeks Mary's motherly intercession and guidance. Through the Rosary meditations, we grow closer to Jesus.

Above all, the Holy Trinity is the Lord alone; He is the One and Only God. We as Catholics don't worship Mary at all but ask her to pray for us as I would ask a friend to pray for me. We honor saints as holy people, but we never adore them as Christ alone is to be adored. Devotion to Mary and the saints is very important. See Why Pray to Mary and the Saints? for the answer to the fundamental issue in this question.

Also, it's important to understand that the Rosary is not a set of repetitive prayers said vainly at all. It is our tool for effective mental prayer. Learn how to pray the Rosary as a form of mental prayer.

Virtues Corresponding to Each Mystery:

When we pray the Rosary, we can keep in mind the various virtues that correspond to each mystery. As we pray and meditate on the Rosary mysteries, we also pray for the corresponding virtue.

Fatima Requests:

In a series of apparitions that have been proven as authentic, Mary appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima. These three shepherd children were given messages and a miracle was even performed there that was witnessed by thousands. In the miracle on Oct 13, 1917, the sun danced, changed colors, and was hurled toward earth as if to destroy it. The sun then rose again in its original position. This event was witnessed by 70,000 thousands of people! It's been called the Miracle of the Sun.

Before this, on May 13, 1917, Our Lady told the 3 children (Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco): "Say the Rosary every day to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war." In an apparition on July 13, she requested devotion to her Immaculate Heart and Communions of Reparation on the first Saturday of each month. In a September 13th apparition, she stressed the importance of the daily Rosary, and in her final apparition, she said, "I am the Lady of the Rosary."

Rosary Miracles:

Pope St. Pius V issued the papal bull Consueverunt Romani Pontifices on September 17, 1569, which described the essence of the rosary's present configuration. The Pope made it clear that there are two essential elements of the Rosary: vocal prayer and mental prayer. He also made it clear that the Rosary is composed of 150 Hail Marys, in connection with the 150 Psalms. The papal bull referred to the Dominican roots of the Rosary and the fact that as a young friar, St. Pius V had been a member of the Dominican Order:

And so Dominic looked to that simple way of praying and beseeching God, accessible to all and wholly pious, which is called the Rosary, or Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in which the same most Blessed Virgin is venerated by the angelic greeting repeated one hundred and fifty times, that is, according to the number of the Davidic Psalter, and by the Lord's Prayer with each decade. Interposed with these prayers are certain meditations showing forth the entire life of Our Lord Jesus Christ, thus completing the method of prayer devised by the Fathers of the Holy Roman Church. 

 

The first major Rosary miracle and one of the most impressive is the one that occurred at the Battle of Lepanto shortly after his papal bull was issued. In 1571 the Christian army, after intense devotion with the Rosary, succeeded in one of the greatest naval victories in the Battle of Lepanto against the powerful Turks. The sixty-five thousand men prayed the Rosary for three hours. Finally, after these devotions, the men were given absolution (cf. forgiveness of their sins). The Turks had nearly three times more troops. The winds were against the Christians, and the conditions were poor, but after the devotions ended, the winds, at the very start of the battle, aided the Christians to a colossal victory against the Turks. This was one of the greatest naval upsets in history. From this, the Turks never fully recovered, and their threat in the Mediterranean Sea ended. Following this victory, Pope St. Pius V established the Feast of Our Lady of Victories on October 7th. The name was later changed to its present form - the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.

There are many other miracles, including one attributed to Hiroshima. Read the inspiring story of how Jesuits were saved from the atomic bomb by the Rosary.

The reason why the Russians pulled out of Austria in 1948 is also attributed to the Rosary Campaign there, where 1/10 of the population prayed the Rosary daily for the withdrawal; it came on May 13, 1955, the anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady at Fatima, when the Russians signed the accord to leave Austria, and no one was injured at all. Read about this miracle on America Needs Fatima's website.

And there is, of course, the series of miracles in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917. The last of these miracles was the Miracle of the Sun, which was witnessed by 70,000 people!

15 Promises of the Rosary:

Mary has promised 15 specific promises for those devoted to the Rosary that she told St. Dominic when she gave us the Rosary to lead us closer to God.

1. Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive signal graces.
2. I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary.
3. The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.
4. It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of people from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.
5. The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall not perish.
6. Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its Sacred Mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just, he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life.
7. Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church.
8. Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plenitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the Saints in Paradise.
9. I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.
10. The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven.
11. You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary.
12. All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.
13. I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death.
14. All who recite the Rosary are my children, and brothers and sisters of my only Son, Jesus Christ.
15. Devotion of my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.

Rosary Encyclicals:

Supremi Apostolatus Officio:

It has always been the habit of Catholics in danger and in troublous times to fly for refuge to Mary, and to seek for peace in her maternal goodness; showing that the Catholic Church has always, and with justice, put all her hope and trust in the Mother of God. And truly the Immaculate Virgin, chosen to be the Mother of God and thereby associated with Him in the work of man's salvation, has a favor and power with her Son greater than any human or angelic creature has ever obtained, or ever can gain. And, as it is her greatest pleasure to grant her help and comfort to those who seek her, it cannot be doubted that she would deign, and even be anxious, to receive the aspirations of the universal Church.

Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII promulgated on September 1, 1883

Octobri Mense:

At the coming of the month of October, dedicated and consecrated as it is to the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary, we recall with satisfaction the instant exhortations which in preceding years We addressed to you, venerable brethren, desiring, as We did, that the faithful, urged by your authority and by your zeal, should redouble their piety towards the august Mother of God, the mighty helper of Christians, and should pray to her throughout the month, invoking her by that most holy rite of the Rosary which the Church, especially in the passage of difficult times, has ever used for the accomplishment of all desires. This year once again do We publish Our wishes, once again do We encourage you by the same exhortations. We are persuaded to this in love for the Church, whose sufferings, far from mitigating, increase daily in number and in gravity. Universal and well-known are the evils we deplore: war made upon the sacred dogmas which the Church holds and transmits; derision cast upon the integrity of that Christian morality which she has in keeping; enmity declared, with the impudence of audacity and with criminal malice, against the very Christ, as though the Divine work of Redemption itself were to be destroyed from its foundation -- that work which, indeed, no adverse power shall ever utterly abolish or destroy.

Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII promulgated on September 22, 1891.

Laetitiae Sanctae:

For We are convinced that the Rosary, if devoutly used, is bound to benefit not only the individual but society at large.

Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII promulgated on September 8, 1893.

IUCUNDA SEMPER EXPECTATIONE:

It is always with joyful expectation and inspired hope that We look forward to the return of the month of October. At Our exhortation and by Our express order this month has been consecrated to the Blessed Virgin, during which for some years now the devotion of her Rosary has been practiced by Catholic nations throughout the world with sedulous earnestness. Our reasons for making this exhortation We have made known more than once. For as the disastrous condition of the Church and of Society proved to Us the extreme necessity for signal aid from God, it was manifest to Us that that aid should be sought through the intercession of His Mother, and by the express means of the Rosary, which Christians have ever found to be of marvelous avail. This indeed has been well proved since the very institution of the devotion, both in the vindication of Holy Faith against the furious attacks of heresy, and in restoring to honor the virtues, which by reason of the Age's corruption, required to be rekindled and sustained.

Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII promulgated on September 8, 1894.

Adiutricem:

The mightiest helper of the Christian people, and the most merciful, is the Virgin Mother of God. How fitting it is to accord her honors ever increasing in splendor, and call upon her aid with a confidence daily growing more ardent. The abundant blessings, infinitely varied and constantly multiplying, which flow from her all over the whole world for the common benefit of mankind, add fresh motives for invoking and honoring her.

Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII promulgated on September 5, 1895

FIDENTEM PIUMQUE ANIMUM:

We have already had the opportunity on several occasions during Our Pontificate of bearing public testimony to that confidence and devotion towards the Blessed Virgin which We imbibed in Our tenderest years, and have endeavoured to cherish and develop all our life long. 

Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII promulgated on September 20, 1896

The Rosary Story As Told in Video:

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The First Post

This is the first post of my new blog, and I hope to keep many coming. I've dedicated this site to living a Catholic Christian life so that everyone that reads this may find wisdom here to lead them closer to God.

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