I find that the Stations of the Cross can be among the most beautiful ways to engage in prayer during Holy Week. The stations invite us to listen to the journey of Jesus to the cross and pray along with him through the passion narrative. Stations of the Cross is historically rooted in our desire to move physically in prayer on a pilgrimage; however in history it was prohibitive for many people to walk the actual route that Jesus took to the cross. Many churches, in many traditions, developed their own stations, often around their sanctuaries, where parishioners could walk, stopping at one of the thirteen stations and hear Jesus’ journey at each spot.
COS has a long history of offering space for walking or praying the Stations of the Cross. Even though we do not have stations installed in our sanctuary, we have often used icons and images around our beautiful campus to offer space for people to walk and pray a liturgy during Holy Week.
What draws me in to Holy Week is really the way we tell our stories, and how our rituals began. I have used a “Story Stations of the Cross” resource for Youth Group on many Good Fridays in the past, but this year we decided to try something a little different and present the Story Stations for all to experience.
This year, beginning Monday, April 11, a full reading of the thirteen stations will be available in our “Stations of the Cross” podcast from Church of Our Saviour. This will be a long-form podcast that you can listen to wherever and however you wish—in the car, at work, in a walk-through nature, or even on our lovely campus. Choose whether you want to listen to all thirteen stations at once, or make it part of your prayer practice each day leading up to Good Friday.
Look in the Messenger on Palm Sunday, April 10, for how to get access to our podcast feed! If you need help, reach out to me at gabevr@cosepiscopal.org and we will get you set up to listen.