Traditionally, Lenten devotions in parish churches have drawn attention to the suffering and death of Jesus. The most popular one is known as the Stations of the Cross. During the time of the Crusades (1095-1270), it became popular for pilgrims to the Holy Land to walk in the footsteps of Jesus to Calvary. In the next two centuries, after the Moslems recaptured the Holy Land, pilgrimages were too dangerous. A substitute pilgrimage, the Stations of the Cross, became a popular outdoor devotion throughout Europe. They represented critical events from Scripture or tradition of Jesus journey to Calvary and varied in number from five to 20 until the 18th century when Pope Clement XII fixed the number at 14. In the mid-18th century, Stations were allowed inside churches and soon became a familiar feature. In the 1960s it became popular to add a 15th station representing the end of the journey: the Resurrection. Some, including Pope John Paul II, have replaced traditional non-scriptural Stations with events of Christs suffering mentioned in the passion accounts. (taken from Catholic Customs and Traditions: Lent and Easter by Greg Dues, Twenty-Third Publications)
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 18:50:30 +0000
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