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During the Middle Ages, priests started assigning trips to the Holy Sepulchre as a penance for certain serious sins! The trip was dangerous and could take nearly two years to make. And women with children were not allowed.
Welcome to All Things Catholic. I’m your host, Deacon Rudy Villarreal, and I’m so glad you’re here! Together we are going to explore what it means to be Catholic. In today’s episode we’re going to jump in the deep end of the Catholic pool. We’re talking about the Way of the Cross which is also know as the Stations of the Cross. What is the particular devotion? When did it start and where did it come from?
One of the criticisms of Catholics is that we don’t know Scripture. Well, we might not be able to quote chapter and verse like our Protestant brothers and sisters, I’ll grant you that, but so much of what we do is absolutely rooted in Scripture. The Stations of the Cross are first and foremost a meditation on the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ, very often coming from the arrest of Jesus in John 18:1 to the death of Jesus in John 19:42. I want to be clear that the purpose is to meditate on what Jesus willingly went through to save us. No matter how we live our lives, the example of Jesus challenges us to do more with our lives.
Ok, are we clear? The Stations of the Cross are a meditation of the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ. I want to be clear about that before we jump in. I was born and raised Catholic, so I can’t speak to similar devotions among other Christians, so no offense. Ok, are we all set? Let’s go!
The story of the devotion to the footsteps of Jesus on his way to his death begins with the mother of the Roman emperor Constantine – yes, the very same Constantine who called the Council of Nicea which, among other things, gave us the Nicaean Creed recited by Catholics (and other Christians) every weekend in mass. His mother’s name was Helena.
Sometime between the years 324 and 326 AD, Helena began a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. She finds the True Cross and she finds Jesus’ tomb. She has a church built over the sites. Today, it is known as the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and people began visiting the site.
By the Middle Ages, some priests began assigning trips to the Holy Sepulcher as a penance for certain serious sins. <1> Whoa! That must have been some sin! Can you imagine undertaking such a trip on foot and/or by horse from various parts of Europe? By some estimates, the roundtrip journey could take almost two years! Two years without your family knowing whether you lived or died!
Why would a priest assign such a penance? Well, that leads us to another particularly Catholic topic: indulgences. Now just give me a minute before you run away. Hear me out. Maybe we’ll dedicate an entire episode to indulgences, but here’s the reader’s digest version. During the first rounds of Christian persecution before Constantine, some Christians in name only left the Church in a hurry. And some of them named names.
After the persecutions settled down, many of these folks wanted back in the Christian community. This created a huge dilemma. Is it possible for someone who is already baptized and whose sins are forgiven to receive forgiveness again for new sins? Some said yes and wanted to welcome back those who left with open arms. Others said absolutely not.
The solution was a compromise of sorts: public reconciliation and penance. This is the beginning of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Now listen to what I just said: reconciliation and penance. Very often, these people would stand before the congregation and publicly apologize for what they’d done. Then, before they would be admitted back into the community, they and to pay for their sins. Very often this meant they had wear something uncomfortable like burlap and commit themselves to study and prayer. After some period of time, they would be readmitted community.
Think of this like a fine that accompanies speeding. You get caught speeding and you get a ticket. So, first you confess to your wife that you were racing down the road. Then you pay the fine to the court.
But do you have to pay the fine, so to speak, or is there anything you can do get out of the punishment. In our speeding ticket example, think community service. Well, as time went by, a practice developed that enabled people to receive either a partial forgiveness or full (also known as plenary) forgiveness of the penalty. Why did the Church do this? Well, they didn’t want you to feel stuck. They wanted to give you options to be healed – to be whole. I think that’s pretty cool! The term for this debt forgiveness is “indulgence.”
Ok, back to the Middle Ages. Some sins were so huge that the penalty was correspondingly huge. Some penitents preferred to undertake at two-year journey to the Holy Land and retrace the footsteps of Christ in exchange for penalty forgiveness or indulgence. This practice grew with some measure of success, but here’s the catch. Who was capable of taking a two-year trip to a foreign land? A wealthy person. Is that fair? Of course not!
The Franciscans came up with an idea. Why not build replicas of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, called lesser Sepulchers? They installed wooden crosses to mark out the major points of interest for pilgrims to the Holy Land. And they secured the ability for people to receive indulgences for doing this devotion locally. Fast forward four hundred years. The Way of the Cross became a well-established and popular devotion among the faithful. In 1731, Pope Clement XII fixed the number of stations at fourteen, the number we know today. <2>
Fast forward again to the Second Vatican Council. The Council updated the practice of indulgences, including for the Way of the Cross. Now this is important. There are no specific readings or prayers that must be said as part of this devotion. Indeed, the elaborate pictures, or carvings or statues that emerged over time are not important. The point is that the disciple should use the Stations, specifically the crosses which mark the fourteen stations, as a prompt to meditate on the biblical story of the Passion and death of Jesus.
Now, here’s another cool development. Let’s say the space is cramped, like a small church or chapel. It’s not necessary for the disciples to walk from station to station. As long as the presider moves from station to station, everyone else can remain in their place. This is especially true for people who are prevented for some reason for moving. So, what began as a “death-defying trip” to the Holy Land centuries ago to walk in the actual steps of Jesus Christ has evolved into, “a devotion that can be followed without leaving a hospital bed.” <3>
As we approach Easter, it is important to remember that there is no resurrection with the Passion and death of Jesus. Pausing to reflect on what Jesus voluntarily suffered for our salvation is humbling! We are washed clean by the blood of Jesus. These are not just words. It happened, and meditating on that suffering can help me appreciate the great gift of salvation – totally unmerited and totally undeserved.
One brief announcement. This Sunday is Palm Sunday. Without access to churches, one thing we can all do to show our unity to the community is to hang branches with green leaves on our doors They don’t have to be palm leaves if you don’t have any around. Any bit of greenery will do in this circumstance. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Just hang some greenery on your front door to show you are part of the community of believers in Christ Jesus.
Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!
This episode was produced by deacon rudy’s notes. Our theme music was composed by Silent Partner. You can find all sorts of helpful information on the website at www.deaconrudysnotes.org. You’re listening to All Things Catholic. I’m your host, Deacon Rudy Villarreal. Join us again next time and don’t forget to check out the weekend edition where we break open the Word. Peace!
<1> Kevin Orlin Johnson, Ph.D., Why Do Catholics Do That? A Guide to the Teachings and Practices of the Catholic Church (New York: Ballantine Books, 1994), 92.
<2> Johnson, 94.
<3> Johnson, 95.
References:
1. Johnson, Kevin Orlin, Ph.D. Why Do Catholics Do That? A Guide to the Teachings and Practices of the Catholic Church. New York: Ballantine Books, 1994.
Resources:
1. Code of Canon Law, 992: indulgences (http://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib4-cann959-997_en.html).
2. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1478: indulgences (http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1478.htm).
