One of today’s most popular and respected Catholic writers presents the first guide to the new Stations of the Cross, reflecting the revisions made by Pope John Paul II. A traditional devotion for Catholics for more than four hundred years, the Stations of the Cross commemorates the route Jesus traveled from being sentenced to death, crucified, and then buried in a borrowed tomb on the outskirts of Jerusalem. In the past, the devotion included a number of stations based on popular stories of piety and devotion, but not mentioned in the Gospels. Over the past eight years, however, Pope John Paul II has made substantial changes to the devotion in his Good Friday celebrations of the stations, removing those not found in the Bible and replacing them with stations that more accurately follow scriptural accounts of Christ’s passion. The revised Stations of the Cross focuses on the condemned Jesus and on the community walking the way with him to the cross. Unrelieved by stories like Veronica’s wiping blood off the face of Jesus and his meeting with his mother; this is a story of an execution. The new stations deal directly with the pain, suffering, betrayal, and injustice to which Jesus was subjected. In explaining his reasons for revising the stations, the Pope has said that the alterations are intended to serve as a model for other devotions and to encourage the return to the Scriptures as the source of and inspiration for contemporary worship. In this helpful, authoritative guide, Megan McKenna presents the fourteen new stations with the scriptural passages that Pope John Paul II uses on Good Friday. She also provides a basic introduction to the practices and reflections on the importance of the devotion for present-day Catholics and Episcopalians.

Classic texts for the Way of the Cross

Stations of the Cross: Community Prayer Edition offers parishes and other communities a unique and contemporary way to pray the Stations. It includes new prayers composed by Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, along with excerpts from his full-length meditations and the remarkable images that accompanied them in the original edition of Stations of the Cross. This profound and beautiful resource will guide the faithful to enter more deeply into communion with the crucified Jesus. It is ideal for parishes, parish-based organizations, prayer groups, youth groups, school and campus ministry programs, families, and individual faithful to experience.

The Stations of the Cross in Atonement for Abuse and for the Healing of All invites a wounded church to contemplate the passion and death of Jesus through the experience of clerical abuse survivors. This one-of-a-kind resource is written and illustrated by priests to foster healing amidst the destruction committed by their brothers. Award-winning author and acclaimed liturgist Paul Turner pairs each of the fourteen Scripture-based stations with powerful quotes from survivors of clerical sexual abuse and responds to each with profound confessional prayer. Thought-provoking paintings by author and liturgist Ronald Patrick Raab, CSC, accompany each station. This resource will be cherished by parishes, faith-based organizations, retreat centers, prayer groups, youth groups, school and campus ministry programs, families, and individuals who yearn to honor survivors suffering with Christ and who yearn to bring this too often ignored reality to lived prayer experiences.

The Stations of the Cross is a traditional way of exploring the Easter story, telling of the last walk that Jesus took to the cross and the people whom he encountered on the way. The walk is re-enacted each Friday in Jerusalem, and in churches worldwide, especially on Good Friday.

As part of the long-standing Christian tradition of meditating on the Way of the Cross, "Stations of the Cross for Marriages and Families" is a series of reflections that focus primarily on how the sufferings of Jesus impact us in our marriages and families. Written with a varied audience in mind, it can be utilized for personal, family, group, or church prayer.