The Via Crucis

Walking the Stations of the Cross, the Christian faithful re-create the Passion, following the sorrowful path of Jesus Christ from condemnation to crucifixion. While this devotion, now so popular in the Catholic Church and many Protestant denominations, first emerged in Jerusalem and began spreading through Western Europe in the fourteenth century, it did not assume its current form, and earn the Church's formal recognition, until almost three centuries later. It was at this time, in the last decades of the seventeenth century, that a Franciscan friar in colonial Mexico translated a devotional guide to the Stations of the Cross into the native Nahuatl. This little handbook, Fray Agustin de Vetancurt's Via crucis en mexicano, proved immensely popular, going through two editions, but survives today only in a copy made by a native scribe from Central Mexico. Reproduced here in Nahuatl and English, Vetancurt's handbook offers unique insight into the history, the practice, and the meaning of the Stations of the Cross in the New World and the Old. With the Via crucis en mexicano as a starting point, John F. Schwaller explores the history of the development and spread of the Stations of the Cross, placing the devotion in the context of the Catholic Reformation and the Baroque, the two trends that exalted this type of religious expression. He describes how the devotion, exported to New Spain in the sixteenth century, was embraced by Spanish and natives alike. For the native Americans, Schwaller suggests, the Via crucis resonated because of its performative aspects, reminiscent of rituals and observances from before the arrival of the Spanish. And for missionaries, the devotion offered a means of deepening the faith of the newly converted. In Schwaller's deft analysis--which extends from the origins of the devotion, to the processions and public rituals of the Mexica (Aztecs), to the text and illustrations of the Vetancurt manuscript--the Via crucis en mexicano opens a window on the practice and significance of the Stations of the Cross--and of private devotions generally--in Mexico, Hispanic America, and around the world.

Besides being a meditation on the way of the cross, this book reminds the reader that in Jesus, our God has revealed his complete, personal, and total love for each person that he has created.

Combining scripture, storytelling, quotations, and personal reflection, The Via Crucis draws readers into a heartfelt and inspiring contemplation of Jesus' sacrifice and His triumphant victory over death. Evocative charcoal illustrations and raw, vivid stories voiced by those present at Christ's trial and crucifixion capture the pain, power, and passion of the Savior's suffering on humanity's behal

Christ’s Passion represents - even for those who do not believe - the most authentic and true way in which his radical and revolutionary teaching - the universal love - became concrete and continues to be concrete every day, in every circumstance. However, human life is a tormented path: that’s why we all need to hear the story of that Passion of Love again and again. Especially who perceive upon them gazes of hate and not of love - of condemnation and not of salvation - need to hear it. This is the perspective of the author: he faces the Passion of the Lord coming out of anonymity and stereotyped devotional formulas, but bringing into meditation what it means to be homosexual in our time.

This perennially popular meditation booklet combines imaginative, full-page photos with a dialogue between Christ and the reader, urging us to carry on Christ's unfinished business and unite our human will with the divine will. Each mediation is an authentic application of Jesus' suffering to our personal lives. Ideal for either private devotion of public Stations of the Cross, for adult parish Lenten programs, and high school use.

Originally published under title: Via Lucis: reflections in the Holy Land: Loyola Heights, Quezon City, Philippines: Jesuit Communications Foundation, Inc., c2016.

The Way of the Cross at Jerusalem, known as the Via Dolorosa or Via Crucis, marks Jesus' path to his crucifixion. Fourteen significant moments along the way are marked by a "station," and Saints throughout the ages confirm that meditating upon the stations is most fruitful, enabling you to make a pilgrimage to the moment of Jesus' Passion. One such Way of the Cross is located just outside Catherine Doherty's poustinia-her cabin, her desert. From the earliest days of her apostolic life, Catherine daily made this pilgrimage with Jesus Christ and his mother, walking with them, suffering with them, taking up the cross on the way to crucifixion and resurrection. Catherine's diaries, writings, and life brim with meditations, lessons, and insights gained from her spiritual pilgrimages to Golgotha. We offer to you some of these personal meditations from Catherine's heart during her pilgrimage along the Way, to guide you through your own pilgrimage to crucifixion and resurrection. This devotion begins with some of Catherine's meditations that you can pray to prepare your heart and focus your mind before you make your Way, or to deepen your resolve after making your Way. Each station includes Scripture reflections, a meditation and prayer from Catherine, and common public prayers-accompanied by the wood carvings of the Stations that appear in the Madonna House chapel in Combermere.