‘What Does One See From a Cross?’

THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS is a devotion practiced by Jesus followers since earliest memory. Based on scripture and sacred tradition, the stations invite believers to walk in the footsteps of Jesus through his final hours, from sweating blood in the garden of Gethsemane to laying his lifeless body in a temporary tomb. Even in present-day Jerusalem, believers walk the Via Dolorosa. It is one of the most sacred pilgrimages for Christians.

My earliest memories of Lent include a candle-lit church smelling of beeswax and incense, with the murmur of prayers before each image of the stations. Heartrending questions prick my conscience and point me along the way: Have I stayed awake with you, Lord? When did I see you thirsty, Lord? Have I allowed you to find me when I fall? For many years, it was my father’s voice that split the silence of the Good Friday service. He read from Anthony T. Padovano’s Dawn Without Darkness, which posed the question: “What does one see from a cross?”