The Stations of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows, the Via Crucis or the Via Dolorosa, are a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion with accompanying prayers and readings.
These stations are derived from places on the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem, which is a traditional processional route symbolizing the path Jesus walked from the Lions’ Gate to Mount Calvary. The idea of the stations is to help Christians make a spiritual pilgrimage through contemplation of the Passion of Christ.
The images in the church are taken from original art work by the Nuns at Turvey Abbey, and are available from McCrimmon’s publishing.
I’d encourage you to take this journey giving yourself at least 30 minutes around the church. This allows time to reflect on each image, to read the associated bible passage and notes, and to pray.
If you’d like to be led around the stations as part of a service, this is available at 10am on Passion Sunday (22nd March) and 6pm on Palm Sunday (29th March). I pray you draw closer to the Lord Jesus during this time. CS Lewis wrote ‘Look for Christ and you will find Him and with Him everything else’. I know personally for this to be true and I pray it is for you too.
With Blessings, Fr Ben Lewis Priest in Charge for Olney.
A prayer before you begin your journey:
Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour and Redeemer I kneel before your blessed cross. I want to open my Spirit and my heart to contemplate your holy sufferings. May your grace be with me, the grace to shake off the coldness and indifference of my heart, to forget my everyday life for at least this short time and to dwell with you in love, sorrow and gratitude. Amen.