OCR Text |
Show STATIONS OF THE CROSS. The Stations of the Cross, or as it is very often called, the Way of the Cross, is a devotional ser-rice ser-rice which dates back in its origin to the earliest days of the Church, when it became a general custom cus-tom of the Christians to observe it in Jerusalem. At that time the service consisted in persons taking tak-ing part in it going from the court of Herod in Jerusalem to the spot on Mount Calvary, where the crucifixion of Christ took place. The custom continued con-tinued through the ages, and is still in vogue with the residents of the old Jewish city, and is often participated in by visitors of the world. Those who traveled the ancient roadway made historic by the funeral procession 1.900 years ago, say that the stones at the fourteen differeut places where the march to the mountains was interrupted, have been worn hollow by the kneeling in prayer of countless hosts of divine worshipers. The story of this most pathetic part of the life of Christ, with all its external devotion and sorrowful reminders, re-minders, was carried to distant parts of the world by strangers who had seen it in Jerusalem, and for all the centuries Christians have made pilgrimages to the Holy City that they might participate in the sad ceremony. ' - About eight hundred $ears ago the Franciscan Order of priests established a monastery in Jerusalem Jeru-salem and undertook the custody of the sacred places of the Holy Land. Thus the several stations or spots where the journey up Calvary's heights was interrupted, passed into their hands. It was then that the service was undertaken and Spread abroad as a general devotion, and from that day until now it has been cherished by devout Catholics in every part of the globe as one of their dearest prayers. |