The faithful can watch Stations of the Cross livestreamed at 5:10 p.m. from the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist on Fridays during Lent. The livestream will be available on the Diocese of Cleveland website.
Stations of the Cross, also known as the Way of the Cross, are a 14-step devotional that commemorate Jesus’ last day on earth. They follow through his Passion and Crucifixion in a format similar to a mini pilgrimage.
At each station, prayers are recited and a stanza of “Stabat Mater” may be sung or recited. “Stabat Mater,” when translated from Latin, means “the sorrowful mother stood.” It is a hymn about the Passion and Crucifixion that dates to about the 13th century. The English translation begins with “At the cross her station keeping.” At one time it often was used at Mass, but now is a common part of the Stations of the Cross.
The Stations are often prayed during Lent, especially on Ash Wednesday and the Fridays in Lent, including Good Friday, the day on which the commemorated events occurred.
Stations of the Cross came into general use about the end of the 17th century. Most Catholic churches have Stations of the Cross as plaques, paintings or sculptures that may be attached to the church walls. Stations also can be outdoors along a path.
The erection and use of Stations of the Cross is believed to have begun in monasteries – often in cloisters. They also could be found on the road leading to a church or shrine. The faithful would follow the path and pray the stations on the way to the church or shrine.
The intent of the Stations is to help the faithful make a pilgrimage in spirit. The devotional can be traced to the Holy Land where the Via Dolorosa of Jerusalem – the Way of the Cross – was marked out from early times and followed by pious pilgrims for centuries.
On Good Friday in 1991, Pope John Paul II prayed an alternative to the traditional Stations as a way of reflecting more deeply on the Scriptural account of the Passion with excerpts from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.