No More Excuses: You Need To Pray The Stations of The Cross

As a kid, I hated the Stations of the Cross. The churches we would go to always had them right around dinner time, so I was hungry and looking forward to dinner. And I didn't like just sitting in my pew and saying the prayers, I wanted to go to each station on my own. Plus, at the time, Stations weren't something I chose to do, they were just something that the family was doing, so I did them too.

Fast forward through the years, and my appreciation for the Stations of the Cross has grown by leaps and bounds. Did you know you can say them at anytime, not just during Lent? That realization was a revelation to me. I saw someone praying them before Mass one day in the summer! and a light bulb went off.

I mean, think about it. What are we doing during the stations? We are meditating on the passion and death of Jesus. And heck, we do that whenever we pray the the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary! And it's not like you can only pray the rosary on Marian feast days. Additionally, not only do the stations of the cross involve prayers and meditations, there are images built-in to help you focus. The Stations are a truly unique and beautiful way of meditating on the intensity of Christ's love for us, and the more I pray them, the more I realize His love.

But don't take my word for it...St. Josemaria Escriva loved the Stations of the Cross. Jesus told St. Faustina to pray the Stations at three o'clock every day. St. Francis loved meditating on Christ's passion, and his followers got permission from the Pope to erect the first stations in their churches.

My adult Stations struggle

Suffice it to say, praying the Stations is important. I've been working on praying the Stations more often over the years, as I've grown to appreciate them. But unfortunately, it is not always easy to pray them without being in a church. Then there was the Lent where I had to work late every Friday evening, and so wasn't able to make it to my church for the 7 pm Stations.

In talking to my coworkers here at the CatholicMatch Institute, I realized that I was not alone in my Stations struggle.

The solution

So, we worked on creating a video Stations of the Cross that you can pray anywhere. Whether you are stuck at home sick or snowed in, or you have to work late and miss your Parish event, or if your church is locked when you have time to go and pray, you can now pray the Stations with our very own Fr. Ananias!

The video Stations we created are beautiful to watch, and help you feel as if you are there in the Church with father. The meditations for each station are short and profound, thanks to St. Alphonsus Liguori. You can even just listen to the video without watching it and pray the stations in the car on your commute!

I hope you are able to use these video Stations of the Cross this Lent...and into the summer (because, well, you can!). I know I plan to. Join me, and find them here.