The Way of the Cross-On Your Block

Reprinted from the St. Anthony Messenger Magazine. Used with permission.

The Holy Spirit inspired me to combine spiritual meditation with physical exercise by envisioning the Stations of the Cross in my neighborhood. I walk approximately 10 blocks with stops at places that suggest the 14 locations associated with the Passion of Jesus.

The selection of 14 places has become part of my spiritual contemplation. I offer you a description of locations I chose along with short prayers. You can choose your own special places and formulate your own prayers, or use prayers from other versions of the Way of the Cross.

Station One: Jesus Is Condemned to Death
I chose a tree a few blocks from my house. Four teenagers lost their lives there one night when one drove the car in which they were riding into the tree. After the accident, parents and friends painted a cross on a bare spot on the trunk. I continue to walk a half-block and stand outside the hospital emergency room where the youngsters were taken before being pronounced dead. Here at the hospital many people enter into eternal life as did those teens. Others may accept as a cross such challenges as long-term illness or permanent loss of a limb or faculty.

Lord, forgive us for condemning you through our failure to love others. Sometimes we feel that life is against us and we fail to realize that challenges are as much a part of life as rewards. Lord, we love you and thank you for undergoing your passion to save us.

Refrain:
We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
Because by your holy cross,
you have redeemed the world.
(I repeat this refrain after each station. As you walk between stations, you may want to add an Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be.)