The New Stations of the Cross: The Way of the Cross According to Scripture

For most of us, it's pretty easy to ignore the implications of Matt. 25:34-40 (full passage below), when Christ tells his followers that he is found in the poor and disenfranchised of this world, and that to serve them is to serve him. "In the New Stations of the Cross," Megan McKenna provides a powerful reminder. For each of the stations, as revised by Pope John Paul II, she provides an intimate glimpse into Christ's experience and then goes on to show how that same kind of suffering can be found in the world today. This book is worth reading and rereading! Matthew 25: 34-40 (NAB) Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?' And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'

The Stations of the Cross are a series of meditations developed by the Catholic church hundreds of years ago to help Christians commemorate, honor and identify with the sufferings of Christ. The traditional Stations consist of fourteen meditations on the events of Christ's final day on earth beginning with Christ in the garden and ending with him being placed in the tomb. Since their creation, the Stations' focus on Christ has become intermixed with stories of piety or tradition not necessarily mentioned in the gospel accounts. I have a 1925 Catholic Pocket Manual with the approved Stations of the Cross in it. I have benefited from the eloquent way the Stations take the reader through the seminal events of Christ's suffering; however, I have also been frustrated by the elevation of Mary's stature in these Stations to one of similar footing as the Lord's. In The New Stations of the Cross, McKenna bases her interpretation on the recent revisions to the Stations made by Pope John Paul II. His substantial changes have been designed to bring the Stations into stronger congruence with the gospel accounts of Christ's passion. McKenna's writing is focused primarily on Jesus. Other topics are interpreted in their relation to him and his suffering. In addition to the traditional fourteen stations, McKenna completes the journey by adding a fifteenth station on the resurrection. McKenna's writing demonstrates a tenderness and sympathy toward the suffering of Christ that is rarely conveyed in books. She writes from the perspective of one who has spent considerable time studying the topics she addresses in each of the Stations. The New Stations of the Cross serves as a guide to the Christian desiring to set aside superfluous dogma and focus on the singular chain of events of Christianity. The writing is superb and attempts to paint the picture of Christ's suffering, so that the reader can see the impact of torture and pain on Christ. The following is a sample taken from McKenna's writing on the Sixth Station in which Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns, "The way becomes fraught with horror. Now Jesus is utterly alone and handed over simply to be tortured, terrified, made sport of as immediate preparation for his grisly and ghastly public execution...They will intentionally work on dehumanizing him, demeaning him, and instill in him a taste of what is to come, taking his dignity from him piece by piece, as they take pieces of his skin and make him bleed, inflicting pain for the sake of inflicting pain." McKenna brings the reader face to face with what Jesus endured and with the truly remarkable love and submission he exercised in his endurance. In some of the chapters, McKenna may seem to digress from her focus on the biblical events as she discusses current issues as relating to the Station being discussed. This reminds the reader that the suffering of Christ does not take place in an historical vacuum but is present toda

This book provides, I beleive, both ample opportunities for the reader to deepen their capacity for compassion and also guidance as to how to apply lessons from the Cross to their daily living.Although it can be read quickly it's suggested that you'd be doing your spiritual development an injustice to read it this way. - There are so many instances where the text INVITES you into it, to pause and take the time to explore it, to meditate ......... and somewhere in this process to so ingrain the insight in yourself that you're apt to recall it and then practice it, in your daily living. Isn't this, weather we bring guidance from a spiritual book into practice in our daily living a major measure of the value of the reading ?Although I doubt that I'll read it again, in entirety, I'm convinced that I'll read portions of it , again, repeatedly !