Many Christian traditions engage with the Stations of the Cross, the “Via Crucis” in Latin, in the days leading up to Easter. Many of us are familiar with this way of praying with words and images that move through the final moments of Jesus’ life and death. But in the past few decades, another set of fourteen stations that mirror those ones has been developed—the “Via Lucis”, the Way of Light—as a way to engage with the Resurrection and the weeks of the Easter season. Beginning with Station 1: “Jesus rises from death”, and continuing through his appearances to his friends and disciples along the way, until we get to the Ascension and Pentecost in the last couple of stations, it is a beautiful way of engaging in the season of Easter. A way of entering into the feast of light and new life, of sharing in meals with the risen Jesus on the beach, in the upper room, in Emmaus. Consider engaging with these stations of “light” this Easter (look up “Via Lucis” or “Stations of the Resurrection”—there are even some artists currently working their way through the stations right now, like @scottthepainter on Instagram, if you’d like to follow along there!). Perhaps take two stations per week (Easter is seven weeks long) to really lean into as a way of slow-feasting your way through this season. What is it like to walk *this* part of Jesus’ life with him, particularly if you have spent time over Lent walking the road from the wilderness and through the stations of the cross already this year (or in the past!)? How does your soul respond differently in this celebratory season than in the solemn one that’s just finished?

Posted by Jamie Bonilla at 2022-04-20 14:46:51 UTC