Stations of the Cross

Stations of the Cross at Saint Joseph Preserve

Saint Joseph Preserve offers a scenic one-mile trail, through prairie, oak and pine forests, which winds past two ponds, and up a sixty-foot-tall hill to the station commemorating Jesus’s death on Calvary and beyond. Stations of the Cross is an ancient prayer where Christian worshipers are invited to join their own sufferings in a spirit of reparation to Jesus as he went through his passion, death and burial. The Stations of the Cross at Saint Joseph Preserve has fourteen images, prayers from St. Alphonsus Ligouri, a small patio, garden, and bench at each station for those who wish to make this spiritual pilgrimage. There are alternative Stations of the Cross-prayer booklets in Saint Joseph Chapel for pilgrims to use.

How Stations of the Cross Began

The tradition of Stations of the Cross began in Jerusalem over 2000 years ago with the Way of Sorrows or Via Dolorosa- the route Jesus took from the Lion’s Gate to Mount Calvary. The Catholic faithful experience the fruits of this prayer as sorrow for sins, personal conversion, an aid in bearing their own crosses, and a deepened appreciation for Holy Mass, where Christ’s passion is once again present and Jesus comes to the faithful in the Eucharist.

While Lent is a popular time for this prayer, Stations of the Cross provides profound spiritual benefits when prayed regularly throughout the year. Whether you regularly pray the Stations of the Cross or are new to this form of prayer, consider partaking of this rich spiritual tradition which God favors with abundant graces for all.

Individuals or groups walk reverently, uniting their hearts with Christ’s love, and suffering in a spirit of humility as they contemplate the Passion of Christ. Some choose to carry a wooden cross or stone in imitation of the heavy weight carried by Jesus.