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The Stations of the Resurrection!
By Mark D. Roberts | Monday, April 13, 2009
Christ is risen!
He is risen, indeed!
Yes, I know Easter Sunday was yesterday. But, for Christians throughout the world, Easter is not just a day, but a 50-day season, beginning with Easter Sunday and continuing to Pentecost. So today I continue my reflections on Easter.
If you’re looking for what I’ve written before on the season of Easter, you can check out:
If you’ve been reading my blog for the last couple of of week, you know that I’ve been focusing on a biblical version of the Stations of the Cross. It’s a way for Christians to reflect upon the meaning of Christ’s death, so that they might have a deeper personal knowledge of God’s grace in Christ.
The last of the fourteen stations has the title: Jesus is Placed in the Tomb. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, the Stations of the Cross end here. There is no Easter station, for obvious reasons. Yet, a part of me wishes that the stations continued into Eastertide. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be led into a more profound understanding and experience of the resurrection of Jesus?!
In fact, The Stations of the Resurrection do exist, though they are a recent creation, unlike The Stations of the Cross. They were formulated by a man named Don Sabino Palumbieri. A theological anthropologist by profession, Palumbieri founded an organization called Movimento Testimoni del Risorto (Movement of the Witnesses of the Risen Lord). The purpose of this movement is to help ordinary Christians understand and experience the resurrection of Christ in their lives, so that the world might be impacted by the power of the resurrection.
As part of his mission to help people experience resurrection reality today, in the 1980s Palumbieri began to formulate the Via Lucis (”the way of light” in Latin) which complemented the Via Crucis (”the way of the cross,” another name for the Stations of the Cross). Each station in the Via Lucis is based on a specific biblical passage, like the revised Via Crucis I have used as the basis for my own reflections. The first Via Lucis was celebrated in in the Catacombs of St. Callistus in Rome. Shortly thereafter Pope John Paul II became aware of the Via Lucis. It was officially sanctioned by the Vatican in 2001, in the Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy: Principles and Guidelines: Chapter 4: The Liturgical Year and Popular Piety, Section 153. (Photos: Inside the Catacomb of St. Callistus. I had the privilege of touring this catacomb in 2004. The photos are not mine, however, since ordinary tourists are not allowed to take pictures there.)
The Archdiocese of Detroit has published a form of The Stations of the Resurrection, including devotional resources for each day. Here is the list of the fourteen stations:
First Station: Jesus Rises from the Dead
Second Station: Women Come to the Tomb Encountering an Angel
Third Station: Peter and John Visit the Tomb with Mary Magdalene
Fourth Station: Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
Fifth Station: Mary Magdalene Proclaims His Rising to the Apostles
Sixth Station: Jesus Appears on the Road to Emmaus
Seventh Station: Jesus Gives the Disciples the Power to Forgive
Eighth Station: Jesus Confirms the Faith of Thomas
Ninth Station: Jesus Eats with the Disciples on Tiberias Shore
Tenth Station: Jesus Forgives Peter and Commissions Him
Eleventh Station: Jesus Gives the Great Commission to the Disciples
Twelfth Station: Jesus Ascends into Heaven
Thirteenth Station: Mary and the Disciples Keep Vigil for the Spirit’s
Advent
Fourteenth Station: Jesus Sends the Holy Spirit
You can find devotional resources for today’s reflection here.
Because of several blogging commitments, I am not able to offer a series on The Stations of the Resurrection this year. But I’m seriously thinking about doing it next year. Perhaps I can even persuade my wife to do some paintings. I know that I need a deeper understanding and experience of the resurrection, and I expect you do too. For now, I’d point you to the resources I mentioned above.
May you have a blessed Eastertide!
Topics: Easter |
3 Responses to “The Stations of the Resurrection!”
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May 13th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
An artist in our congregation has painted the 14 Stations of the Resurrection. They are beautiful.
Zion United Church of Christ
437 First Street
Henderson, KY 42420
Rev. Philip Hoy
270 826 0605
812 437 9295 (home
June 7th, 2009 at 3:53 am
o my god this is so like interesting i totally love it i think you are soo cool and one day i would like to be yooouuuu!!!!!
November 21st, 2009 at 6:42 pm
Do you still plan to develop the 14 stations of resurrection with paintings of your wife for 2010. This year your stations of the cross inspired a blessed devotional time and season for tgis congregation. I planning next year’s preaching program now, I also though to in 2010 place emphasis on the “stations of resurrection”!
If you do develop it I would be interested in using it as inspiration for our 50 days of Easter celebrations around the living Lord.
Andries
Centurion West Presbyterian Church
South Africa