Loading ...
Back in the good old days, the Cornell Society for a Good Time used to meet fairly regularly at a local Ithaca church to pray the Stations of the Cross. Though our Mass options in Ithaca were grim, we were blessed in at least one way: we did have a rather nice old church in the downtown (just a short block away from my old apartment), and it had not been entirely wreckovated by the reformers. The parish itself was not the sort to encourage traditional devotions. But on Friday mornings after Mass the church was nearly empty, except for a contingent of elderly people who would come to pray. (I believe a local retirement home provided transportation for any residents who wished to do this on Friday mornings. Anyway, we would see some of the same faces there week after week.) These devout souls seemed only too delighted to see a group of young Catholics praying their Stations, and so the practice continued on a moderately regular basis for some years. When we didn’t have an organized group, I would sometimes walk over and do the prayers on my own at some convenient time.
I would like to continue this practice. However, in my present place of residence, I have no access to a Catholic church on Friday mornings. So I was wondering: do people ever do this devotion in their homes, simply by reading the relevant prayers? Is this encouraged? Are there any other do-at-home Friday devotions that people sometimes use?
St. Louis-Marie de Montfort,
Pope St. Pius X,
St. Joseph,
St. Ambrose of Milan,
St. Thomas Aquinas,
St. Francis (and St. Clare),
St. Catherine of Siena,
St. Alphonsus Ligouri,
St. John Chrysostom,
Clara,
To gain the indulgences of the Way of the Cross at home it is necessary is to meditate on the Passion for 15 minutes and pray for the intentions of the Pope. It is recommended that a crucifix be used as an aid. Of course any book of meditations on the Stations may be used as well as the Passion Narratives in the Gospels.
There is an old devotion of the Way of the Cross beads. A very long time ago one could use these to gain the indulgences if prevented from making the Stations in church. One would still gain indulgences by using them under the General Grant of Indulgences. You can sometimes find them on eBay and some Catholic dealers still sell them. They consisted of fourteen medals, one for each station, each medal followed by three beads on which were said a Pater, Ave, and Gloria. Then at some point the beads were done away with and a crucifix of wood blessed by a priest with the faculty to do so was used as a means to aid meditiation on the Passion and so gain the indulgences. Since 1967(?) with the changes in indulgences the crucifix is no longer needed.
Another excellent Passion devotion is the Fifteen Saint Bridget Prayers. They can be found online and in the Pieta Prayer Book. These also make a wonderful meditation on the Passion. There is also the Steps of the Passion by St. Alphonsus. This as well as a wealth of prayers and meditations can be found in his work The Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
As with all prayers and devotions, don’t forget to have an intention, ask for the graces you need, and always make resolutions that you can put into practice. This way our prayer is real (that is, not just words) and bears fruit in our daily lives.
Thanks very much, Fr. Bailey! I must confess that I had never heard of any of these devotions, but these sound like excellent suggestions.