If you’re just joining us in this article, we’re glad you’re here. This article is part two of our series on why Catholics should be praying the Stations of the Cross in 2022. You can find the link to part one here.
The last few years have been extremely challenging for everyone. The Catholic community across the globe has been hit especially hard, as many are retreating from their faith and commitment to Christ and His Church.
We believe because of this, there has never been a better time than in 2022 to press in close to Christ and to remember the sacrifice He made for each of us on the Cross.
As we walk through His journey in our prayers, we recognize the way He loves us as His body and His desire to see His Church walk in strength and hope.
Throughout part two of this series, we are going to give you four powerful reasons why we believe praying through the Stations of the Cross will help to bring new life to your walk with Christ.
We are empowered to choose Christ as we pray the Stations of the Cross
Seeing the radical love of Christ and choosing to embrace His as our Lord changes everything. In ourselves, we will always fall short. Even on our best days, we could never be enough or do enough to deserve the love of Christ.
As we read the Stations of the Cross, instead of staying in that place of our insufficiency, we are raised to life in Christ. We are empowered to choose Him, despite our weaknesses, knowing that it is only through His Grace that we will find everlasting life.
Jesus Christ never rejects anyone who comes to Him, but it takes faith for us to take that step. When we see how powerful His love is for His Body, we receive the courage necessary to run towards Him as our Savior and Rescuer.
Through our prayers, we respond as Christ does to the world
Watching the news in 2022 for just a few moments reveals more evil and hatred than we’ve ever known. Often, when the Church saw the downfall of humanity, they would run away from it and try to hide to escape it.
Christ came to establish a new Kingdom, a new way of being, a new way of loving. This was never Christ’s response. Although He was Holy and lived separate from the world, He never ran from it or was silent to it.
Christ’s journey from Pilot to the Tomb is an example to each of us of how we should respond to the world.
In His moments of agony and pain, He forgives. He never rose up to defend Himself, and neither did He shame anyone for their missteps and shortcomings. He extended love, mercy, and forgiveness to everyone who came to Him.
When we see this example, we see how relevant the Stations of the Cross are to us as believers in 2022. We remember that we can follow Christ’s example and love those lost and in the darkness around us.
We believe God has readied the Catholic Church across the globe for an hour such as this. As the Church comes close again to the message of Christ, the Gospel will spread throughout the Earth, just as the Apostles intended it to.
We are convinced of Christ’s love for us on the Cross
Something changes in the heart of a human being when they know they are loved – how much more when they encounter the love of God. The mission of Christ Jesus was that the world would see His love for them. The love of Christ surpasses all earthly love.
Living in constant awareness of this reality changes the journey for those in the Catholic faith. As we walk out our life in 2022, giving honor and value to the Catholic traditions, we must remember that all that we do is because we are loved.
We no longer have to earn or try to deserve the love of Christ. We remember how His blood was shed, and His body was broken so that we could be reconciled to Father God. The Cross is not a reminder for us to live in shame and condemnation; it is a reminder of the love letter sent to us by Father God. Through the death of Christ on the Cross, it can be settled in our hearts forever that we are loved, we are chosen, and we are wanted by God.
The Stations of the Cross Prayer leads us from suffering to Resurrection
One of the most significant and most life-altering parts of reading and praying through the Stations of the Cross is we are reminded of the Truth that Christ was not left on the Cross.
We do not follow a dead or silent God. Our Savior was raised to life through the power of Resurrection. The angels came that day to proclaim the Good News, this same Good News that shapes our lives today.
Christ was victorious over death and the grave. His sacrifice made it possible for humanity to come close to God again. For every person in the Holy Catholic Church, resurrection life is available for them also, as they believe.
When we meditate on our Risen Savior, we remember that we are not stuck in our places of pain, wounding, sickness, shame, or fear. Christ’s victory and Resurrection cause us to rise above our pain and into eternal life. Never has this Truth been more necessary than in the global circumstances and crisis’ of 2022.
