Way of the Cross
Fourteen devotional stops
Way of the Cross is a Christian devotional practice commemorating the stages of Jesus Christ's journey to crucifixion, from his condemnation to his burial.
Worshippers move through fourteen stations, each marking a moment along the route—Jesus falls, meets his mother, is nailed to the cross.
The practice is especially associated with Lent and Good Friday.
Also called Stations of the Cross.
Execution by cross
- JesusChristian faith's divine son
- CalvaryBiblical execution mount
- GolgothaBiblical execution hilltop
- sufferingSustained experience of distress
crown of thorns · scourging · nails · Pilate · condemnation · falls · stripping · burial
Triply sacred ancient capital
- Holy LandSacred ground, three faiths
- shrinesSacred devotional sites
- stationsFixed stops on routes
- processionFormal moving line
Lent · Good Friday · faithful · pilgrims · tradition · ritual · basilica · cathedral
Fixed stops on routes
- prayerAddress to deity
- meditationFocused attention practice
- LentenOf the pre-Easter season
- venerationProfound admiring respect
genuflection · procession · candles · crucifix · rosary · hymns · liturgy · chapel
Remorseful rejection of past wrongs
- contritionRemorseful state over misdeeds
- atonementCompensation for wrongdoing
- sacrificeGiving up something precious
- self-denialRestraining one's own desires
fasting · mortification · absolution · redemption · expiation · confession · sorrow · amendment
Focused attention practice
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- readingsDisplayed measurements or interpretations
- silenceTotal lack of sound
- solitudeState of being alone
prayer beads · spiritual exercises · mindfulness · introspection · pondering · focus · awareness · stillness
crucifixion
Execution by cross
suffering · crown of thorns · scourging · nails · Pilate · condemnation · falls · stripping · burial · tomb
Jerusalem
Triply sacred ancient capital
procession · Lent · Good Friday · faithful · pilgrims · tradition · ritual · basilica · cathedral · Holy Sepulchre
stations
Fixed stops on routes
- prayerAddress to deity
- meditationFocused attention practice
- LentenOf the pre-Easter season
veneration · genuflection · procession · candles · crucifix · rosary · hymns · liturgy · chapel · congregation
repentance
Remorseful rejection of past wrongs
- contritionRemorseful state over misdeeds
- atonementCompensation for wrongdoing
- sacrificeGiving up something precious
self-denial · fasting · mortification · absolution · redemption · expiation · confession · sorrow · amendment · purification
meditation
Focused attention practice
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- readingsDisplayed measurements or interpretations
- silenceTotal lack of sound
solitude · prayer beads · spiritual exercises · mindfulness · introspection · pondering · focus · awareness · stillness · recollection
- Catholic prayersOur Father, Hail Mary, Ave Maria, Nicene Creed, Apostles' Creed
- pilgrimagepilgrim, pilgrims, hajj, pilgrimage routes, Mecca
- sacred sitesBuddhist temples, Jerusalem, consecrated ground, Hindu temples, sacred rivers
Way of the CrossEaster Vigil
Pre-Easter overnight liturgy
Easter celebration · primrose path · Gloria · Transfiguration · path of least resistance
Way of the CrossHail Mary
Catholic Marian invocation
Our Father · Gloria · silent meditation · contemplative prayer · ejaculation
ways, wayward, wayfarer, wayfaring, cross, crosses, crossed, crossing, crosser