What does each of the stations of the cross mean?

Answer 1

The stations of the cross commemorate the passion of Jesus, from his condemnation by Pilate to his burial in the tomb. The stations are not entirely accurate, because it is very likely he fell more than three times, but they give us a general idea of what the march to Golgotha and his death were like. After he was condemned he was whipped and beat to the point of death, then forced to carry a heavy beam of the cross up a hill to Golgotha, the place of the skull. He was then set there to suffocate due to the lack of strength to lift himself up to breathe. During all this the soldiers were gambling off his clothes and making fun of him. When he finally died, he was taken down by his Apostle John and his mother Mary, then laid in a freshly made tomb Joseph of Arimathea was going to use for himself, but donated to it Jesus.

Answer 2

The purpose of the Stations of the Cross is to remind us of the effects of sin and the salvation won for us through the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus. As we meditate on the Stations, we are moved to renounce sin and to accept Jesus as our Savior.

Answer 3

Catholic AnswerThe Stations of the Cross symbolize fourteen different events in the life of Christ beginning with Pilate condemning Him to death, and ending with His burial in the tomb. It symbolizes the events of Good Friday for us to meditate on fruitfully at any time, but most especially on Fridays, and during Lent.

from Modern Catholic Dictionary by John A. Hardon, S.J. Doubleday & Co., Inc. Garden City, NY 1980

A devotion performed by meditating on the Passion of Christ, successively before fourteen stations of the Cross, normally wooden crosses, attached to the interior walls of a church, although they may be erected anywhere, and may have pictures of representations depicted various scenes from Christ's Via Crucis as aids to devotion on the traditional stations:

1. Jesus Is Condemned to Death

2. Jesus Bears His Cross

3. Jesus Falls the First Time

4. Jesus Meets His Mother

5. Jesus is Helped by Simon

6. Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus

7. Jesus Falls a Second Time

8. Jesus Consoles the Women of Jerusalem

9. Jesus Falls a Third Time

10. Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments

11. Jesus is Nailed to the Cross

12. Jesus Dies on the Cross

13. Jesus Is Taken Down from the Cross

14. Jesus Is Laid in the Tomb.

Answer 4

The Stations of the Cross are only required to have 14 crosses, so really they are not saying anything, just representing the fourteen Stations that you would meditate on for the Stations of the Cross. Most Stations, though, have pictures or representations of what the Station is about.

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from Modern Catholic Dictionary by John A. Hardon, S.J. Doubleday & Co., Inc. Garden City, NY 1980

A devotion performed by meditating on the Passion of Christ, successively before fourteen stations of the Cross, normally wooden crosses, attached to the interior walls of a church, although they may be erected anywhere, and may have pictures of representations depicted various scenes from Christ's Via Crucis as aids to devotion on the traditional stations:

1. Jesus Is Condemned to Death

2. Jesus Bears His Cross

3. Jesus Falls the First Time

4. Jesus Meets His Mother

5. Jesus is Helped by Simon

6. Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus

7. Jesus Falls a Second Time

8. Jesus Consoles the Women of Jerusalem

9. Jesus Falls a Third Time

10. Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments

11. Jesus is Nailed to the Cross

12. Jesus Dies on the Cross

13. Jesus Is Taken Down from the Cross

14. Jesus Is Laid in the Tomb.

Answer 5

The Stations of the Cross represent the turmoil that Jesus went through as he went to his crucifixion. Each station represents some part of that journey.

Answer 6

The stations of the cross depict Christ's passion.

Answer 7

It helps us to remember that Jesus died for us, he accepted it when he was only a child.