Stations of the Cross (Way of the Cross; in Latin, Via Crucis; Passion of Christ) is a spiritual journey through Jesus' final experience on earth which culminated with his crucifixion on the cross as described in the Bible New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. At regular times during the year and specifically during Lent, this journey to reflect on the sufferings of Our Lord, which culminated in His death upon the cross, is taken daily by many Catholics and Christians through prayer and walks (physical and mental) through 14 images representing the passion of Christ.
For anyone wishing to journey through the Stations of the Cross, Old Mission Santa Inés has an outdoor area with the stations of the cross. This area is open year-round during daylight hours.
During Lent, Stations of the Cross are held each Friday at 3:00 PM in English in the outdoor Via Calvario. At 6:00 PM, Stations of the Cross are held in Spanish inside the mission church.
On Good Friday at 3:00 PM - the day of Christ's crucifixion according to the Gospels - the Hispanic community at Old Mission Santa Inés performs a live enactment of the events of the Passion of Christ and everyone is invited to journey along as the story is told and the actors and audience walk the mission grounds. See below for photos of this event.
We invite you to join us and enter once more into Jesus’ final experience on earth, an experience received from the Father’s hands. And an experience both sorrowful and sublime, one in which Jesus distilled the most precious lessons of his life and teaching. In this way we can learn to live our own lives fully, on the model or example he set for us.
Pope Francis describes Via Crucis ~~ "The Cross is the word through which God has responded to evil in the world. Sometimes it may seem as though God does not react to evil as if he is silent. And yet, God has spoken, he has replied, and his answer is the Cross of Christ: a word which is love, mercy, forgiveness. It also reveals a judgment, namely that God, in judging us, loves us. Let us remember this: God judges us by loving us. If I embrace his love then I am saved, if I refuse it, then I am condemned, not by him, but my own self, because God never condemns, he only loves and saves. We now continue this Via Crucis in our daily lives. Let us walk together along the Way of the Cross and let us do so carrying in our hearts this word of love and forgiveness. Let us go forward waiting for the Resurrection of Jesus, who loves us so much. He is all love!"
