One way to help us in our living of Easter as 50 days is to celebrate the Stations of the Resurrection. The Stations of the Cross have long been a devotion that assist us during Lent.
The Stations of the Resurrection were first proposed in 1988 by Father Sabino Palumbieri, Professor of Anthropology at the Salesian University in Rome. They have been growing in popularity since the 1990s.
They are also called Via Lucis (Way of Light). They are mentioned in the Vatican’s 2001 Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy. Section 153 reads:
The Via Lucis
153. A pious exercise called the Via Lucis has developed and spread to many regions in recent years. Following the model of the Via Crucis, the faithful process while meditating on the various appearances of Jesus – from his Resurrection to his Ascension – in which he showed his glory to the disciples who awaited the coming of the Holy Spirit (cf. John 14, 26; 16, 13-15; Lk 24, 49), strengthened their faith, brought to completion his teaching on the Kingdom and more closely defined the sacramental and hierarchical structure of the Church.
Through the Via Lucis, the faithful recall the central event of the faith – the resurrection of Christ – and their discipleship in virtue of Baptism, the paschal sacrament by which they have passed from the darkness of sin to the bright radiance of the light of grace (cf. Col 1, 13; Ef 5, 8).
For centuries the Via Crucis involved the faithful in the first moment of the Easter event, namely the Passion, and helped to fixed its most important aspects in their consciousness. Analogously, the Via Lucis, when celebrated in fidelity to the Gospel text, can effectively convey a living understanding to the faithful of the second moment of the Pascal event, namely the Lord’s Resurrection.
The Via Lucis is potentially an excellent pedagogy of the faith, since “per crucem ad lucem”. Using the metaphor of a journey, the Via Lucis moves from the experience of suffering, which in God’s plan is part of life, to the hope of arriving at man’s true end: liberation, joy and peace which are essentially paschal values.
The Via Lucis is a potential stimulus for the restoration of a “culture of life” which is open to the hope and certitude offered by faith, in a society often characterized by a “culture of death”, despair and nihilism.
The Church of England has formally included this devotion in Common Worship Times and Seasons for Easter (including prayers, readings, etc).
I The earthquake Matthew 28.2-4
II Mary Magdalene finds the empty tomb John 20.1,2
III The disciples run to the empty tomb John 20.3-8
IV The angel appears to the women Matthew 28.5-8
or Mark 16.3-8
or Luke 24.2-9
V Jesus meets the women Matthew 28.9,10
VI The road to Emmaus Luke 24.28-35
VII Jesus appears to the disciples Luke 24.36-43
or John 20.19,20
VIII Jesus promises the Spirit Luke 24.44-49
IX Jesus commissions the disciples John 20.21-23
X Jesus breathes the Spirit in the upper room John 20.22,23
XI Jesus reveals himself to Thomas John 20.24-29
XII Jesus appears at the lakeside John 21.9-13
XIII Jesus confronts Peter John 21.15-19
XIV Jesus and the beloved disciple John 21.20-23
XV Jesus appears to over five hundred at once 1 Corinthians 15.3-6
XVI Jesus commissions the disciples on the mountain Matthew 28.16-20
XVII The ascension Acts 1.3-11
XVIII Pentecost Acts 2.1-11
XIX Jesus appears to Saul (Paul) Acts 9.1-18
or 1 Corinthians 15.8
Some images of the resurrection to use with this can be found here. There must be a lot of different ways this devotion can be used – power-point; one a day; blogging; children’s art; adult art; music;… add your comments, ideas, and suggestions below…
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I’m a big fan of the Stations of the Resurrection, and wish much more prominence was given to it. This year we hope to do it as part of a joint Catholic and Anglican parish ecumenical activity in the (Southern Hemisphere’s) week of prayer for Christian Unity.
And great to see an African-inspired image, Fr Bosco – I’m from Cape Town in SA.
Wishing you all the best in Chch. Peace and Blessings.
What an inspiriting inspired idea, Chris! Christ is risen!
I did not know about the stations of the resurrection. If possible need more information on it.We could use it at our Parish Church of St Luke the Evangelist Salt River CapeTown South Africa