April 18, 2003

Good Friday in Jerusalem / Via Dolorosa

[Bethlehem, West Bank] Good Friday is called "Sad Friday" here in the Holy Land. And at 6:30 this morning, we met in Jerusalem to walk the Via Dolorosa, the "Way of Sorrow."

(The following information is from a brochure I picked up from Shalom Advertising.)

The Via Dolorosa, winding along narrow streets of Jerusalem's Old City, leads from the Ecce Homo Convent to the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. This is the traditional route Jesus followed bearing His cross from Pilate's Judgment Hall in the Antonia, to Calvary Hill or Golgotha, the site of the crucifixion. Along this route are the "Fourteen Stations of the Cross." Each station marks an event of sacred memory, with chapels for reflection, convents and monasteries of devotion, and the sacred basilica for commemoration -- along Christendom's most hallowed road.

When you think you've had a bad day, take a look at Jesus' list...

Stations of the Cross:

• Station 1: Jesus is condemned to death
• Station 2: Jesus takes up the Cross
• Station 3: Jesus falls under the Cross for the first time
• Station 4: Jesus meets his mother
• Station 5: Simon the Cyrenian is forced to carry the Cross
• Station 6: Veronica wipes the sweat from Jesus' face
• Station 7: Jesus falls for the second time
• Station 8: Jesus consoles the women of Jerusalem
• Station 9: Jesus falls for the third time
• Station 10: Jesus is stripped of His garments
• Station 11: Jesus is nailed to the Cross
• Station 12: Jesus dies on the Cross
• Station 13: Jesus is taken down from the Cross
• Station 14: Jesus is laid in the Tomb

Here are some scenes from our walk through the Via Dolorosa.

Station 3

Station 4

Station 7

Church of the Holy Sepulchre