The Stations of the Resurrection, also known by the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

name ''Via Lucis'' (Way of Light), are a form of Christian

devotion Devotion or Devotions may refer to: Religion * Faith, confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept * Anglican devotions, private prayers and practices used by Anglican Christians * Buddhist devotion, commitment to religious observance * Cat ...

, encouraging meditation upon the

Resurrection of Jesus Christ The resurrection of Jesus ( grc-x-biblical, ἀνάστασις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ) is the Christian belief that God raised Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion, starting – or restoring – his exalted life as Christ and Lord ...

and some of the Resurrection appearances and other episodes recorded in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

. The term may also be used as a name for a series of pictures or sculptures representing the various episodes, although these are nowhere near as common as those for the Stations of the Cross, depicting the stages of the

Passion of Jesus In Christianity, the Passion (from the Latin verb ''patior, passus sum''; "to suffer, bear, endure", from which also "patience, patient", etc.) is the short final period in the life of Jesus Christ. Depending on one's views, the "Passion" m ...

. The concept was devised in 1988. Via Lucis Mariano 2013 Jerez-MIN-DSC04188

The Stations of the Resurrection complement the Stations of the Cross or ''Via Crucis'' (the term ''Via Lucis'' is intentionally reminiscent of this), a traditional

Catholic devotion Catholic devotions are particular customs, rituals, and practices of worship of God or honour of the saints which are in addition to the liturgy of the Catholic Church. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops describes devotions as "exp ...

commemorating the Passion of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

. Unlike the traditional form of the Stations of the Cross—though in common with the revised form of that devotion introduced by

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

on Good Friday 1991—all the Stations of the Resurrection are based on scripturally-recorded incidents contained in the four

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

s and the Acts of the Apostles. As with the Stations of the Cross, the devotion takes no fixed form, but typically includes for each Station a reading from Scripture, a short

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...

, and a

prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified ...

. Where a series of pictures is used to aid the devotion, it takes the form of a

procession A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner. History Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...

, with movement from one Station to the next sometimes being accompanied by the singing of one or more verses of a

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...

History

In the traditional scheme of the Stations of the Cross, the final Station is the burial of Jesus. Though this constitutes a logical conclusion to the ''Via Crucis'', it has been increasingly regarded as unsatisfactory as an end-point to meditation upon the

Paschal mystery The Paschal mystery is one of the central concepts of Catholic faith relating to the history of salvation. According to the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "The Paschal Mystery of Jesus, which comprises his passion, death, res ...

, which according to Christian doctrine culminates in, and is incomplete without, the Resurrection (see, for example, 1 Corinthians 15.17–20). For this reason a fifteenth Station, representing the Resurrection, is sometimes added to the Stations of the Cross. Even this practice has, however, been subject to criticism as insufficiently representing the two-fold dynamic of the Paschal mystery: the suffering and death of Jesus on the one hand, and on the other his Resurrection and glorification. In the summer of 1988, Father Sabino Palumbieri, Professor of Anthropology at the

Salesian , image = File:Stemma big.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , abbreviation = SDB , formation = , founder = John Bosco , founding_location = Valdocco, Turin ...

University in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, proposed the creation of a new set of stations, centred upon the Resurrection and the events following from it, so as to emphasise the positive, hopeful aspect of the Christian story which, though not absent from the Stations of the Cross, is obscured by their emphasis upon suffering. The first major public celebration of this devotion was in 1990, after which it gained greater currency. In December 2001, the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

promulgated a ''Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy'', which commended the ''Via Lucis'' as follows:

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; Eph 5, 8).

For centuries the ''Via Crucis'' involved the faithful in the first moment of the Easter event, namely the Passion, and helped to fix 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 Paschal event, namely the Lord's Resurrection.

The ''Via Lucis'' is potentially an excellent pedagogy of the faith, since "per crucem ad lucem" 'through the Cross (one comes) to the light'' 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

List of Stations

{{As of, 2007 there is no universally-agreed list of Stations of the Resurrection, nor have any Church authorities sought to impose a definitive list, and as a result some churches have commissioned sets of sculptures for the Stations according to their own distinctive scheme which may not be followed elsewhere. (This is similar to the history of the Stations of the Cross, which attained their normative form only after many centuries of widely varying local practice.) As to the ''number'' of Stations, however, there is general agreement that in order to emphasise the complementarity between the Stations of the Cross and the Stations of the Resurrection there should be fourteen Stations of the Resurrection, as is traditionally the case with the Stations of the Cross. In spite of continuing local variability, there appears nevertheless to be an increasing convergence upon the following as a recognised list of Stations of the Resurrection: #Jesus is raised from the dead #The finding of the

empty tomb The empty tomb is the Christian tradition that the tomb of Jesus was found empty on the third day after his crucifixion. All four gospels relay the story, but beyond a basic outline, they agree on little. In the original ending of the Gospel of ...

# Mary Magdalene meets the risen Jesus #Jesus appears on the road to

Emmaus Emmaus (; Greek: Ἐμμαούς, ''Emmaous''; la, Emmaus; , ''Emmaom''; ar, عمواس, ''ʻImwas'') is a town mentioned in the Gospel of Luke of the New Testament. Luke reports that Jesus appeared, after his death and resurrection, before tw ...

#Jesus is known in the

breaking of bread The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was institu ...

#Jesus appears to the

disciple A disciple is a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or other figure. It can refer to: Religion * Disciple (Christianity), a student of Jesus Christ * Twelve Apostles of Jesus, sometimes called the Twelve Disciples * Seventy disciples in t ...

s in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

#Jesus gives the disciples his peace and the power to forgive sins #Jesus strengthens the faith of

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

#Jesus appears by the

Sea of Tiberias The Sea of Galilee ( he, יָם כִּנֶּרֶת, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ar, بحيرة طبريا), also called Lake Tiberias, Kinneret or Kinnereth, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest f ...

#Jesus forgives

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

and commands him to feed his sheep #Jesus commissions the disciples upon the mountain #The

Ascension of Jesus The Ascension of Jesus (anglicized from the Vulgate la, ascensio Iesu, lit=ascent of Jesus) is the Christian teaching that Christ physically departed from Earth by rising to Heaven, in the presence of eleven of his apostles. According to th ...

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

and the disciples wait in prayer #The Holy Spirit descends at Pentecost Other sources, however, including some recent ones, replace some of these Stations with others, such as: *The

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...

*The

angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...

appears to the women *Jesus meets the women *Jesus meets his mother *Mary Magdalene proclaims the Resurrection to the disciples *Jesus and the

beloved disciple The phrase "the disciple whom Jesus loved" ( grc, ὁ μαθητὴς ὃν ἠγάπα ὁ Ἰησοῦς, ho mathētēs hon ēgapā ho Iēsous, label=none) or, in John 20:2; "the other disciple whom Jesus loved" ( grc, τὸν ἄλλον μα� ...

*Jesus appears to over five hundred at once *Jesus appears to

Saul Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered t ...

The stations in Dunaszentmiklós

File:Dunaszentmiklós, római katolikus templom örömúti stációi 2022 01.jpg, Jesus raised from the dead File:Dunaszentmiklós, római katolikus templom örömúti stációi 2022 02.jpg, The

File:Dunaszentmiklós, római katolikus templom örömúti stációi 2022 03.jpg, Mary Magdalene meets the risen Christ File:Dunaszentmiklós, római katolikus templom örömúti stációi 2022 04.jpg, Jesus meets his mother File:Dunaszentmiklós, római katolikus templom örömúti stációi 2022 05.jpg, The breaking of bread on the road to Emmaus File:Dunaszentmiklós, római katolikus templom örömúti stációi 2022 06.jpg, Jesus appears to the disciples File:Dunaszentmiklós, római katolikus templom örömúti stációi 2022 07.jpg, Jesus gives the disciples power to forgive sins File:Dunaszentmiklós, római katolikus templom örömúti stációi 2022 08.jpg, Jesus shows proof to Doubting Thomas File:Dunaszentmiklós, római katolikus templom örömúti stációi 2022 09.jpg, Jesus appears by

Lake Tiberias The Sea of Galilee ( he, יָם כִּנֶּרֶת, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ar, بحيرة طبريا), also called Lake Tiberias, Kinneret or Kinnereth, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest f ...

File:Dunaszentmiklós, római katolikus templom örömúti stációi 2022 10.jpg, Jesus appears to the multitudes File:Dunaszentmiklós, római katolikus templom örömúti stációi 2022 11.jpg, Jesus gives authority to

File:Dunaszentmiklós, római katolikus templom örömúti stációi 2022 12.jpg, The

Great Commission In Christianity, the Great Commission is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples to spread the gospel to all the nations of the world. The Great Commission is outlined in Matthew 28:16– 20, where on a mountain ...

File:Dunaszentmiklós, római katolikus templom örömúti stációi 2022 13.jpg, Ascension of Jesus File:Dunaszentmiklós, római katolikus templom örömúti stációi 2022 14.jpg, Pentecost

References

*Stations of the Resurrection, Raymond Chapman, Canterbury Press, 1998, 0853112119 *Common Worship: Times and Seasons, Church House Publishing, 2006, 071512112X Stations of the Light: Renewing the Ancient Christian Practice of the Via Lucis as a Scriptural Tool for Today, Mary Ford-Grabowsky, Image Book, Doubleday, 2005, 0385511655 Easter liturgy Cross symbols Catholic art by subject Christian iconography Catholic devotions