Way of the Cross, St. Alphonsus Liguori

Way of the Cross, St. Alphonsus Liguori

 

• From American Catholic.org
• This Holy Man founded the Redemptorist congregation in 1732. It was an association of priests and brothers living a common life, dedicated to the imitation of Christ, and working mainly in popular missions for peasants in rural areas. Almost as an omen of what was to come later, he found himself deserted, after a while, by all his original companions except one lay brother. But the congregation managed to survive and was formally approved 17 years later, though its troubles were not over.
• Alphonsus' great pastoral reforms were in the pulpit and confessional—replacing the pompous oratory of the time with simplicity, and the rigorism of Jansenism with kindness. His great fame as a writer has somewhat eclipsed the fact that for 26 years he traveled up and down the Kingdom of Naples, preaching popular missions.
  
  

Tan Book Publishing is the source for older Roman Catholic Publications from the Pre-Vatican II era.

 

General Description:

The Way of the Cross is the most heavily indulgenced devotion in the Catholic Church; it is a devotion reputed to have been originated by Our Lady herself, who, legend has it, set up the original Way of the Cross in her backyard at Ephesus.  Moreover, the great Saints all aver that meditation on the Passion and death of Jesus is the most fruitful that one can engage in.  Among versions of the Way of the Cross, St. Alphonsus' is easily the best known and most popular in the English language

 

Here is the webite for Tan Books: 

 

Another Catholic group and order that provided and provides booklets to parishes and other Catholic organizations are the Passionists

• St. Paul of the Cross

  The Story of our fouder: preacher and mystic
  
  He was nineteen. His father wanted him to become a merchant like himself. His priest-uncle advised him to become a priest. A young lady from one of the better families hoped to to be his wife.
  But Paul Francis Daneo, born on January 3, 1694, in Ovada, Italy, had a different vision for his life. During his teens years he felt inwardly inspired and captivated by the Cross of Christ. Paul discerned God�s love for all people in the passion and death of Jesus Christ. Realizing all that Jesus had suffered in love for us, Paul wanted to love Jesus in return through prayer and preaching.  This vision was hindered because Paul was the eldest son of a large family and, therefore, obligated to remain home and assist his father in supporting his younger brothers and sisters. 
  
  When Paul was 21 years old, he joined a crusade against the Turks, thinking this was the way God wanted him to serve. But after experiencing the violence and ruthlessness of war, Paul abandoned this way. He had an inner conviction that God would fulfill the vision by a crusade of a much different nature. 
  
  Returning to his hometown, Paul helped his family and dedicated himself to prayer and penance. In 1720 he talked with the local bishop, asking to be allowed to serve the Church as a hermit, a "holy man." The bishop allowed Paul live in one of the town�s churches. Paul, wearing a long black robe as a sign of his commitment, took care of the church property and prepared the altar before the daily celebration of Mass. He was invited to teach religion to the children. Adults, recognizing in Paul the qualities of wisdom and holiness, came to him for advice. At times he was given permission to preach. 
  
  During this period Paul kept a diary and wrote a Rule, which contained his vision of how he would live his life. The Rule contained directives about prayer, fasting, exercise, spiritual disciplines, penances, charity, and many other qualities and activities Paul felt were important in living out a dedicated life. In 1721 Paul brought the Rule to the Vatican in Rome for the Pope�s approval. The guards, thinking him a beggar, turned him away. Paul, severely disappointed, rededicated himself to the vision God had given him. Returning to north of Rome, Paul invited others to join him. Paul did not receive definitive approval for the Rule until 1769.
• Here is a link to their version:  http://www.cptryon.org/prayer/xstations/stpaulofcross/index.html

History of the Stations interestingly recounted on EWTN

• This devotion has evolved over time. Tradition holds that our Blessed Mother visited daily the scenes of our Lord's passion. After Constantine legalized Christianity in the year 312, this pathway was marked with its important stations. St. Jerome (342-420), living in Bethlehem during the later part of his life, attested to the crowds of pilgrims from various countries who visited those holy places and followed the Way of the Cross.
• When the Moslem Turks blocked the access to the Holy Land, reproductions of the stations were erected at popular spiritual centers, including the Dominican Friary at Cordova and Poor Clare Convent of Messina (early 1400s); Nuremberg (1468); Louvain (1505); Bamberg, Fribourg and Rhodes (1507); and Antwerp 1520). Many of these stations were reproduced by renowned artists and are considered masterpieces today. By 1587, Zuallardo reported that the Moslems forbade anyone "to make any halt, nor to pay veneration to [the stations] with uncovered head, nor to make any other demonstration," basically suppressing this devotion in the Holy Land. Nevertheless, the devotion continued to grow in popularity in Europe.

Additionally check out the company founded by Fr. Fessio, Ignitius Press as a source too.

Hope this is Helpful

Dominus Vobiscum

 

 

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