On Sunday, we launched Praying the Stations of the Cross with Kathrin Burleson For Individuals and For Groups. In this class, Kathrin takes students through the fourteen watercolors of her Stations of the Cross, offering commentary and meditation on each scene.

Experiencing the Stations of the Cross service using online tools, through the eyes of a contemporary artist is an extraordinary way to participate in this centuries-old ritual. We wish to offer other online Stations of the Cross resources to those who are interested in using digital technology to connect with Christians across the world and with Christians of the past through this journey with Christ.

The Catholic online magazine Busted Halo (named for all of us small “s” saints with our dented and dirty haloes) offers the Stations of the Cross online using the traditional Catholic stations. Each multimedia station offers dynamic images and textual prayers and meditations, with meditative music behind them. Another traditional online Stations of the Cross is The Liturgy Archive’s The Way of the Cross service, which uses images by glass artist James Caesar and textual prayers. This version uses no music and has static text and images.

Loyola Press offers a multimedia Stations of the Cross for children. Using music, images, and simple meditative text, it offers a child-friendly service that older children who can read can use alone and that younger children can use with their parents’ help.

People who wish to experience the Stations of the Cross as a pilgrimage through the footsteps of Jesus through Jerusalem might try a virtual pilgrimage through sites in Jerusalem that traditionally have been associated with each of the fourteen Stations of the Cross. The site brings visitors to a numbered map through Jerusalem. At each numbered station on the map, the site offers an introduction to what viewers will find there and a slide slow of the buildings and the markers that designate the site as one of the traditional locations for each station. (Be patient with the slide show; it moves slowly.) After the slide show, viewers are shown an image of the altar associated with each station and invited to pray. Each virtual prayer station includes background music and textual prayers.

We hope that you benefit from these online Stations of the Cross offerings as you prepare to experience a holy Lent. If you would like to learn more about Kathrin Burleson’s class, please enjoy this preview.