These stations were discovered in the Catacombs of St. Callistus in Rome. The Via Lucis is particularly suited for Easter Sunday, for the weekdays of the Easter Octave (known as “Bright Week” among the Eastern churches), and throughout the Fifty Days of the Easter Season. In a fashion similar to the Via Crucis and the four passion narratives, the Via Lucis reflects upon the final chapters of each of the four gospels, which narrate the appearances of the Risen Lord from Easter to Pentecost. Fourteen “Stations of Light” have been identified.
‘For we have grown into union with Christ through a death like His, we shall also be united with Him in the resurrection….If then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall live with Him….Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as being dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus: (Romans 6: 5, 7, 11)
Let us walk this pilgrimage of faith, the Via Lucis, as daughters and sons of the light and as witnesses of the Risen Lord. Let us meditate upon the resurrection of Christ and discover the pathway of light that Christ blazes through our lives.
Jesus Rises from the Dead
The angel of the Lord said to the women: ‘Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for He has been raised just as He said.” (Matthew 28: 5b-6a)
Please quietly pause.
Pray: We adore you O Christ and we bless you, because by your holy Cross, you have redeemed the world.
The Disciples Discover the Tomb
“Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed” (John 20: 8)
Please quietly pause.
Pray: We adore you O Christ and we bless you, because by your holy Cross, you have redeemed the world.
The Risen Lord Appears to Mary Magdalen, Apostle to the Apostles
“She turned around and saw Jesus there but did not know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?’ She thought He was the gardener and said to Him, ‘Sir, if you carried Him away, tell me where you laid Him, and I will take Him.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni,’ which means Teacher. Jesus said to her, ‘Stop holding on to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to My brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’ Mary of Magdalen went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord,’ and what He told her” (John 20: 14b-18)
Please quietly pause.
Pray: We adore you O Christ and we bless you, because by your holy Cross, you have redeemed the world.
The Risen Lord Appears on the Road to Emmaus
“It happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus Himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him…. And He said to them, ‘Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into His glory?’ Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted to them what referred to Him in all the scriptures” (Luke 24: 15, 25-27)
Please quietly pause.
Pray: We adore you O Christ and we bless you, because by your holy Cross, you have redeemed the world.
The Risen Lord is Recognized in the Breaking of the Bread
“They urged Him, ‘Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.’ So, He went in to stay with them. And it happened that while He was with them at table, He took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that, their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him, but He vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while He spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us’” (Luke 24: 29-32)
Please quietly pause.
Pray: We adore you O Christ and we bless you, because by your holy Cross, you have redeemed the world.
The Risen Lord Appears to the Community of Disciples
“Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Touch Me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have,’ And as He said this, He showed them His hands and His feet” (Luke 24: 38-40)
Please quietly pause.
Pray: We adore you O Christ and we bless you, because by your holy Cross, you have redeemed the world.
The Risen Lord Breathes Peace and Gives the Power to Forgive
“Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you’… The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so I send you.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained’” (John 20: 19b, 20b-23)
Please quietly pause.
Pray: We adore you O Christ and we bless you, because by your holy Cross, you have redeemed the world.
The Risen Lord Strengthens the Faith of Thomas
“Thomas…was not with them when Jesus came…. Thomas said, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in His hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into His side, I will not believe’…Jesus came…and stood in their midst and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then He said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see My hands, and bring your hand and put it into My side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe’…Blessed are those who do not see and yet believe.” (John 20: 24-29)
Please quietly pause.
Pray: We adore you O Christ and we bless you, because by your holy Cross, you have redeemed the world.
The Risen Lord Eats with the Disciples on the Shore of Tiberias
“Jesus said to them, ‘Bring some of the fish you just caught.’ So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, ‘Come, have breakfast.’ And none of His disciples dared to ask Him, ‘Who are You?’ because they realized it was the Lord” (John 21: 10-12)
Please quietly pause.
Pray: We adore you O Christ and we bless you, because by your holy Cross, you have redeemed the world.
The Risen Lord Forgives Peter and Entrusts Him to Feed His Sheep
“When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?’… Peter was distressed that Jesus had said to him a third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ and he said to Him, ‘Lord, You know everything, You know that I love You.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep…. Follow Me’ ” (John 21: 15, 17b, 19b)
Please quietly pause.
Pray: We adore you O Christ and we bless you, because by your holy Cross, you have redeemed the world.
The Risen Lord Sends the Disciples into the World
Reading: “Go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Matthew 28: 19-20)
Please quietly pause.
Pray: We adore you O Christ and we bless you, because by your holy Cross, you have redeemed the world.
The Risen Lord Ascends into Heaven
“So then the Lord Jesus, after He spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took His seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs” (Mark 16: 19-20)
Please quietly pause.
Pray: We adore you O Christ and we bless you, because by your holy Cross, you have redeemed the world.
Mary and the Disciples Keep Vigil in the Upper Room for the Spirit’s Advent
“When they entered the city, they went to the upper room where they were staying…. All [the apostles] devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and His brothers” (Acts 1: 13a, 14)
Please quietly pause.
Pray: We adore you O Christ and we bless you, because by your holy Cross, you have redeemed the world.
The Risen Lord Sends the Holy Spirit
“Suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim” (Acts 2: 2-4)
Please quietly pause.
Pray: We adore you O Christ and we bless you, because by your holy Cross, you have redeemed the world.
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