Friday, August 8, 2014

Montserrat Stations of the Cross, Spain

The mountain town of Montserrat features a set of Stations of the Cross that wind across and back one of the mountains.

The first station is visible from one of the streets, but just barely. This is the only one where my family posed. In the first station, Jesus is condemned to death by Pontius Pilate, who pretends he's not guilty by washing his hand ceremoniously.

Station 1--Jesus is Condemned to Death

The second station shows Jesus accepting His cross and beginning to carry it.

Station 2--Jesus Carries His Cross

In station three, Jesus falls for the first time as He begins the journey to Calvary.

Station 3--Jesus Falls the First Time

The heartbreaking fourth station is where Jesus meets His mother on the way to His execution.

Station 4--Jesus Meets His Mother

At this point, there seems to have been a change of artists, or perhaps budget, as the stations become much less elaborate and more abstract. The fifth station shows Simon of Cyrene helping Jesus to carry the cross. 

Station 5--Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus to Carry the Cross

 The sixth and seventh stations were close to these stations and seven wasn't all that impressive to look at, sadly.

Station 6--Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus; Station 7--Jesus Falls a Second Time

The eighth station shows Jesus comforting the women of Jerusalem, who weep for His horrible death. Even with my bad photography, this is hardly the moving moment it's meant to be.

Station 8--Jesus Comforts the Women of Jerusalem

Station nine shows Jesus' third and final fall as He continues on to Calvary.

Station 9--Jesus Falls a Third Time

The journey to the execution point is complete and the final humiliation begins with Jesus being stripped of His clothing.

Station 10--Jesus is Stripped of His Garments

Jesus is then nailed to the cross. I was sad to see that this panel had fallen out of its holder.

Station 11-Jesus is Nailed to the Cross

For the twelfth station, where Jesus dies on the cross, a large patio is laid out with some benches for visitors to take time pondering the horrible death of Jesus.

Bench by the cross

Station 12--Jesus Dies on the Cross

The final two stations are compressed into one, with Jesus's body taken down and put in the tomb. The tomb is quite obvious, though seeing inside is only through narrow slits.

The tomb

Inside the tomb

No comments:

Post a Comment