The Via Lucis

By e April 14, 2009 Jesus Stuff No Comments

Most of us are familiar with the Stations of the Cross, in which the faithful consider 14 events of the Passion of the Lord. Less familiar to many, the Via Lucis offers an Easter analogy to the primarily Lenten Way of the Cross.

Blessed Pope John Paul II was a devotee of the Via Lucis. The Vatican Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy comments

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.

Via Lucis

  1. Jesus Rises From the Dead (Matthew 28:1-7)
  2. The Disciples Find the Tomb Empty (John 20:1-9)
  3. The Risen Lord Appears to Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-18)
  4. The Risen Lord Appears to Two Disciples on the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-27)
  5. The Risen Lord Is Recognized at the Breaking of Bread (Luke 24:28-35)
  6. The Risen Lord Appears to His Disciples (Luke 24:36-43)
  7. The Lord Gives the Power to Forgive Sins (John 20:19-23)
  8. The Lord Confirms the Faith of Thomas (John 20:24-29)
  9. The Risen Lord Meets His Disciples on the Shore of Lake Tiberias (John 21:1-13)
  10. The Risen Lord Confers the Primacy on Peter (John 21:15-17)
  11. The Risen Lord Entrusts to His Disciples the Mission to the World (Matthew 28:16-20)
  12. The Risen Lord Ascends to the Father (Acts 1:6-11)
  13. Waiting for the Holy Spirit With Mary, the Mother of Jesus (Acts 1:12-14)
  14. The Risen Lord Sends the Holy Spirit Promised to the Disciples (Acts 2:1-13)

I found liturgies appropriate for either children or adults at http://www.vialucis.net/.

What do you think?