During Lent, the tradition of praying the Stations of the Cross on Fridays is a way for Catholics to slow down and focus on the Passion of Christ. Through these fourteen stations, we can reflect on the agony and suffering that Jesus underwent in order to bring salvation to mankind–that means to YOU and to each of your children and EVERYONE.
However, while it can be especially wonderful to gather as a parish family to pray the Stations of the Cross in the Church, there are also many ways that families can take advantage of this practice from home.
These 10 ways can also help for classrooms of children or clubs and co-ops.
Find a Good Prayer Book
Especially if you are new to praying the Stations of the Cross, make sure you have a prayer booklet that will lead you through the stations and help you meditate throughout the experience. Our bi-lingual Stations of the Cross Prayer Booklet will guide you through the fourteen stations with accompanying full-color images to meditate on. These prayers and meditations are simple and direct to speak to a child’s heart, but not “watered down” to “be nice.” We are now in our 4th printing of this, so it is truly touching a chord with families, schools, and parishes looking for a family-friendly approach. Try it–you’ll like it.
Hang Pictures of each Station
Get Stations of the Cross wall posters and hang them throughout your home. Walk as a family through your house and stop at each image. (Did you know that the Catholic Church requires the Stations of the Cross to be displayed in each church? So display them in your domestic church, too!). You can have children color Stations pictures with our Road to Calvary coloring book here.
Walk the Stations
If you are open to leaving the home, but nervous about bringing several loud and squiggly small children into the Church, find an outside Stations of the Cross. This is a great way to expel energy while praying. Movement also actually engages children’s minds (especially boys’ minds), it is not a distraction (which is why the Catholic Church has us walk from station to station!).
Light Candles
At the beginning of prayer time, light fourteen candles. As you pray each station, blow out a candle each time you move to the next one. At the end of the prayer, you will be in darkness like the world was after Jesus died on the Cross. (This great idea came from a family full of boys. Seems boys really like fire…)
Listen to the Stations
Featured on EWTN Global Catholic Radio and other Catholic networks for the past decade, the Holy Heroes Stations of the Cross CD will engage children in the Stations with a short description of each station, moving sound effects, and prayers led by other children. This is also a great way to learn the Stabat Mater which is sung at each station at the CD. We’ve just made this available as an MP3 download (here) but the CD has two versions for variety in your prayers (it has the full version with the Stabat Mater and a slightly edited version for EWTN which was reduced to fit the radio timeslot).
Offer Intentions
Before each Station, announce a specific intention. This will help the entire family focus on a specific prayer or request as they pray. You’ll be amazed by the insights your children reveal about the impact of each Station in their intentions if you allow for a moment of silence and ask them to talk to Jesus about what He thought at each Station.
Sing the Stabat Mater
Singing verses of the Stabat Mater after each Station can help children empathize with the sorrow of our Blessed Mother as she watched her Son put to death. If you need help learning the tune, this Stations of the Cross CD has a verse of the Stabat Mater after each station.
Color the Stations
With the Road to Calvary coloring book, children can pray the Stations of the Cross while learning the story behind this prayerful meditation through the images. This is especially good for squiggly children who are still learning to sit still during family prayer time. What we did when we were all little was to have a personal copy of the coloring book for each child. While we prayed, each person colored a picture or two, then the books were put away until the next time we prayed. Objective: finish the whole coloring book by Easter! PS The coloring book includes descriptions of each Station (oh: did we tell you it’s also bi-lingual in English and Spanish?) so it can be a way to introduce each Station, as well.
Here’s another idea–fabulous–from a note we received from Patricia on Facebook: “The teachers of grades 3,4,5 and 6 at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Montoursville, PA gave these coloring books to each student. We went to church with them and shared each station with the students. The class had so many questions and comments. We were amazed at the impact your book had on these students. Thank you Holy Heroes.”
Take Turns Leading
Pray the Stations of the Cross in a circle and take turns announcing and leading each station. This is also a great way to help kids memorize the fourteen stations. If your kids are worried about leading, our prayer book can help!
Carry a Cross
Some families find that building a child-sized cross out of wooden planks is a way to thoughtfully engage children’s imagination in the Stations. Walking through the home or around the yard while carrying the cross gives children a tangible way to understand the difficulties that Jesus underwent in order to open Heaven for us.
There are many ways to pray the Stations of the Cross and we hope this list has helped you brainstorm some creative ways to begin this Lenten practice. You can find more Stations of the Cross resources here!
Please share what you’ve found works for your family in the comments, too!
You can find more great Lenten resources at HolyHeroes.com! Thank you for allowing us to bring the Joy of the Faith to your Family!
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So many great ideas!! Thank you so much, you’ve inspired me with the following: I can take some nice box and put there my collection of prayer cards with lovely pictures of saints. Every day I’ll take them out from the box and offer kids to choose one of them – whichever they choose, we’ll pray. I’ll take out the ones picked and set them aside. I dont have 40 cards, but once we’ve them all, I can take ths first 10 & put them back in a box and so on.
These are great suggestions! Thank you!
Love all your ideas!