Meditations and Devotions, Vol. 2: Station of the Cross

by John Henry Newman

Deepen your Holy Week devotion with a time-tested collection of meditations, prayers, and reflections on the Stations of the Cross.

This nonfiction devotional combines prayers, meditations, and intercessions in a single volume. It offers a sequence of the Stations of the Cross with introspective passages, prayers for mercy and grace, and supplementary prayers drawn from Catholic tradition. The book also includes devotional prayers such as the Anima Christi and guidance for praying for the faithful departed and for the broader needs of community and nation. It is suited for personal reflection during Lent and Holy Week, as well as for use in parish or family prayer.

A structured walk through the Stations of the Cross with personal reflections and prayers. Prayers for intercession, including petitions for the Church, clergy, and the vulnerable. Additional devotions, such as the traditional Anima Christi, and prayers for the faithful departed. A tone that blends reverence with practical guidance for daily spiritual renewal. Ideal for readers seeking a devotional that combines liturgical imagery with personal repentance, prayer, and growth in faith during Lent and beyond.

Genres: Catholic

93 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2007

About the author

Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman was an important figure in the religious history of England in the 19th century. He was known nationally by the mid-1830s.
Originally an evangelical Oxford University academic and priest in the Church of England, Newman then became drawn to the high-church tradition of Anglicanism. He became known as a leader of, and an able polemicist for, the Oxford Movement, an influential and controversial grouping of Anglicans who wished to return to the Church of England many Catholic beliefs and liturgical rituals from before the English Reformation. In this the movement had some success. However, in 1845 Newman, joined by some but not all of his followers, left the Church of England and his teaching post at Oxford University and was received into the Catholic Church. He was quickly ordained as a priest and continued as an influential religious leader, based in Birmingham. In 1879, he was created a cardinal by Pope Leo XIII in recognition of his services to the cause of the Catholic Church in England. He was instrumental in the founding of the Catholic University of Ireland, which evolved into University College Dublin, today the largest university in Ireland.

Newman was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on 19 September 2010 during his visit to the United Kingdom. He was then canonised by Pope Francis on 13 October 2019.

Newman was also a literary figure of note: his major writings including the Tracts for the Times (1833–1841), his autobiography Apologia Pro Vita Sua (1865–66), the Grammar of Assent (1870), and the poem The Dream of Gerontius (1865),[6] which was set to music in 1900 by Edward Elgar. He wrote the popular hymns "Lead, Kindly Light" and "Praise to the Holiest in the Height" (taken from Gerontius).

Reviews

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the beginning of each lent I pick a few different versions of the Stations of the Cross or Way of the Cross to be part of my Lenten journey. And since over the last few years I have read and reviewed over 100 books from the Catholic Truth Society I decided to pick up a few of their offerings. This specific version was published in 1927, it was revised in 2015. An eBook edition was released in 2017. And with his canonization in 2019 a new paperback edition has been released. The original description of the revised edition is:

“Blessed John Henry Newman's celebrated meditations on the passion of Our Lord have been edited and enhanced with illustrations. They remain a moving and enriching commentary on the details of Christ's sufferings and their bearing on our own human existence. An excellent companion to Lent and Easter for for use on Fridays of the year. Updated and revised by Donal Antony Foley.”

And the wording has not changed much for the latest edition.

The chapters in this volume are:
The Value of the Stations of the Cross
John Henry Newman
The Fourteen Stations
Additional Prayers and Examination of Conscience
Prayers of Cardinal Newman

This year I also read a new edition called Stations of the Cross from TAN Books. It is a slightly abbreviated variation on this one. A sample station from this one is:

“The Thirteenth Station
Jesus Is Taken From The Cross,
And Laid In Mary’s Bosom

The multitude have gone home; Calvary is left solitary and still, except that St John and the holy women are there. Then come Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, and take down from the Cross the body of Jesus, and place it in the arms of Mary.

O Mary, at last you have possession of your Son. Now, when His enemies can do no more, they leave Him in contempt to you. As His unexpected friends perform their difficult work, you look on with inexpressible thoughts. Your heart is pierced with the sword of which Simeon spoke. O Mother most sorrowful; yet in your sorrow there is a still greater joy. The joy in prospect strengthened you to stand by Him as He hung upon the Cross; much more now, without swooning, without trembling, do you receive Him to your arms and on your lap. Now you are supremely happy as having Him, though He comes to you not as He went from you. He went from your home, O Mother of God, in the strength and beauty of His manhood, and He comes back to you dislocated, torn to pieces, mangled, dead. Yet, O Blessed Mary, you are happier in the hour of woe than on the day of the marriage feast, for then He was leaving you, and now in the future, as a risen Saviour, He will be separated from you no more.”

This is an excellent version of the way of the cross. I love having a few different ones that I rotate through during lent, and most Fridays the rest of the year. I appreciate both versions I have based on the works of Newman.

A great devotional resource.

Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More and reviews of other books by from the Catholic Truth Society.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2020 Catholic Reading Plan!

[Pamela Shropshire · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read for Lent and/or Holy Week.