DURING the Lenten Season, the devotion to the ‘Stations of the Cross’ continues to be popular in most of our parishes. However, from the way they are conducted nowadays, it appears that many of us have forgotten the conditions laid down by the Church regarding this devotion, viz., “to visit each Station, unless it is impossible owing to the crowd; to meditate, as best one can, on the Passion of the Saviour; no vocal prayers are required; the Popes recommend the recitation of an Our Father, a Hail Mary and an Act of Contrition at each Station (April, 1731); and pictures are very useful, but wooden crosses, indicating the fourteen Stations, and specially blessed for this purpose, are sufficient and absolutely required”.· Of these conditions, reflection on the Sufferings of Jesus must surely constitute the essence of this ancient and revered devotion. Yet, one often finds that the texts being used to conduct the ‘Stations of the Cross’ today tend to concentrate mainly on the problems, anguish and trials faced by our contemporaries, and make little or no mention of Jesus and his redemptive suffering for our sakes. At times, two or three Stations are clubbed together as just one Station, reducing their number to merely nine or ten. What then of the visits required to each of the fourteen Stations? One wonders whether such practices would qualify as authentic ‘Stations of the Cross’. Instead of such innovations, presumably introduced in good faith, it might be better to use any one of the many ecclesiastically approved texts, now so easily available, which focus on the Passion of the Lord and very aptly correlate it to the sufferings of people around us. In this way, the faithful who readily accept whatever is presented to them, would surely find the Stations more meaningful, derive greater strength to face their own crosses from the example of the Lord Jesus, and obtain the spiritual nourishment desired for them by the Church from this most relevant devotion for our sorrow-filled times.