Why is Good Friday 'good'? 5 things to know about the annual observance

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Twitter

Stations of the Cross

The final scenes from the Stations of the Cross are played out at Barangaroo in Sydney, Friday, July 18, 2008. The Stations of the Cross, where actors recreate the biblical account of Jesus Christ's final days, has 13 acts in total and will be played out at sites across the inner city.
The final scenes from the Stations of the Cross are played out at Barangaroo in Sydney, Friday, July 18, 2008. The Stations of the Cross, where actors recreate the biblical account of Jesus Christ's final days, has 13 acts in total and will be played out at sites across the inner city. | (Photo: AP Images / Rick Rycroft)

The Stations of the Cross is a common way in the Roman Catholic Church to remember the events of Good Friday, marking 14 events, as explained by Catholic.org:

  1. Christ condemned to death
  2. The cross is laid upon him
  3. His first fall
  4. He meets His blessed mother
  5. Simon of Cyrene is made to bear the cross
  6. Christ's face is wiped by Veronica
  7. His second fall
  8. He meets the women of Jerusalem
  9. His third fall
  10. He is stripped of His garments
  11. His crucifixion
  12. His death on the cross
  13. His body is taken down from the cross
  14. Jesus is laid in the tomb.

Often, churches and monasteries will have a series of paintings, carvings or sculptures based on these 14 stations. Each is meant to serve as a source of devotional contemplation.

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The apologetics website Got Questions points out that a few entries, such as Veronica offering a veil for Jesus to wipe His face, are not found in the Bible.

As a result, Got Questions states there exists a "Scriptural Way of the Cross" variation, which involves the following sequence of events:

  1. Jesus on the Mount of Olives
  2. Jesus is betrayed by Judas and arrested
  3. Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin
  4. Peter denies Jesus
  5. Jesus is judged by Pontius Pilate
  6. Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns
  7. Jesus takes up His cross
  8. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry His cross
  9. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
  10. Jesus is crucified
  11. Jesus promises His kingdom to the believing thief
  12. Jesus on the cross speaks with His mother and disciples
  13. Jesus dies on the cross
  14. Jesus is laid in the tomb   

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