cover image WALKING THE WAY OF SORROWS: Stations of the Cross

WALKING THE WAY OF SORROWS: Stations of the Cross

Katerina Katsarka Whitley, . . Morehouse/Continuum, $9.95 (86pp) ISBN 978-0-8192-1984-8

It has become a cliché to tell the Christmas story from the perspective of the lesser-known people and creatures that were there: the donkey that carried Mary to Bethlehem, the innkeeper who refused lodging to the family, etc. But this device has rarely been used with the story of Christ's passion, so this book of 14 reflections may help readers enter the Lenten story in a fresh way. Told from the point of view of various individuals who witnessed Christ on his via dolorosa , the meditations are arranged to complement the devotional practice of walking the Stations of the Cross (14 incidents from Jesus' condemnation to his burial). We hear reflective monologues from Jesus' mother Mary, a soldier who dragged Jesus before Pontius Pilate, Simon of Cyrene and Joseph of Arimathea, among other characters. Each brief chapter is accompanied by an arresting original woodcuts by artist Noyes Capehart. (Jan.)