The Way of the Passion: 40 Stations with Jesus - Julien Chilcott-Monk

The Way of the Passion

Forty Stations With Jesus

Julien Chilcott-Monk

Pauline Books & Media

ISBN 9780819883483

eISBN 9780819883490

ASIN B0CH4DTBYQ

I try and pray a stations of the cross each Friday throughout the year and each day over Lent. I had picked up this one a few years back, but had not got around to reading it yet. At the beginning of Lent I found I had 10 Stations of the Cross that I had collected but had not worked through. Now during Holy week, I have finished 20 new stations and still have 4 to go. This one is very different but I do include it as a special Stations and a volume well worth working through. 

The description of this book is:

“Spend some time with Christ this Lent using these forty meditations on the passion-- one for each Lenten day (except Sundays) from Ash Wednesday through Holy Saturday.

The Way of the Passion: Forty Stations with Jesus expands on the traditional fourteen Stations of the Cross, taking a closer look at all of the events of Holy Week. Let these meditations help you explore Christ's death in a deeper and more personal way, bringing you closer to him.”

The chapters are:

Introduction

Station 1 The Entry into Jerusalem

Station 2 The Anointing of Jesus at Bethany

Station 3 Preparation for the Passover

Station 4 Jesus Washes the Feet of His Disciples

Station 5 The Warning of Betrayal

Station 6 The Institution of the Eucharist

Station 7 Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denials

Station 8 Jesus in Gethsemane

Station 9 Jesus Is Arrested

Station 10 Jesus Is Taken Before Annas

Station 11 Peter’s First Denial

Station 12 Jesus Before Caiaphas, and Peter’s Further Denials

Station 13 Jesus Before the Sanhedrin and the Suicide of Judas

Station 14 Jesus Before Pilate

Station 15 Jesus Before Herod

Station 16 Jesus Again Before Pilate

Station 17 Pilate Washes His Hands

Station 18 Jesus Receives His Cross

Station 19 Jesus Falls

Station 20 Jesus Greets His Mother

Station 21 Simon of Cyrene Is Ordered to Assist with the Cross

Station 22 Jesus Meets the Woman with the Towel

Station 23 Jesus Falls a Second Time

Station 24 Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem

Station 25 Jesus Falls a Third Time

Station 26 Jesus Arrives at Golgotha

Station 27 Jesus Is Stripped and Nailed to the Cross

Station 28 The Indictment

Station 29 Jesus Suffers the Taunts of the Bystanders

Station 30 The First Word from the Cross

Station 31 The Second Word from the Cross

Station 32 The Third Word from the Cross

Station 33 The Fourth Word from the Cross

Station 34 The Fifth Word from the Cross

Station 35 The Sixth Word from the Cross

Station 36 The Seventh Word from the Cross

Station 37 Jesus Dies on the Cross

Station 38 The Side of Jesus Is Pierced

Station 39 Jesus Is Taken from the Cross and Laid in His Mother’s Arms

Station 40 Jesus Is Laid in the Tomb

Appendix

Bibliography

I highlighted several passages while working through this volume. Some of them are:

“Let us consider the change in people’s hearts that transforms their “Hosanna!” of adulation into their “Crucify!” of hate.”

“The lesson of this acted parable is much more profound. As the Creator cares for the needs of his creatures, so must we care for the needs of others. The vocation of serving others, of being other Christs, is our general Christian vocation, to be exercised along with the vocation that is specific to us.

“This is a night of contrasts. The disciples have been taught the lesson of service; they know one of them is seeking to betray Jesus; they now know unequivocally that the Heavenly Father and their Master are one. Everything is in place for their complete understanding, when they consider this night afresh in the light of the resurrection.”

“Why did our Lord nickname him Peter? Was there ever anyone less like a rock? But that is what Jesus was training him to be. How unlikely! Nevertheless, let us never suppose that we cannot be changed and molded by Christ if we allow him to do so.”

“How often do we forsake him? How often have we, as Christians, set Christ up for a fall by our un-Christian behavior? The Church, in the eyes of the world, is only what is seen in us.”

“By Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross the wrongs we have done are already forgiven and we can make amends and restitution with prayer, penance, and good works. Let us learn from the grave error of Judas.”

“If we walk the Way of the Cross, the Way of Duty, the Way of Love, how many will be encouraged to acknowledge Christ by our example?”

“We find it easy to visualize this horror, but let us concentrate our thoughts for a moment on those hands. Those hands that have healed and touched the beggar and the blind man, the dead man and the dumb, are now fixed to rough, un-planed timber in such grievous pain only to be guessed at.” 

A sample day is:

“STATION 13

Jesus Before the Sanhedrin and the Suicide of Judas

When the day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes; and they led him away to their council (Luke 22:66–71).

When Judas saw that he [Jesus] was condemned, he repented (Matthew 27:3–10).

The Sanhedrin was probably convened in an assembly room close to the Temple about a quarter of a mile across the lower city.

Within the chamber, there is much questioning and cross-questioning of Jesus before the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes. Jesus points out to them that there is no purpose in pursuing a particular line of examination because their minds are already closed. “But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” They ask, “Are you the Son of God, then?” With a sigh and perhaps even a wry smile, Jesus replies: “You say that I am” (Lk 22:70).

Satisfied that Jesus has blasphemed, the council is confident that they will find false witnesses to make a case of treason and sedition to place before the governor, Pontius Pilate.

Judas is present, inside the chamber or outside, but close enough to the proceedings to discover quickly that Jesus is to be taken to the governor’s seat of judgment where the verdict is likely to be death. Then, in order to undo the damage he has done, Judas returns to the chief priests the money he was paid. He tries to assure them that Jesus is an innocent man and that the matter is spiraling out of control. From their point of view, however, everything is going according to plan. The matter is out of their hands; Judas can do exactly as he pleases, but there is no hope that any decision will be reversed.

What had Judas expected—an uprising in support of the maligned teacher from Nazareth after his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane? Had he envisaged the overthrow of the Roman authority in Jerusalem by catching that authority unawares? Judas had played with fire and was about to be responsible for the death of the man he called his friend.

Judas casts down the silver at the feet of the chief priests and hangs himself because he cannot face asking our Lord’s forgiveness.

~

By Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross the wrongs we have done are already forgiven and we can make amends and restitution with prayer, penance, and good works. Let us learn from the grave error of Judas.

What did the chief priests know of the Son of Man, the Son of God, or the Messiah? They could not see in Jesus their preconception of a divinely-appointed soldier: they had not understood the prophets.

Be none submerged in sin’s distress,

None lifted up in boastfulness;

That contrite hearts be not dismayed,

Nor haughty souls in ruin laid.

— Anonymous, “Magnae Deus potentiae”

(sixth century)

Our Father … Hail Mary … Glory be …” 

I hope those quotes and sample chapter give you a good feel for this volume. The introduction states:

“This Lenten companion is intended to ignite ideas and fresh thoughts about forty episodes of the passion of our Lord. It offers a “station” every day throughout Lent—Sundays are omitted, of course—from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday. The non-canonical material contained here is the result of the author’s “reading between the lines” of the Gospel narratives and is meant to help the pilgrim focus more clearly on the events we recall ceremonially during Holy Week.

The Gospels give us only the essential details of the passion because a meticulous report of the proceedings is not the intention of the evangelists, who are concerned primarily with our Lord’s teaching and in establishing, in the light of the resurrection, who he is and how he fulfills God’s promise of a Savior. However, 2,000 years later we find it helpful to enter more fully into these events in order to feel something of the horror and trauma experienced by Jesus and those around him, and so grasp more easily the impact of his teaching and how our salvation was secured.

In reflecting on these daily episodes, the pilgrim can explore fresh and personal paths of contemplation by giving his or her mind free rein throughout the forty days.

To complete each session, a prompt or two is given to aid further self-examination or intercession before the more formal suggested prayers. An expanded Paternoster is given in the Appendix as an aid to fuller intercession.

The translation of the Holy Bible used in this book is the Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version, which, in the author’s view, is still the best. In the text, quotations from the RSV are given in italics, but transliterations, conjectural speech, and the author’s translations are given in Roman type.

The present tense is frequently employed in this book to give immediacy to the narrative.”

I did not skip Sundays and just read it from Ash Wednesday until Palm Sunday. It was one of a few books I tried to work through during lend in 2026, and it is an excellent offering. I could easily see myself going back and working through it again during a future Lent.

I have three criteria that for me makes a book excellent, above and beyond 5/5 Stars so to say. 

     First would I read it again?

     Second would I recommend it to my kids or friends and family?

     Third if I keep talking about it, both while reading and after finishing. 

This one hits big time on all three. And with this one I send days to a few friends who could really use it, with the hopes they would pick up the book.

It is easy to engage with but also deep, meaningful and moving. Anyone from teens, to young adults to older retirees could all engage and benefit from reading this book. This is the third volume I have read by Julien Chilcott-Monk, and there is only 1 of the 14 I can find remaining available as an eBook. I do wish some of the others were available digitally.

This is a book I highly recommend, any Catholic would benefit from working through it! 

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2026 Catholic Reading Plan! For all Stations of the Cross review click here.  

Link to other Lent Resources.

Books by Julien Chilcott-Monk:

A Basic Dictionary of Bible People

A Calendar of Catholic Devotion

Advent Joy. Journeying Towards the Nativity

Call Me Tim: A Portrait of Robert Hardy

Come, Lord Jesus!

Flesh, Bone, Wood

In the Name of the Father

John Henry Newman and the Path to Sainthood

Praying the Crucifix - Reflections on the Cross
Saints of the Roman Canon

The English Office Book

The English Ritual: A Companion to the English Missal

The Way of the Passion

Walking the Way of the Cross

...

The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life - Michael Dubruiel with Amy Welborn

The Power of the Cross: 

Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life 

Michael Dubruiel

Amy Welborn (Editor)

Our Sunday Visitor

ISBN 9781592761005

ASIN B004QGYKL4

ASIN B0CRPXXBW3

This volume was originally published in 2007 by Our Sunday Visitor. A newer edition, 2024, is available and there is a digital edition now. I read the eBook over Lent in 2026. I did pick up the eBook in 2024 but had not got around to reading it. Do not make my mistake. This volume can be read over lent, or any time of the year. There are extra chapters at the end if you want to read it over Lent starting with Ash Wednesday, but I am getting ahead of myself.

The description of this volume states:

“There is power in the Cross of Christ that, sad to say, many Christians don't experience. Now you can learn to see Jesus' suffering and death not as a spectacle or theatrical production, but as a blueprint for how to live your life.

Here is the radical teaching of Our Lord presented in a series of concrete steps that you can take at your own pace, whether you use this book alone or with a group.

    • How to follow Christ more closely.

   • God's unique purpose and mission for you.

   • How to overcome the evil that you have suffered at the hands of others.

   • To find God's presence in difficult times.

   • The keys to unleashing the power of the Cross in your life.

Day by day for five weeks, here are the prayers, the reflections, the stories, and the teaching that will help you not only better comprehend the power of Christ's great sacrifice for you, but come to a better understanding of why and how to accept that power now.

Michael Dubruiel was a writer and speaker. He was the author of The How-To Book of the Mass and several other books. He died in 2009.

Amy Welborn is the author of many books, including The Loyola Kids Book of Saints and The Words We Pray.”

The chapters and sections in this volume are:

Introduction

“Is This Really Necessary?”

How To Use This Book

“How Should I Meditate?”

The Cross of Christ Teaches Us. . .

(Week One)

Day 1. Our Mission

Day 2. to Live the Gospel

Day 3. How to Pray

Day 4. About Repentance

Day 5. How to Trust and Give Thanks

Day 6. Reconciliation

Day 7. How to Love

The Cross of Christ Unites. . .

(Week Two)

Day 8. the Temporal and Eternal

Day 9. Those Divided by Sin

Day 10. In Humility

Day 11. In Liberty

Day 12. Those Who Suffer for Justice

Day 13. Us in the Work We Have to Do

Day 14. God’s Mercy and Love

The Cross of Christ Transforms. . .

(Week Three)

Day 15. How We Worship

Day 16. How We See Jesus

Day 17. How We Forgive

Day 18. Law and Love

Day 19. Our Lives

Day 20. Our Priorities

Day 21. How We See Ourselves

The Cross of Christ Illumines. . .

(Week Four)

Day 22. Blindness

Day 23. Lag Time

Day 24. Weakness

Day 25. Death

Day 26. Our Choices

Day 27. The Truth

Day 28. The Way to True Unity

The Cross of Christ Restores. . .

(Week Five)

Day 29. Life

Day 30. Forgiveness

Day 31. The Image of God

Day 32. Our Freedom

Day 33. Obedience

Day 34. The Dignity of Work

Day 35. Justice

Taking Up Our Cross. . .

(Week Six)

Day 36. In Abandonment

Day 37. In Reverence

Day 38. To Follow the Lord

Day 39. Be Prepared

Day 40. In Imitation of Christ

Day 41. To Stay with Jesus

Day 42. Be Not Afraid

Appendixes

Questions for Group Discussions

How to Use This Book as a Lenten Devotional

The Power of the Cross ( Week of Ash Wednesday)

Ash Wednesday: Eternal Life or Death?

Thursday: ‘Jesus’ Invitation

Friday: How Much We Need Jesus

Saturday: A Matter of Life and Death

Notes

I highlighted several sections while working through this book, some of them are:

“Start reading this book. Each section is designed to be read and pondered on its own; read one of the entries each day, or take up one section each week. There are parts of this book with which you may readily agree; other sections will probably anger you. Don’t worry about that; parts of this book elicit the same reaction in me. When faced with the cross, my inner demons rebel. Surrendering to the cross of Christ is the only way to rid oneself of whatever evil may be lurking in our lives.”

“Scripture has many examples of God using Satan’s ploys to accomplish his own purposes.”

“Those of us who know Christ have little excuse if we do not recognize him in the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, or in prison. We have the good news of the gospel preached to us; we have heard it and are required to put it into practice.”

“Like Moses, we need the help of our fellow Christians to hold up our arms when they grow tired. We, too, need the help of the Holy Spirit to make up for what is lacking in our prayer.”

“May the cross with which we sign ourselves, and the cross we place before our eyes, always keep us mindful of what we are doing and what is at stake.”

“The cross of Christ either convicts us of murdering God’s Son or makes us into a new creation—a being who is truly remarkable to behold.”

“Ask for good things from God and believe that God will give them to you. Believe God wants what is best for you, even when it appears that the opposite is happening. Believe even when men reject you and persecute you. Keep the cross of Christ before you, and you will be reminded that God’s ways are not ours, but “that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8: 28).”

“St. Paul told the Corinthians that those who follow Christ are controlled by his love. He died for all, so that all might live. No one, not even the vilest and most evil person imaginable, is excluded from the love of Christ.”

“In the face of evil, we need help. We need the Holy Spirit to give us courage to love and forgive as Christ did, to confront evil as Christ confronted it, and to let go of anything that hinders us from worshipping the one true God who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”

“Thomas Merton wrote about what he called a person’s True Self. Prayer, Merton argued, helps us to discover our True Self: the person God created us to be, totally free from the expectations and demands of others. By contrast, the False Self is enslaved; he cannot be himself, but only what he thinks others want him to be. Starting today, ask God to redeem you from the slavery of the False Self.”

“Ironically, some Scripture scholars think that in the parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus is the son who takes the inheritance of the Father—his divine mercy and love—and squanders it on sinners! In the end, the Father is pleased. Once you’ve heard this way of looking at the parable, it’s hard to see it in any other way.”

“If we truly believed this, our lives would be immediately transformed. Gone forever would be the idea that God doesn’t care what we do with our lives. There would be no area of our lives that would be off-limits to God. Because when we worship in spirit and truth, we realize that we live because God’s breath is within us, and we live best when we acknowledge the source of every breath we take.”

“Forgiving others is an act of the cross. In the same way that a priest absolves us while making the sign of the cross over us—so it is necessary to trace the sign of God’s love in the direction of those who wrong us. By seeing them through the eyes of our Savior, we may find the courage to offer them the forgiveness that he has offered to us.”

“The bishop who was responsible for the conversion of St. Augustine said, “Faith means battles. If there are no contests, it is because there are none who desire to contend.” What Ambrose meant is that if we find our faith relatively easy, we should look again to see how much faith we really have.”

“Frequently call upon the Lord for his help throughout the day. Life was not intended to be a solitary venture; recognize that God is always present, and is there for us when we call upon him.”

“Today there are eye surgeries that allow people to see clearly without corrective lenses. We need the “surgery of the cross” to restore our vision, allowing us to see the world as God sees it.”

“Be open to the healing of Christ. Never presume that what Jesus has to offer is only for someone else. Allow the cross of Christ to enlighten the path you walk daily, transforming all of your experiences in God’s light.”

“The death of a loved one is more like Good Friday than Easter Sunday. The darkness that covered the earth on that first Good Friday points, I believe, to the grief of God at the death of his Son. Though Jesus would rise on the third day, the first day was one of horror, pain, and utter grief for all of creation.”

“Our Lord is recorded in Scripture as crying three times. In the Garden of Gethsemane (Hebrews 5: 7), he prayed with tears; he wept over Jerusalem and prophesied its destruction (Luke 19: 41); and Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11: 35). The third instance is especially puzzling. Jesus was about to raise Lazarus from the dead. So why did he cry? Were his tears for other senseless deaths that take place at every moment of the day? Or was it because the death and sin Our Lord had come to save us from had not yet been utterly vanquished?”

“Funerals aren’t for the dead? To be charitable, one could imagine that such a statement reflects the belief that those who believe in Christ do not die but fall asleep. I have attended some services where such statements have been uttered, but they ring hollow. The loss is all too real.”

“To build a lasting relationship with someone, however, it is not enough to read about that person; it is also important to talk with him and those closest to him—holy men and women throughout the history of the Church who devoted their lives to serving him and telling others about him.”

“The Lord comes to each of us in the way that best meets our needs; he knows what we need because we were created by him.”

“Too many of us carry with us our past deaths; we don’t let them go. What John’s brother saw John doing was exactly this: although John had been freed from his drinking and past experiences, he hadn’t let them go. Remember life, keep Jesus in mind, unbind whatever else is there, and let it go.”

“Remember life; too often we live in the past. Live for the present moment in Christ.”

“This is what God is like, how Jesus reveals God the Father to us. So why do some continue to punish themselves for past sins? Why do others find it impossible to admit their own faults? It is simply because they are listening to the voice of the world and not to the voice of Christ.”

“Pick up any work of a great saint and you will hear that person say he or she is the greatest of sinners; those of us who are not so saintly are apt to think of this as pious jargon. However, I think there is a greater truth in their claims. The difference between them and us is not in the number of sins they have to confess. The difference is in how they keep from repeating their errors; trusting in Jesus is the only way to “go and sin no more.””

“St. Ignatius of Loyola taught that we should make use of created things inasmuch as they aid us in praising, reverencing, and serving God, for that is the purpose of our existence. Spend your life seeing all of creation in these terms, remaining in the teaching of Jesus, and witness how your life is totally transformed.”

“Some have suggested that we are born princes but turn to frogs. It seems far more likely that we are born princes who would rather be frogs than members of a royal family. So, our fallen nature works overtime to redefine what it does not want to do in the first place.”

“While recovering, Ignatius read the lives of the saints, and found that when he read these stories, he was left with a feeling of contentment. When he read other, more worldly works, he felt agitated. Ignatius concluded that when we are where God wants us to be, we are at peace no matter how much conflict we face.”

“Prayer keeps us hooked into our Source of life. It should be more important to us than food or sleep—again because our very life depends upon it.”

“One of the most ancient titles for the pope, as a successor of St. Peter, is “Servant of the Servants of God.” The saints all share in common this ability to be the servant of the servants, whether they are poor materially or spiritually.”

“Jesus told his disciples that the pagans liked to lord it over each other but it wasn’t to be that way with them. Two thousand years later, have we learned that lesson? Whose feet are we washing, beside our own?”

“Our parish used the stations of St. Alphonsus Ligouri, which began at each station, “We adore thee, O Christ, and we praise thee, because by thy holy cross thou has redeemed the world.” Over and over again those words would be repeated as a mantra that planted itself deeply within. Christ was to be praised above all things because by his suffering he had redeemed the world.”

“I left their home feeling very sad for both of them. Without the gospel message, some people see only accidents in their lives—all of which have prevented them from reaching some dreamed of earthly paradise. They never seem to realize they cannot reach this paradise without help from above.”

“One experience, two groups of people, two different reactions. One group looks at the empty tomb and rushes to tell what they have witnessed. The other group is paralyzed by the life event. This wasn’t just something that happened thousands of years ago; it happens every moment of every day. Those who see the cross as the end of their life, meet death there; those who believe and place their trust in God, find in the cross life and victory.”

“Forty years ago, civil rights leaders—many of them Christian ministers—endured great suffering because they believed in God’s ultimate victory. Today those who once would have used the cross to defeat evil now are apt to fear this powerful symbol of the Christian faith. How do we explain this modern fear of the cross? How has the symbol of salvation become such a threat to those who should embrace it?”

“Fear of the cross is now a recognized psychological disorder called staurophobia, coming from the Greek word, “stauros” for cross and “phobia” for fear. Overcoming this fear involves clarifying what one associates with the cross. What does the sight of the cross trigger within an individual?”

“Regarding fasting before receiving Eucharist, Father Alexander Schmemann says that from the earliest moments of the Christian Church’s history, “it had been understood as a state of preparation and expectation—the state of spiritual concentration on what is about to come. Physical hunger corresponds here to spiritual expectation of fulfillment, the ‘opening up’ of the entire human being to the approaching joy.””

“Practice fasting before your reception of the Eucharist. Also find special times to fast before high points in the Christian year and during high points in your own life so that you may always remain focused on your need for Christ. Try doing more than is required by the Church.”

“Jesus came to save us from all of this. This is why we are not to judge. This is why Paul could be bitten by the serpent and live. This is why husbands are to be as “Christ” to their wives, who “took the form of a slave.” This is why in Christ there is neither Greek nor Jew, East or West!” 

A sample section from an end of a chapter is:

“Steps to Take as You Follow Christ

Ask—How can dying to myself help me to know God’s purpose?

Seek—Ask others to describe what your gifts are, and where they see you as being most authentic in your life. Resolve to see everyone who crosses your path as the servants that God sends to obtain fruit from the harvest.

Knock—Meditate on Revelation 22:1–2. How has your Baptism changed the curse of original sin in your life into the blessing of the mission that God gives you in Christ? When you receive the Eucharist, imagine that Christ is grafting you to himself, so that his life, his healing, his strength flow through you.

Transform Your Life—Ask Our Lord to reveal to you any areas of your life where you might be serving false gods. Ask him to help you to abandon yourself to God’s will in your life in the same way that he did in the Garden of Gethsemane. Believe in God’s providential care for you, no matter what has happened in your life in the past or present.”

This was an excellent volume to work through. And with the way the book is written it can be used as a Lenten devotion or anytime throughout the year. Each reflection is a few pages. And This is one of those volumes I could easily return to again and again and each time come away with more and something new from the reading.

This is a great book. One I can easily recommend. 

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2026 Catholic Reading Plan!  

Books by Michael's Dubruiel:

John Paul II's Biblical Way of the Cross - with Amy Welborn
A Pocket Guide to Confession - 2009 Review

A Pocket Guide to Confession - 2025 Review
A Pocket Guide to the Mass
The How-to Book of the Mass: Everything You Need to Know but No One Ever Taught You
The Church's Most Powerful Novenas
How To Get The Most Out Of The Eucharist
Praying the Rosary: With the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries - with Amy Welborn

The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life 

Praying the Rosary: With the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, & Glorious Mysteries - with Amy Welborn
Praying in the Presence of Our Lord with Fulton J. Sheen

...

Books by Amy Welborn:

Reconciled to God Daily Lenten Devotions
Wish You Were Here: Travels Through Loss and Hope
A Catholic Woman's Book of Days
de-Coding Da Vinci: The Facts Behind the Fiction of the Da Vinci Code
Loyola Kids Book of Saints
Loyola Kids Book of Heroes: Stories of Catholic Heroes and Saints throughout History
Here. Now. a Catholic Guide to the Good Life
The Words We Pray
Praying the Rosary: With the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries
Decoding Mary Magdalene: Truth, Legend, and Lies
Come Meet Jesus: An Invitation from Pope Benedict XVI
Be Saints! An Invitation from Pope Benedict XVI
Friendship with Jesus: Pope Benedict XVI talks to Children on Their First Holy Communion
Mary and the Christian Life: Scriptural Reflections on the First Disciple
Adventures in Assisi: On the Path with St. Francis: On the Path with St. Francis
Prepare Him Room: Advent Family Devotions
Daybreaks: Daily Reflections for Lent and Easter 

Parables: Stories of the Kingdom
The Absence of War

Relatable and Authentic, Transparent, So Real

All Will Be Well

Nothing Else Occurs To Me

A Reason for Everything

Hope: An Anchor for the Soul 30 Daily Devotions 

Wonders of His Love: Family Devotions and Activities for Advent 

With Your Whole Heart: Family Devotions and Activities for Lent 

No Greater Love Stations of the Cross for Young People 

John Paul II's Biblical Way of the Cross

The Biblical Way of the Cross 

The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life (Editor)

...

Prove It Series:
Prove It! God
Prove It! Church
Prove It! Jesus
Prove It! Prayer
Prove It! You
Prove It! The Catholic Teen Bible

...

Lent and Little Folk - Roderick Vonhögen

Lent & Little Folk

Father Roderick Vonhögen

Trideo Foundation

Last years I did a video course with Father Roderick, The Wisdom of the Celtic Saints, and enjoyed it a great deal. In 2026 he released updated version of Love for Little Folk, and this volume, Lent for Little Folk. I picked up the Love volume but because of a very busy time at work and home did not get around to reading before the lent one released. I decided to make it part of my Lenten journey. I added it to a list of a couple other volumes I planned to work through over lent. The description of the 2026 edition of this book states:

“Why does The Lord of the Rings feel especially fitting for a journey toward Easter?

In Lent & Little Folk, Father Roderick invites you to walk forty days through Middle-earth, from the Shire to the return home again. Each day begins with a moment from Tolkien’s story — a burden carried, a door opened, a light held in darkness — and turns gently toward your own life.

These brief reflections offer simple, practical invitations for the season of Lent. No heavy theology. No academic language. Just steady, thoughtful insights meant to be read one day at a time.

Lent & Little Folk is for readers who:

   • love Tolkien’s world

   • want an accessible guide through Lent

   • value spiritual depth without complexity

   • believe that small, faithful choices matter

The journey begins in the Shire.

And it ends, as many good journeys do, with the work of coming home.”

The chapters in the book are:

Preface

Day 1: The Red Book of Westmarch

Day 2: The One Ring

Day 3: Gandalf the Wise

Day 4: The Loyalty of Samwise Gamgee

Day 5: The Beauty of Middle-earth

Day 6: What About Second Breakfast?

Day 7: Tom Bombadil’s Joy

Day 8: Finding Fellowship

Day 9: Aragorn’s Humility

Day 10: The Black Riders

Day 11: Rivendell Retreat

Day 12: Silence and Rest

Day 13: Traveling South

Day 14: The Snowstorm

Day 15: Speak, Friend, and Enter

Day 16: Balin’s Tomb

Day 17: Gandalf’s Sacrifice

Day 18: Lothlórien

Day 19: The Mirror of Galadriel

Day 20: Galadriel’s Generosity

Day 21: The Argonath

Day 22: Boromir’s Betrayal

Day 23: The Breaking of the Fellowship

Day 24: Gollum

Day 25: The Hospitality of Rohan

Day 26: The Patience of the Ents

Day 27: Shelob

Day 28: Théoden’s Transformation

Day 29: Helm’s Deep

Day 30: Saruman’s Choice

Day 31: The Army of the Dead

Day 32: Denethor’s Despair

Day 33: Merry and Pippin’s Loyalty

Day 34: The White Tree of Gondor

Day 35: Aragorn’s Courage

Day 36: Sam and Frodo

Day 37: The Unexpected Twist

Day 38: The Return of the King

Day 39: The Grey Havens

Day 40: The Road Goes Ever On

I highlighted numerous passages while reading this volume some of them are:

“Lent begins quietly. There is no trumpet blast. No dramatic turning of pages. Just a road, stretching ahead. Forty days that may look ordinary at first glance. And yet, anyone who has walked this path before knows that something changes along the way.”

“When the journey is over, the Hobbits begin to write. Bilbo starts the Red Book. Frodo continues it. Later, Sam adds his own pages. They do not write to impress anyone. They write so that what happened will not disappear. So that the road, the fear, the meals, the losses, the small kindnesses will be remembered.”

“Lent can pass quickly. One week folds into the next. You begin with good intentions, and before you know it, Easter is near. It becomes hard to recall what changed, or whether anything did.”

“Most of us carry something that weighs more than it should. A habit that is hard to break. A comfort that has become a dependency. An old resentment that keeps returning. Lent is not about inventing a burden. It is about facing the one that is already there. You may not be able to let it go all at once. Frodo could not. The road itself wore down the Ring’s power. Take one step. Choose one concrete change. Keep going, even when it feels small. Freedom often begins quietly.”

“It is tempting to try to manage everything on your own, especially the things that feel fragile or confusing. But even the Hobbits needed guidance. There may be someone you can turn to. A spiritual director. A priest. A friend who is not easily shaken. Someone who can listen without rushing to fix you.”

“You may not feel wise. You may not have all the answers. But sometimes courage is passed on in very simple ways. A word spoken at the right time. A calm presence when someone else feels lost.”

“Frodo tries to leave quietly. He believes the road will be safer if he walks it alone. He does not want anyone else to share the danger that follows him. But Sam has other ideas. He is not drawn by glory or by a clear understanding of what lies ahead. He simply refuses to let Frodo go by himself.”

“There are people around you who may be walking through something heavy, even if they rarely speak about it. And perhaps you know what it feels like to carry something quietly, hoping not to burden anyone else. Lent can be a time to practice staying close.”

“Tolkien takes time to describe them. He does not rush from one crisis to the next. The Hobbits notice the smell of grass, the sound of water, the feel of sunlight after rain.”

“Fasting is not a rejection of good things. Food is good. Comfort is good. Celebration is good. But when something good becomes constant, it can lose its meaning. Lent offers a chance to step back a little. To simplify a meal. To leave something off your plate. Not to prove strength, but to remember what hunger feels like.”

“Lent is not meant to drain the world of color. It is meant to loosen the grip of what pulls at us constantly.”

“The Fellowship is not built on similarity. It is built on shared purpose.”

“But companionship often grows slowly. And sometimes the people who help you most are not the ones you would have chosen first.”

“There is strength in knowing who you are. There is also strength in not insisting that everyone else see it.”

“Not every influence in our lives is obvious. Some are subtle. A voice that feeds anxiety. A habit that darkens your mood. A pattern of thinking that leaves you restless or bitter. Lent can be a time to notice what follows you. What thoughts return when you are tired. What conversations leave you unsettled.”

“You do not need to fight everything at once. But you can begin by choosing what you expose yourself to. The company you keep. The media you consume. The tone you allow to shape your inner life.”

“Rivendell does not remove the task ahead. But it gives the travelers strength to continue.”

“Protect your rest tonight. Sleep a little longer if you can. Turn off the noise earlier than usual. Healing often begins there.”

“There are seasons when you move forward without visible reassurance. You may not feel strong. You may not feel inspired. But you sense that standing still will not help. Lent often feels like that. Quiet. Ordinary. No dramatic change. You do not need to see the whole road. You only need to take the next step. The light may not be obvious yet. But it is already returning.”

“There are times when pushing forward is not courage but stubbornness. We hold on because we have already invested effort. We tell ourselves that stopping would mean failure. But sometimes wisdom looks like retreat. Like admitting that this way is closed. Like choosing a different path before exhaustion takes over. Lent is not meant to break you. It is meant to shape you. If something is not working, it may need adjustment.”

“There are moments when you step out of turmoil into calm. A place, a conversation, a pause in the middle of strain. Hospitality has that effect. Being received without suspicion. Being offered food, time, attention. You do not need a forest of golden trees to create such a space. A table. A shared meal. A willingness to listen.”

“Self-examination can feel similar. When you slow down enough to look honestly at your life, you may see patterns you would rather ignore. Or gifts you have overlooked. Lent has long included this quiet kind of looking. Not to accuse yourself. Not to panic. But to see clearly. Clarity is not cruelty.”

“Lent has always included the possibility of repair. Not pretending nothing happened. Not drowning in shame. But facing what is true and choosing differently.”

“Lent stretches across forty days for a reason. Change that lasts rarely happens overnight.”

“There are nights that feel longer than they should. Moments when effort seems barely enough. Waiting becomes its own strain.”

“Think of one commitment you once abandoned. Is there a small way to return to it? To finish something you left incomplete? To speak a word you once avoided? You cannot change what has happened. But you can choose your next step.”

“Not all renewal is immediate. Some signs of life appear quietly. A new habit. A calmer response. A steadier mood. Growth often begins beneath the surface long before it is visible to others. You may not feel transformed. But something may already be taking root.”

“You cannot always see how your choices ripple outward. A small act of restraint. A moment of mercy. A refusal to harm when you could have. These decisions may feel insignificant at the time. Yet they shape outcomes in ways you may never witness. Lent reminds you that goodness is rarely wasted. Time today to look back over these weeks. What have you learned? What would you like to carry forward? What needs to be released? If you pray, entrust the next part of your journey to God. If not, pause and set your intention carefully. Another journey is always beginning.”

“Lent is not an escape from ordinary life. It prepares you to return to it differently. The work you began is not meant to stay inside these forty days. It is meant to take root in daily rhythms. In meals. In conversations. In small choices. Transformation rarely looks dramatic from the outside. It shows in steadiness.” 

A sample day is:

“Day 13: Traveling South

“If you are ready, let us go. The Sun will soon rise above the shadow.” 

     — Faramir, The Fellowship of the Ring

The Fellowship leaves Rivendell in winter.

The air is sharp. The mountains ahead are uncertain. They walk without knowing which path will remain open. The days are still short, yet the light has begun its slow return.

They do not wait for perfect conditions. They begin.

* * *

There are seasons when you move forward without visible reassurance. You may not feel strong. You may not feel inspired. But you sense that standing still will not help.

     Lent often feels like that. Quiet. Ordinary. No dramatic change.

     You do not need to see the whole road.

     You only need to take the next step.

     The light may not be obvious yet. But it is already returning.

 

Choose one small action today that moves you toward light.

Begin a task you have postponed.

Reach out to someone you have avoided.

Set aside ten quiet minutes before the day fills up.

Do not plan the whole journey.

Just take the next step.”

I hope those quotes and sample reflection give you a feel for this volume. This volume was not a theological or intense as some of the others I worked through over Lent in 2026. But part of what makes it so moving is the simple faith and lives of the hobbits. And Father uses examples from their life and adventures to inspire and challenge us his readers. There are only 40 reflections; the reader is intended to skip Sundays. I just read through from Ash Wednesday until Psalm Sunday. 

I really enjoyed working through this. And have been following Father Roderick for years. I would love to see him publish a collection of his short stories; or an Advent with the Little Folk. But until then he can be engaged with via numerous social media channels.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2026 Catholic Reading Plan! 

Books by Father Roderick Vonhögen:

Geekpriest: Confessions of a New Media Pioneer

Lent and Little Folk

Love and Little Folk

Tales of Power: A Guide To Epic Storytelling

Dawn of the Story Mages

…

Courses by Father Roderick:

The Secrets of Storytelling

The Wisdom of the Celtic Saints

The Courage of the Celtic Monks

How To Walk the Camino

The Tales of Tolkien

…

With Jesus in Jerusalem: The First Way of the Cross - Étienne Méténier

With Jesus in Jerusalem

The First Way of the Cross 

Étienne Méténier

Helena Scott (Translator)

Our Sunday Visitor 

ISBN 9781639663811

eISBN 9781639663828

ASIN B0G15DYTLB

Over the years I have developed the habit of trying to pray a Stations of the Cross each Friday throughout the year and each day through let. I am not certain if I have ever completed it for a whole year. But I try. Recently I went through the collection of Stations I had and found I had about 10 I have never read or reviewed and have made the commitment to try and make it through them this Lent. While working through them I found another half dozen I wanted to read including this one.

The description of the new edition states:

“What if we could walk in the footsteps of Jesus during his passion, in the very place where he gave his life for us?

Through photos and archaeological discoveries, nourished by the works of inspired artists from all eras and cultures, With Jesus in Jerusalem helps you experience the Stations of the Cross and the seven last words of the crucified Jesus in a new, profound way.

Biblical scholar, pilgrim guide, and author Étienne Méténier guides you step-by-step in following Christ in the Holy City. Immerse yourself in Jerusalem through a timeline of events, historical information, a map, and many photographs. With this book, through prayer, Sacred Scripture, and meditations for each Station of the Cross, our relationship with Jesus the Savior can be renewed, deepened, and illuminated.”

The chapters in the volume are:

Introduction

Hour-by-Hour Chronology of Jesus’ Passion

     1st Station: Jesus Is Condemned to Death

     2nd Station: Jesus Takes Up His Cross

     3rd Station: Jesus Falls the First Time

     4th Station: Jesus Meets His Mother

     5th Station: Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus Carry His Cross

     6th Station: Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus

     7th Station: Jesus Falls the Second Time

     8th Station: Jesus Consoles the Women of Jerusalem

     9th Station: Jesus Falls the Third Time

    10th Station: Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments

    11th Station: Jesus Is Nailed to the Cross

    12th Station: Jesus Dies on the Cross

    13th Station: The Body of Jesus Is Taken Down from the Cross

    14th Station: The Body of Jesus Is Laid in the Tomb

Meditation on the seven last words of Christ on the Cross

1. “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they do.”

2. “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

3. “Woman, behold, your son!” … “Behold, your Mother!”

4. “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

5. “I thirst.”

6. “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!”

7. “It is finished.”

Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed his last

Salve Regina — Hail, Holy Queen

A sample station is:

“3rd Station

Jesus Falls the First Time

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,

for by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

Let us Listen to God’s Word

From the Book of Psalms:

“But I am a worm, and no man;

scorned by men, and despised by the people.

All who see me mock at me,

they make mouths at me, they wag their heads” (22:6–7).

From the Book of Isaiah:

“Then deep from the earth you shall speak, from low in the dust your words shall come; your voice shall come from the ground like the voice of a ghost, and your speech shall whisper out of the dust” (29:4). “He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely, he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted” (53:3–4). “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (53:6).

Also from the Book of Psalms:

“For he knows our frame;

he remembers that we are dust” (103:14).

“They die and return to their dust” (104:29).

“When thou sendest forth your Spirit, they are created;

and thou renewest the face of the ground” (104:30).

From the Letter of Paul to the Colossians:

“In my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church” (1:24).

From the Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians:

“If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation” (1:6).

From the Gospel According to Matthew:

“He who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me” (10:38).

Optional Meditations

• Jesus is only at the start of his Via Dolorosa, and already his body gives way and he falls down in our place, he who “upholds all who are falling, / and raises up all who are bowed down” (Ps 145:14). He invites us to follow him, not by choosing but by accepting our crosses (cf. Mk 8:34).

• Let us contemplate Jesus’ self-abasement, in this fall and in the whole of his life. Those who have too much pride in themselves to recognize God’s humility stop themselves from truly recognizing God’s love, which is proved above all by this humility.

• “[Often, souls] do not embrace the cross, but drag it; [in that way], the cross wounds them, tires them out, and breaks them. But if the cross is loved, it becomes easy to carry” (St. Teresa of Ávila).1 All the saints have developed Jesus’ invitation — Paul (cf. Phil 3:18), John of Ávila (who wrote repeatedly, “You were loved on the cross, so love on the cross”), the Curé of Ars (for whom “worse” than the cross is the fear of the cross). The cross consists mainly of accepting (see Matthew 10:38 in Latin) your own littleness and that of your neighbor.

• “Not behind us with the Savior’s cross, but behind the Savior with our own cross” (Cyprian Norwid).2

Let us Pray

Since the Master fell before us, let us no longer refuse to confess each of our falls humbly.

Let us ask Jesus to forgive us for having thrown our own crosses back upon him, and for having thrown him down to the ground by our acts of pride, hardness, contempt, and indifference.

Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be to the Father…

Dating and historical reliability of these events

If the date of Jesus’ passion is calculated in terms of today’s calendar, the most probable dating according to most biblical scholars and historians is to place Good Friday on April 7, in the year 30.

The Crucifixion took place the day before a Sabbath (cf. Jn 19:31), which was also the first day of the Jewish Passover, the 15th of the biblical month of Nisan. Over those years, this occurred either on April 7 in the year 30, or on April 3 in the year 33. However, the latter date seems too late for the sequence of subsequent events, according to Galatians, the Acts of the Apostles, and other external sources,3 unless Jesus only began his ministry in the year 30.4

Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher (Photo of the church)

Nevertheless, the truth of the events of the Passion and the Resurrection does not depend on the accuracy of this dating.

The Gospels belong to the genre of historical biography (while being highly distinctive, they recount the life, actions, teachings, and even emotions of Jesus Christ, which is far more than simply giving the words of prophets with a few added details). The Gospels were not written according to the principles of modern historiography, which would really be anachronistic, but there are very solid indicators of their reliability, including:

• The great diversity of the sources: Twenty-seven different books of the New Testament, plus the testimonies of subsequent generations and historians, including nonbelievers, on the existence of Jesus and contemporary events. Not even the most powerful and famous men in secular antiquity are recorded in such a wealth of sources, and very little indeed has been preserved about the lives of rabbis contemporary with Christ.

• The vast number of manuscript attestations: There are over 25,000 manuscripts of the New Testament according to critical editions (including 5,800 in Greek, 10,000 in Latin, and 360 in Syriac), while we have a mere handful of copies, for example, of biographies of Cicero.

• The chronological proximity between the events and their written accounts, which were written down in the decades immediately following, in direct or firsthand testimonies.

• Minor contradictions among the various accounts within an overall convergence: These differences were not erased or harmonized to make them sound more convincing, but reflect the fidelity of what different witnesses perceived, as with any real event.

• The uniqueness of these events in all world history, and the wisdom they reveal, which seems utterly impossible for human authors to have imagined.

• The exponential growth of the community of believers that sprang from the events of Christ’s life, despite the weaknesses and divisions of its members and despite severe persecution by its adversaries.

• The absence of disagreement among ancient believers regarding these particular events.

• The highly convincing relics of the Shroud of Turin and the Sudarium of Oviedo.

• The lives of the 10,000 saints and blesseds who recognized Christ’s love, and the inner experience of Christ possessed by every believer worthy of the name.

• The rational need for God’s love to show itself to humanity through these events, hoping for their free response and that they would let themselves be saved.”

I highlighted a few passages my first time through this volume, they are:

“For example, Jesus recommended to St. Faustina to do the Stations of the Cross at 3: 00 p.m. every day, 4 so that the world could receive his Mercy. 5 St John Paul II, from his childhood on (well before Faustina’s Little Journal was first published in 1981), used to do the Stations of the Cross personally or in public every day in Lent, and at least every Friday during the year, and he had the fourteen stations set up in the papal apartments.”

“Every Mass makes present Christ’s preaching (the Liturgy of the Word) and his passion and resurrection (Liturgy of the Eucharist). There we can relive the Way of the Cross; we are recommended to use our memory and imagination to re-present it to ourselves—that is, to make the whole thing present. 8 We can console the Beloved, and be his faithful friend in suffering.”

“In this book each Station of the Cross will be introduced by several verses from the Bible, either relating directly to the event we are meditating on or announcing it, or echoing it according to tradition (especially verses from the Old Testament). Similarly, several aids to meditation will be offered.”

““Not behind us with the Savior’s cross, but behind the Savior with our own cross” (Cyprian Norwid).”

“Let us ask Jesus to grant us: hatred for our sins which, out of indifference or hard-heartedness, cruelly threw him to the ground, the grace to get up again (cf. Prv 24: 16), as he did for us, and humility, so as not to fall into those same sins again (1 Cor 10: 12).”

I hope that sample station and quotes give you a feel for this volume. With all the ‘Optional Meditations’ it takes a bit to pray through this whole volume. Or you can pray through it numerous times and just pick them in order for each station. This book is an excellent version of this devotion, and one I see myself returning to frequently. Over the years I have read a number of books written and translated by Helena Scott and they have all been worth the read. I do not know how I missed this one when it released a year ago. But I am thankful I stumbled upon it this year. I know this is one that will end up in the rotation of Stations I pray frequently. I greatly appreciated the extra reflections at the end of the volume of the seven last words of Jesus from the cross. Reading them after completing the stations was a moving experience. I encourage you to pick it up and give it a try! 

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2026 Catholic Reading Plan! For all Stations of the Cross review click here. 

Books by Étienne Méténier:

With Jesus in Jerusalem: The First Way of the Cross

…

In French:

Dans les pas de Jésus à Jérusalem

La Bible en 100 semaines

Les noms de Jésus: Mieux le connaître pour mieux l'aimer

Les quatre évangiles: Traduction inédite de la Vetus Syra

Vetus Syra

Vetus Syra: les quatre évangiles Syriaques anciens : traduction interlinéaire comparée et annotée

…