Old palms/Stations of the Cross

Q What should I do with the palms that I received last year on Palm Sunday?  How do I dispose of them?

A Because these palms were blessed by a priest on Palm Sunday they became a “sacramental” (an object that is meant to draw us closer to the celebration of the seven sacraments).  Since they are blessed, they should not be thrown away in the trash can.  That would be sacrilegious.  The law of the church states that sacred items that are blessed “are to be treated reverently” (Code of Canon Law, #1171).  Throwing them into the trash ignores their sacredness and treats them like any other object that we no longer care about.

The proper way of disposing of these palms is to return them to nature by either burying them or burning them and spreading the ashes outside, maybe in a flower bed.  This type of disposal honors their sacred purpose.  If you cannot bury them or burn them, you might be able to drop them off at your parish office for them to take care of those palms.   

Q I see in my church bulletin that we offer the Stations of the Cross on each Friday of Lent.  What is the Stations of the Cross and what is some of the history behind it?

A The Stations of the Cross is a communal prayer where we can make a spiritual pilgrimage to the sights of Jesus’s last few hours of his life.  It follows Jesus from his sentence to death by Pontius Pilate through his burial in his tomb.  Tradition holds that our Blessed Mother Mary daily visited the scenes of our Lord’s Passion after his death.  The Stations of the Cross allow us to do the same, to participate in his passion and death through meditation and prayers.

The early Christians suffered persecution from the Roman Empire for about 250 years after Christ.  Finally, in the year 313, the emperor Constantine ended persecution by legalizing Christianity.  This opened up the way for Christians to visit the Holy Land and the places of Jesus’ last few hours.  However, not everyone could visit the Holy Land; it was expensive and, possibly, dangerous.  So, in the fifth century, an interest developed to “reproduce” the holy places of Jesus’ passion in other areas, so that believers could make a spiritual pilgrimage. 

Through the years, the various stops, or stations, along the way of Jesus’s last steps have varied.  In 1731, Pope Clement XII permitted stations to be created in all churches and fixed the number at 14.  (Some devotional booklets include a 15th station – Jesus’ resurrection).  In 1742, Pope Benedict XIV urged all priests to enhance their churches with the 14 crosses, which are usually accompanied with pictures or images of each station.  

A plenary indulgence can be obtained by those who prayerfully exercise the Stations of the Cross, moving from one station to the next while meditating on Jesus’ passion and death.  It may not be possible for all participants to move from one station to the next.  If that is the case, it is sufficient if the one conducting the Stations of the Cross progresses from one station to the next.

Suppose you cannot attend the Stations of the Cross at the times your church offers them.  What can you do?  See the next edition of the The Catholic Commentator for other ways to pray the Stations of the Cross.

Deacon Hooper is a deacon assistant at Immaculate Conception Church in Denham Springs. He can be reached at [email protected].