Book Reviews and More: Scriptural Way of the Cross - Father Adrian Graffy

Tuesday, 26 May 2020

Scriptural Way of the Cross - Father Adrian Graffy - CTS Devotions

Scriptural Way of the Cross
Father Adrian Graffy
CTS Devotions
Catholic Truth Society
ISBN 9781784696276
CTS Booklet D832

This lent I have used several different versions of Stations of the Cross and Way of the Cross. Including a few from The Catholic Truth Society. This is a new one that was released in 2020. Over the last few years I have read over 100 volumes from the CTS. I have read books from many series. And many authors. This was the first book I have read by Father Adrian Graffy. The book is only available currently in print, there is no eBook edition.

The description of this volume is:

“The Stations of the Cross devotion, meditating on Jesus’s journey to Calvary, is loved by Catholics around the world. In this new set of meditations, Scripture scholar Fr Adrian Graffy draws us deeper into the Passion of Jesus by placing a greater emphasis on God’s Word.

Each Station begins by meditating slowly upon a passage from Scripture, which is further brought to life by a prayer to Jesus which is directly related to the Station and the Scripture just read. Finally, each Station ends with relevant prayer intentions, bringing the devotion to the very heart of the Church today.

The Stations are accompanied by beautiful images of the Stations of the Cross which hang on the walls of the Catholic Church of Christ the Eternal High Priest in Essex."

This is a good version of the Stations of the Cross. The sculptures of the stations are great art to use for reflection during the prayers. The prayers and stanza for after the station are all at the beginning of the book. So there will be a lot of back and forth flipping.

The reflections by Father Graffy are well written. The reflections are shorter than many versions I have used this year. The advantage of that is you can still work through the stations, especially if time is an issue. A sample reflection is:

“Second Station

Jesus Receives the Cross

From the gospel according to mark
(8:34-35)

Anyone who wants to be a follower of mine must renounce self and take up the cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save life will lose it: but whoever loses life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.

Pause

Jesus, your cross is the means of our salvation. Help us to be willing to lose our lives for your sake. Show us the beauty of generosity and self-giving love.

Pause

Ask for the grace to give generously and deny self. Welcome the joy of the gospel which no suffering can remove.”

This is another great resource from the Catholic Truth Society. I found it very beneficial. And other than wishing there was an eBook edition, can highly recommend it. Note in 2024 an eBook edition of this volume was released. I picked it up as soon as I saw it and prayed it the next Friday.