—Mark 8:34

What does it look like to “take up your cross” this Lent? Most of us don’t have big, heavy, wooden beams lying around our apartments, dorm rooms, houses or barracks. We do, however, carry burdens. Life makes sure of that. We have the burdens of debt, of not-so-smart choices, of difficult relationships, of disease, stress, addiction, transition, and uncertainty. These burdens can keep us from living into the stature of Christ, the image of God in which we were created. This Lent we invite you both to lay down those burdens and to take them up, to face them and walk through them with Christ.

Lent began as a time of preparation for baptism among early Christians. It was a time for learning new ways of life and leaving old behind. It was a time of building community and preparing oneself for right relationship with God. This Lent we invite you to join others around the world in a season of self-examination, prayer, and learning. Walk this path with those around you and with those far off who are also using this site.

Artists and writers have created fourteen stations to remember the road Christ walked from the Garden at Gethsemane to the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. Each step is reflected in image and words. You can view them by clicking on the footsteps at the top of the page. Traditionally the stations are walked each Friday during Lent, particularly on Good Friday. We invite you to walk them as often as you like this Lent, remembering Jesus’ Passion and considering what it means to follow in his footsteps.

May God bless you and keep you this Lenten season.

The Committee for Young Adult Ministry