WINTER PARK  |  It was early evening as more than 35 people came together at the Mary, Mother of God Chapel at San Pedro Spiritual Development Center. It was the first time Catholics in the Diocese of Orlando would experience the Stations of the Light.

From the ambo, Deacon Mark Fry shared with the participants the 14 stations that included Scripture readings, reflections, songs and prayer. “I think they are going to take with them the fact that they are part of something special,” Deacon Fry said. Commenting on the 13th Station’s invitation to be “contemplatives in action” who promote Gospel values, Deacon Fry said, “We are all called to be servants. We are called by Baptism to spread the light of hope across the world.”

The Stations of Light offered a transition from the story of Christ’s death on the cross to the life-affirming Easter Gospel. Arranged like the more familiar Stations of the Cross, the Stations of the Light offered the participants a sense of hope and rebirth.

“We need to be an Easter people,” said Katie Phillips, San Pedro’s program manager. “The reason for this prayer experience is to help people remember Christ is still alive and that there is a lot of hope in these post-Resurrection stories.”

The Stations of Light is composed of 14 vignettes from Christ’s resurrected life that start with the angel’s appearance at the empty tomb and conclude with the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in the Acts of the Apostles. Also known as Via Lucis (Way of Light), the Stations of Light were formally included in the Church’s Directory on Popular Piety and Liturgy in 2001. Using the metaphor of a journey, the directory states: “The Via Lucis moves from the experience of suffering to the hope of arriving at man’s true end: liberation, joy and peace.”

One participant said, “I loved how it was so beautifully presented,” mirroring a message of joyful hope in this Jubilee Year of Hope. Another participant who always prayed the Stations of the Cross noted the Stations of Light expressed a “renewal after the resurrection.”

The hour-long devotion concluded with all the voices in the chapel singing the hymn “Come Holy Ghost”. It was a fitting coda to the scripture passage cited in the 14th Station: “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim” (Acts 2:4).

By George Fournier, Special to the Florida Catholic, May 02, 2025