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The paintings in this book were commissioned by St. Andrew's Anglican Church to adorn its sanctuary in Versailles, Kentucky, and to continue a long Christian tradition of recalling and reflecting on the last hours of Jesus' ministry before his crucifixion. Walking around the sanctuary and pausing before each image is meant to recreate the pilgrimage of the Via Dolorosa or the Way of the Cross. For centuries, Christians have journeyed to Jerusalem to trod the path taken by our Lord during his Passion. By the middle ages, this pilgrimage was made more accessible by recreating the stations of the cross through representative images in local parishes.

On Good Friday in 1991, Pope John Paul II led the Way of the Cross devotion in Rome using fourteen stations derived from events of Jesus' Passion as recounted in the Gospels. The stations in this book are based on those Bible passages.

Neither these images nor the words from the Gospels are magical. However, the story they tell is uniquely transformative. That God would come to earth, live among us as a man, and then suffer and die for our sins is at the heart of the Christian message. He calls all people into loving relationship with himself and his church through his resurrection on Easter morning.

As you read through the verses in this book and reflect on the graphic portrayals by the artist, let Jesus' love and passion overwhelm you and draw you closer to him.

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. John 15:1