Jesus’s Death and the American Experience of Injustice

Take a look at Jesus’s suffering and crucifixion from the perspective of those who know what it is like to endure unjust suffering.  Then ask yourself, “How can I take up my cross in response?”

St. Peter's Catholic Church, Washington, DC. Photo by Tom Faletti, 29 Mar. 2026.

Every year, Christians commemorate Jesus’s “Passion” or suffering – from his agony in the garden just prior to his arrest, through his unjust trials, physical abuse, and torturous crucifixion, to his death and burial.

This year, I invite you to pray the “Stations of the Cross: Overcoming Racism,” which I wrote to explore the connections between Jesus’s suffering and the experience of racism and injustice in America in our day.  You can find them here:

Stations of the Cross: Overcoming Racism (PDF)

(You can also find the link to this PDF in the “Prayer Resources” section of this page: Combatting Racism - Parish Resources.)

Jesus took up his cross willingly and asks us to do the same

Catholics and many other Christians pray the “Stations of the Cross,” also known as the “Way of the Cross,” as a spiritual act of walking with Jesus on his path of self-sacrifice, from the moment he was sentenced to death until his body was laid in the tomb.

Jesus told us:

“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Matt. 16:24 and Mark 8:34, NABRE).

Taking up our cross is not a one-time action.  In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus says that each of us must take up our cross “daily” (Luke 9:23).

Through the Stations of the Cross, we reflect on the meaning of Jesus’s suffering; the magnitude of his love, which he demonstrated in giving up his life for us; and how we can follow in his footsteps.

When people suffer injustice today, we can find links to Jesus’s suffering

The 14 stations in the traditional Way of the Cross highlight events that happened as Jesus proceeded to his death.  Many of the stations, or stops along the way, come from Scripture: Jesus is condemned to death, made to carry his cross, helped by Simon of Cyrene, stripped of his clothes, nailed to the cross, etc.  Some come from tradition: Jesus stumbles and falls as he drags his cross up the hill, encounters his mother along the way, etc.

Each station is an opportunity to put ourselves in Jesus’s sandals, but also to place Jesus’s sufferings in our context  – to see what it means to take up our cross daily in the real world we live in, where injustice abounds.

Unlike many Catholic services, there is not a fixed set of Scripture readings, reflections, or prayers for the Stations, so many versions of the Stations have been written.

This Stations of the Cross on Overcoming Racism provides a unique way to understand Jesus’s suffering in the context of the suffering of people in our midst today.  It helps us see and feel the injustices suffered by African Americans, immigrants, and other people who are rejected and mistreated because they are different from the majority – and shows us where there are connections to the suffering of Jesus and those around him.  The correspondence between Jesus’s Passion and the suffering of people in our time is clearer than one might expect.

I urge everyone of every race and background to immerse themselves in these Stations and see where the experience takes you.  Jesus wants to heal our divisions.  What can you do?

Start here:

Stations of the Cross: Overcoming Racism (PDF)

I would welcome your comments and reactions.  Also, for further analysis related specifically to the African American experience, consider these articles; and for connections to the immigrant experience, see these articles.