Station of the Cross, No. 13 Painted Canvas in a Wood Frame with some Gilding Circa 1880 Lent by Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church The Stations of the Cross are a devotion dating back to the Middle Ages. They commemorate the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. By recent tradition, there are 14 moments or "stations" used to illustrate the story of Christ carrying His cross to Calvary, His crucifixion, death and entombment. This station is No. 13: "Jesus is taken from the Cross and laid in Mary's Bosom." Following is devotional text for this station written by John Henry Cardinal Newman and published in 1893. There were many versions of these prayers, many which touched the emotions and imaginations. See more below

The multitude have gone home; Calvary is left solitary and still, except that St. John and the holy women are there. Then come Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, and take down from the Cross the body of Jesus, and place it in the arms of Mary.

O Mary, at last thou hast possession of thy Son. Now when His enemies can do no more, they leave Him in contempt to thee. As His unexpected friends perform their difficult work, thou lookest on with unspeakable thoughts. Thy heart is pierced with the sword of which Simeon spoke. O Mother most sorrowful; yet in thy sorrow there is still greater joy. The joy in prospect nerved thee to stand by Him as He hung upon the Cross; much more now, without swooning, without trembling, thou dost receive Him to thy arms and on thy lap. Now thou art supremely happy as having Him, though He comes to thee not as He went from thee. He went from thy home, O Mother of God, in the strength and beauty of His manhood, and He comes back to thee dislocated, torn to pieces mangled, dead. Yet, O Blessed Mary, thou art happier in this hour of woe than on the day of the marriage feast, for then He was leaving thee, and now in the future as a Risen Saviour, He will be separated from thee no more.