Christ fell three times?

[foodiepeep]

Forgive my ignorance here, but how and why did Catholicism expand the "stations" and number of times that Jesus fell during his fateful journey to be crucified? It appears that in actual scripture, Christ falls under the weight of the cross only once and Simon aides His burden. Where did all of the additional events in the progression of the Crucification come from?

 

[Davidnic]

Some are taken from tradition and how the walk was believed to have gone. In the Holy Land people would go and walk the stations and there were several places Christ is believed to have fallen. Scripture would not necessary mention each time He fell. There is also the body of Christ being given to Mary, that is not in Scripture but was always believed. There is a Stations of the Cross that is purely Scriptural that JPII introduced and B16 also does on Good Friday in Rome:

1. Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane,
2. Jesus is betrayed by Judas and arrested,
3. Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin,
4. Jesus is denied by Peter,
5. Jesus is judged by Pilate,
6. Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns,
7. Jesus takes up His cross,
8. Jesus is helped by Simon to carry His cross,
9. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem,
10. Jesus is crucified,
11. Jesus promises His kingdom to the repentant thief,
12. Jesus entrusts Mary and John to each other,
13. Jesus dies on the cross,
14. Jesus is laid in the tomb.

 

[QuantaCura]

Mostly from various oral traditions handed down through the centuries.

Different versions of the Stations have been used in different times and places in addition to the usual fourteen you see most commonly these days. One version has as many as seven falls, another has just the one, etc.

 

[Andrew Ryan]

Forgive my ignorance here, but how and why did Catholicism expand the "stations" and number of times that Jesus fell during his fateful journey to be crucified? It appears that in actual scripture, Christ falls under the weight of the cross only once and Simon aides His burden. Where did all of the additional events in the progression of the Crucification come from?