The Cross

I’m old and I’m old fashion, I love tradition, I don’t like change, and perhaps that can be a problem here and there with this and that. Recently, our parish church was renovated, statutes removed, some replaced with pictures of life-size photographs of certain, not well known, saints. The statute of the Blessed Virgin Mary was removed and replaced with a picture of a saint. Likewise, the Divine Mercy statute of Jesus was removed and replaced by a life-size photograph- or perhaps it is a life-size painting that looks like a photograph; isn’t technology  marvelous?

I frequently attend Mass at another church, not too far away. I like it there because everything seems to be where it belongs. I look upon this as a physical and a spiritual alignment. Let me explain:

1. The cross is above the Tabernacle, a cross I am familiar with, Christ crucified. It is sad to see Christ crucified, but it is also glorious, because without this sacrifice we would not be redeemed. He suffered and died for us. Our sins, past, present and future put God on the cross, it should be us, all of us on that cross, but he is there instead to pay the price necessary to balance God’s justice and mercy.
2. Below the crucified Christ is the Tabernacle, where he lives in the consecrated host. His flesh and His blood waiting to be presented on the altar and given to us in Holy Communion.
3. The cross and the Tabernacle are behind the altar, overlooking and  protecting it, a part of it.
4. Soon the priest will arrive, and the sacred altar will come alive with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
5. Jesus will join us in the person of the priest and offer himself again as a sacrifice to God, the Father, in reparation for our sins.It is Calvary again, only this time it is an unbloody sacrifice.
6. My alignment does not end here. It extends to me, to you, to all of us present during this offering because we are invited to offer ourselves with Jesus to God the Father as reparation for our sins, the sins of others, the most holy and suffering souls of purgatory, and for the conversion of sinners. We are asked by divine request to join the Mass by giving to God our petitions, our suffering, and our prayers.

Why is the image of Christ crucified so important? What about other possibilities of Christ and the cross? Four possibilities come to mind: Firstly, the cross alone; secondly, Christ resurrected without a cross; thirdly, Christ resurrected on the cross; and fourthly, Christ crucified on the cross.  Let’s take a look at the significance of each of these possibilities in turn.

What does the cross without Christ signify? It means suffering without sacrifice because there is no sacrifice being offered. The empty cross represents pain and suffering without    reparation, or  redemption. It is just a reminder of punishment and pain-  “an emblem of suffering and shame” (The Old Rugged Cross) which points towards calvary and a victim who was or will be on the cross to give it meaning.

Christ resurrected without the cross is of course a joyous and beautiful image. Christ resurrected is the corner stone of our faith. As St. Paul tells us

…if Christ has not been raised, then empty is our preaching; empty, too, your faith. Then we are also false witnesses to God  (1 Corinthians 15:14-15 NAB).

The church teaches that the Mass is also a memorial of Jesus’  death and resurrection, and “the Christ who is now in heaven and the principal priest at the altar is the risen Christ (The Faith- A Popular Guide Based on The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.).  However, Christ resurrected though essential to our faith does not bring us to calvary, only the crucified Christ can do that.

The resurrected Christ on the cross at first glance seems inappropriate by its apparent contradiction. We have on the one hand a cross “the emblem of suffering and shame,” and on the other hand, the resurrection of Christ bringing us joy and the verification that we rise from the dead. However, upon closer observation I came to realize that the resurrected Christ on the cross is a statement which says that the Mass represents both the crucified and the resurrected Christ ( Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. p.467) which is absolutely true, but this does not justify removing Christ crucified from its place in tradition and from our church.

Lastly, we have the fourth option,  Christ crucified which  is consistent with tradition and brings us to calvary. Jesus is the victim and the sacrifice; the cross is His altar. The Holy sacrifice of the Mass brings us to calvary, and calvary brings us to the Holy (unbloody)  sacrifice of the Mass. It is the reparation necessary to compensate for our sins.  Jesus takes upon Himself the punishment that each of us should endure for our sins and the sins of others. Jesus is on the cross instead of us. His crucifixion is our redemption, and without it the gates of heaven would never be opened.

Conclusion

If it is okay to remove Christ crucified from the cross in a few churches, then why not remove him from all. Likewise, maybe in the future, there will be an exchange store where you and I can bring our rosaries and our wall crucifixes and exchange them for a different Christ, any kind of Christ, but not a crucified Christ. Perhaps future generations will never see a crucified Christ, nor hear of it, nor speak of it. Will the future echo the taunting voices of those who walked by our Lord crucified on the cross shouting: “ … save yourself, if you are the son of God, come down from the cross” (Matthew 27:40, NAB)

Two Churches,
Two Crosses,
One, Christ Crucified

The other, Christ Resurrected.
Two feelings,
One at ease,
The other distressed.

One Mass,
One sacrifice,
One God,
One victory.