This happened few months back. One of my friends was interested in attending a Catholic Church. So, one fine Sunday morning he accompanied me to St. Michael’s Church (located on N. High Street in Worthington, Ohio)
Well, after the Mass my friend was disappointed. I asked him the reason for his disappointment. He said he was not with the projection of Crucifix over the Altar. He said that Catholic Church portrayed a sad figure of Jesus i.e. Jesus on the cross. Coming to the catholic church was a disappointment – which I can understand but not agree.
I have been going to the Church since I was a child; dragged by parents every Sunday (well of course!). It was then, and this is now. Now going to Church puts my mind at peace; gives me a feeling of “everything is going to be fine”.
For me, seeing the crucifix over the Altar sets the imagination towards the understanding of the suffering of Christ during His final hours.
Okay, so what is the significance of crucifix in a Catholic Church?
We (Catholics) tend to accentuate the healing, redeeming power of Christ’s suffering and death on the cross. We use a depiction of the crucifix with an image of the suffering Jesus upon it to visualize our way of talking about the event. It is intended to portray what He endured for our salvation long ago on Calvary. It is a reminder that He suffered and died for our sins.
Some believe that the Crucifix sends a wrong message – Christ has risen; so why do we need the depiction? Well, Jesus himself gave the answer, when He appeared before his Apostles. He identified Himself by displaying the wounds, which was sustained on the Cross (Luke 24:39; John 20:20). He has risen but still bears the scars of endured during the crucification. He retained those scars. Well, He is the Son of God and could have easily washed away those scars. But He didn’t.
Well, those scars are there to remind us that “Don’t forget – I died for your Sins” – that’s the significance of cross, which you see when you enter the church on Sundays or any day.
When you are down, depressed and think that the world is against you – think of the suffereing on the cross by Jesus Christ where he suffered and died for our sins.
