The Cross

Every time that Catholics gather to worship the Lord, in the Eucharist or a simple prayer, we start with the sign of the Cross on our bodies. Have you wondered why? If Jesus died on the cross, why are we using the instrument that was used to kill our Savior?

Originally, The Cross was used by ancient civilizations, such as the Roman Empire, as a torture method to put somebody to death. “In Rome, people condemned to crucifixion were scourged beforehand, except women, Roman senators, and soldiers (unless they had deserted). During scourging, a person was stripped naked, tied to a post, and then flogged across the back, buttocks, and legs by Roman soldiers. This excessive whipping would weaken the victim, causing deep wounding, severe pain, and bleeding. ‘Frequently, the victim fainted during the procedure, and sudden death was not uncommon… The victim was then usually taunted, then forced to carry the patibulum [the crossbar of a cross] tied across his shoulders to the place of execution.’ The cruelty didn’t stop there. Sometimes, the Roman soldiers would hurt the victim further, cutting off a body part, such as the tongue, or blinding him. In another heinous turn, Josephus reported how soldiers under Antiochus IV, the Hellenistic Greek king of the Seleucid Empire, would have the victim’s strangled child hung around his neck” (crucifixion history).

All of this looked horrible. Possibly many of us have seen movies about the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus. We have seen terrifying scenes of the lashings of Jesus, the crowning with thorns, Jesus carrying the Cross, and the crucifixion. A lot of the sorrow of the crucifixion of Jesus was for the criminals. However, the Lord Jesus changed this meaning of the Cross. The Cross is not an instrument of punishment to criminals anymore, but the instrument of our salvation because by His Holy Cross, Jesus has redeemed the world. Jesus Christ died for all of us. His blood washed our sins away, and this is wonderful. For this reason, we call the day when Jesus was crucified and died, Good Friday. It is good not because Jesus died, but because through His death, we gained salvation and eternal life.

Hence, all of us rejoice in this new meaning of the Cross. For this reason, we, as a family, celebrate the Feast of the Holy Cross. All of us will be venerating the Holy Cross, remembering that the Lord died on it for each of us this Sunday (September 14th) at 3:00 p.m. The prayer of the thousand Jesuses is a way to say “thank you” to the Lord for everything that He has done for us, especially for His sacrifice on the Cross. Let us come and praise the Lord all together as a great family, recognizing the importance of the Cross in our lives.

Remember, the parish that we dream is the parish that I help to build!

God bless you and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always!

Fr. Jorge Ramirez