During one of the sessions in the Catholic Life in the Spirit seminar, Fr. Ric Torrefiel, of the Caloocan Diocese, said that wearing the cross without the image of the Christ Jesus is meaningless. The cross is the symbol of the suffering of our Lord Jesus and His saving grace to humanity.
For some people, it is simply an ornament, but with us Catholics, we glorify our Lord by wearing the cross with His image.
(Fr. Ric Torrefiel was a civil engineer and a protestant who converted into Catholism)
Below is a reflection by Fr. Bobby Titco published through the Kerygma Family.
CRUX CUM CORPUS, CRUX CUM CHRISTUS
There is a devotion of some well-meaning Catholics that disturb me. It is the devotion to the holy cross without a corpus (body). The body is, of course, the body of Christ.
When I was assigned pastor of the Holy Cross Parish in Makati, I had to endure persecution when I started implementing a directive I received from the Archdiocese of Manila concerning the community’s center of devotion. The cross enshrined at the altar of the parish church was a Christ-less cross! I was instructed to correct that. I needed so much patience, courage and determination to accomplish the task. It was sad because many of those who objected
to correcting the Christ-less cross were the so-called lay church leaders. By the grace of God, the Holy Cross Parish now has a life-size image of the Crucified Christ. Their devotion to the Holy Cross remains, but no longer to a Christ-less cross.
I am assigned now to a chapel named after the holy cross, too. And I am happy to note upon my arrival that theirs is a cross with the Crucified Christ.
Why do some people focus more on the cross at the expense of Christ? Why do they devote themselves to the cross but not to the Crucified instead?
Why is there so much fanaticism surrounding the cross? Yet, when we talk about the cross in the form of problems, sickness, persecutions and the like, people run away at first sight.
Who wants such a cross anyway? We do not want a cross without Jesus. We want the cross of Jesus instead. And certainly, that means more than just affixing a body on the cross. It means carrying our cross the way Jesus carried His and, if needed, being crucified on our cross for the same reasons Jesus was crucified on His. Uniting our sufferings with that of Christ’s is one way of accomplishing this. Enduring persecutions on account of the Gospel of Jesus with great love and sincere humility fulfills this at its best.
The One who was crucified on the cross at Calvary always tells the truth: persecution knocking on the door of His followers is not only a normal thing, but must likewise be expected. When they knock, may we be found faithful to the One Crucified. Fr. Bobby Titco
Reflection Question:
A Christ-less cross is incorrect but a cross-less Christ is a lie.
Lord Jesus, the glorious Crucified One, I adore You, for by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world. Amen.
