Dr Jeanette Pinto –
In 2018, I went on a trip to the Holy Land and one of the best items I brought back for myself was a Comfort Cross. It is made of a single piece of olive wood, smoothened, about 4 inches in length, and fits beautifully in the palm of my hand. I place it under my pillow and every morning and night draw it out hold it and Praise God for the gift of my life, a new day, and with love thank God for the day well spent. A crucifix (from Latin cruci fixus – fixed to the cross) is a cross with the image of Jesus on it, as distinct as a bare cross. The cross is a sign of our Redemption and salvation and is a mystery. We make the sign of the cross before every prayer or liturgical celebration. We see the cross or crucifix in churches and other places of Christian worship.
This Lenten season I often gazed at my comfort cross and felt a yearning desire to know more about the Cross of Jesus. In my research, I learnt some interesting features of 5 things we generally don’t know about the cross of Jesus, and so I’m sharing it here with my readers.
Where did the wood of the cross come from?
It came from the Cedar, the Pine and the Cypress trees. The vertical and horizontal beams of the cross were both made of different kinds of wood. The third piece of wood was the name plate nailed on top over the head of Jesus. It is discussed that these three kinds of wood may have Trinitarian significance. There is no scriptural evidence but the early Christians had an interesting legend afloat. Seth the third son of Adam was sent by his father to the garden of Eden to plead their case with God. The angel at the gate gave him 3 seeds and told him to place the seeds in Adam’s mouth when he died, and these would grow into trees which will save them and his progeny bringing them redemption. Fall came from the fruit of the tree and Redemption came from three woods of the three trees mentioned above.
What does the word INRI mean.?
In the days of Jesus, there were three spoken languages, Greek, Latin and Aramaic, these are considered holy languages. The words of scripture are written in Greek, scrolls in Aramaic and Latin is used in Liturgical celebrations. After much study, the words read as “Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum” which means, ‘Jesus Christ King of the Jews’. Pilate surely wanted to ridicule Jesus and display Roman authority and power by showing what a loser and failure this king of the Jews was. The piece of wood or relic is still to be found in the Church of Santa Croce in Rome.
How much did the Cross actually weigh?
The wooden cross must have been very heavy, only a strong sturdy man would have been able to carry it. Jesus was in the prime of his manhood, he started His ministry at the age of 30 years. However, imagine, after being physically bruised beaten, bleeding, and hungry; spiritually devastated, and emotionally exhausted, even a robust Jesus would find it a herculean task to carry it. Besides they were on a climb to Mount Calvary, that is why Simon of Cyrene was recruited from the crowd to assist Jesus. In 1870, French architect Charles Rohault de Fleury researched and catalogued all known fragments of the cross. He determined that Jesus’ cross weighed 165 pounds, perhaps with the other fragments it would have weighed more. Let us not forget that its weight would be phenomenal considering Jesus carried the sins of all mankind on the cross.
Why do Catholics have the corpus (Latin for ‘body’) on the cross and the Protestants have a plain cross?
The crucifix has an image of Christ on the cross, and is a symbol of Christianity and of the death and resurrection of Christ. It serves as a reminder of God’s sacrifice of His only son so that humanity may have salvation. Protestants believe that Jesus is risen and hence salvation is achieved. They state that since Christ is risen, why show him as dead and still hanging on the cross.
Evidently verbal depictions and praise of the cross were acceptable, but physical images were deemed idolatrous. They stated that, Catholics worship images, and this is idolatry. But St Paul in 1Corinthians 1:23, says “We proclaim and preach Christ crucified” The power of the cross of Christ reconciles humanity with our heavenly Father, and in Jesus we find forgiveness of our sins.
There is a special prayer recited before the crucifix, it is worthy of adoration. It is a symbol of triumph for Christians. There is also an Indulgence attached to it if prayed after receiving Holy Communion or on a Friday.
The compassion of Jesus is manifest in the cross, a self giving death. We are confirmed by the sign of the cross, suffering is a part of human life. Be not afraid to carry your own cross
Source: See YouTube – The Catholic Talk Show