Catholic Church And The Cricifix
What is the Catholic Church’s teaching and beliefs on the crucifix?
One of my co-workers asked me why do Catholics have Crucifixes in our churches … don’t we believe Jesus has raised? Why do we keep Him on the cross?
To start with, you would want to have a look at 1st Corinthians, chapter 1, verse 23. Paul states, “… but we preach Christ crucified …” Why does Paul preach Christ crucified? Doesn’t he understand Jesus has been raised from the dead? Obviously he does! However, he understands that it is with the power of the crucified Christ on the cross that the bonds of sin and death are broken. As Paul states in verse 24, Christ crucified is the “power of God”.
Cor 2:2, “For I decided to know nothing amongst you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” Once again, didn’t Paul know that Jesus had risen from the dead? Of course, he did.
Due to the fact that an empty cross has no power, Paul preaches Christ crucified. The cross that bears the beaten, damaged, and bloodied body of Jesus Christ, nonetheless, that cross is the “power of God”. This is why, we “keep Jesus on the cross,” since we, too, preach Christ crucified. The Crucifix reminds us not only of God’s power, but also His love for us – offering His just begotten Son up for suffering and death.
Also, right here in this life we do not share a lot in the magnificence of the Resurrection, as we do in the suffering of Jesus on the cross; after all, we need to take up our cross daily if we are to follow Jesus, as it says in Lk 9:23.
And, we should die with Christ in order to live with Him as Romans 6:8 tells us. Where did Christ pass away? On the cross. The Crucifix serves to remind us of these things.
Another passage to bear in mind is Galatians 3:1, “O silly Galatians! Who has bewitched you, prior to whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly represented as crucified?” Did you catch that? Jesus was openly depicted, prior to their “eyes”, as being crucified. Sounds kind of like they may have been looking at a Crucifix, does not it?
