ADORATION OF THE CROSS
THE priest who celebrates the divine office, unveils the symbol of
salvation portion by portion, intoning the verse: <Behold the wood
of the Cross.!> The assistant clergy sing aloud: <On which hung
the Saviour of the world>; and choir and people kneel, responding,
Come let us adore. After repeating this three times, the priest
places the Cross on a cushion before the altar; the clergy remove
their shoes to worship the Cross, each kneeling three times before
kissing it. During the Adoration the choir sings the <Pange
lingua> repeating after every stanza:
Faithful Cross above all others,
One and only noble Tree,
None in foliage, none in blossom,
None in fruit thy peer may be;
Sweetest wood and sweetest iron,
Sweetest weight is hung on thee.
The laity follow the clergy in this solemn act of worship, and all
day long the Cross rests upon the altar, the sole object of our
worship, crowds flocking to the sanctuary rail to kiss it with
deepest reverence. This ceremony is called the Adoration of the
Cross and it has been part of the public worship of the Church
since, early in the fourth century, the Empress Helena discovered
the true Cross. This relic of the Passion was at first solemnly
venerated in this way each year in Jerusalem only, and vast
numbers of pilgrims went thither to take part in the service.
Later, portions of the sacred relic were sent to various churches
in other parts of the world, so that the same ceremony might be
repeated, and now it is universal, even where there is no relic of
the true cross, since the homage paid to the Cross is really
intended for Christ who, by dying on the Cross, has wrought our
salvation.
From the very beginning of Christianity the Cross has been an
object of special veneration. The Apostles esteemed it above
everything in the world. "O precious Cross!" cried St. Andrew in
his martyrdom, "which the members of my Lord have made so goodly.
how long have I desired thee! how warmly have I loved thee! how
constantly have I sought thee! . . . How wonderful art thou, O
Cross!
O Cross, how lovable art thou! O Cross, thy bright beams enlighten
the darkness of the whole world." St. Paul gloried in nothing save
in the Cross of Christ, and in Him crucified, deemed himself to
know nothing but Christ on the Cross. Although the faithful whom
they formed after Christ, did not consider it prudent to worship
publicly a symbol which would exasperate the Jews, and even seem
to justify the contempt of pagans for their faith, they cherished
it in their private devotions and appealed to it as the
distinctive emblem of a Christian. Long before Constantine had it
graven on the <labarum>, they had represented it in forms
disguised to the uninitiated, by an anchor, by the mast and yard
of a vessel, or the apparently chance arrangement of the branches
of a tree, by the Greek letters gamma or chi, the first in the
name of Christ. Before they could paint or carve it for public
veneration, they signed themselves with it "at every act, at every
step," as St. Jerome remarks and, in imitation of our Lord in His
Passion, according to Tertullian, they stretched out their arms in
the form of a Cross. The longer they were forced to venerate it
secretly, the more rapidly they multiplied its images when
prudence permitted, so much so that the worship of it soon became
the dominant note of Christian piety everywhere. "Nothing so much
adorns an imperial crown," St. Chrysostom observed, "as the Cross,
the most precious thing in the world. What all one time feared is
now in images sought by all and it is also found everywhere, with
prince and peasant, men and women, spouse and virgin, slave and
freeman. They all make this sign frequently on the forehead as if
stamping it on the head of the column. It shines from our altars,
at the ordination of our priests, at the consecration of the body
of Christ offered at the mystic supper. It is visible everywhere,
in the home and in the forum, in unfrequented places, by the
roadside, in the mountains, in the valley and on the hill, at sea,
on our ships and on our islands, on our tables, on our clothes,
and on our armor, over the marriage couch, at our banquets, on
vases of gold and silver and pearl, on our walls, on our
distempered animals, on the bodies of the obsessed, in war, in
peace, day and night, even among our bands of dancers and troops
of jugglers-so universally have all come to seek this great gift
and its ineffable grace."
It was natural that men who had lived in daily expectation of
martyrdom should, on witnessing the triumph of the Church over
paganism, have used the chief Christian symbol as a sign of
triumph. "It behooved Christ to suffer and so enter into His
glory," meant for them glory among men as well as in heaven.
Gradually, the more they penetrated into the mystery of the Cross
and the more they came to feel the need of it as a memorial of
Christ's Passion against the seductions of the world, they added
to the emblem the figure of Him Who had consecrated it by His
Death. Not that crucifixes were unknown among Christians before
they used and venerated them publicly; on the contrary, although
archaeologists have as yet found no trace of them, they presume
that they were used in the Catacombs, and the presumption is
sustained by the discovery of a caricature of the crucifix on the
walls of the palace of the Caesars dated by De Rossi about the
time of Severus, A. D. 197-215. The crucifix has been venerated
publicly since early in the sixth century, and its worship is
identified with that of the Cross.
Instinctively Christian piety endeavors to reproduce the image of
Christ on the Cross, which is, to quote the words of St.
Augustine, His pulpit as teacher, His altar as victim, His throne
as king. "If I be lifted up from the earth, I shall draw all men
after me." He is our complete model only when mounted upon the
cross. Under this image we venerate Him in our homes, schools and
churches, in our wayside shrines and woodland oratories, in our
cemeteries. Every where, in distant missions and in Catholic
countries, in the public squares and buildings, Christ is
represented in painting or sculpture dying on the Cross for our
salvation; and everywhere, save in places in Italy and France, in
which a diabolical hatred for Christianity seems to possess its
enemies, the Crucifix is in honor even among those who are not of
our faith. The chivalry it inspired into the hearts of the:
Crusaders and their services to Christendom make all generous
hearts cherish it with affection; art and the masterpieces of the
greatest artists, Perugino, Durer, Raphael, Angelo, recommend it
to all in whom aesthetic tastes beget respect for true religious
sentiment. The eloquence of masters like Chrysostom, Augustine,
Leo the Great, Bossuet and Bourdaloue, fills even carnal minds
with awe for this sign; ritualism and the craving of the human
heart for vivid memorials of its belief and highest aspirations
have restored the image of the Crucified to honor where once it
was held in execration.
When we reflect upon the fascination with which the Crucifix
attracts all religious souls, we are not surprised at the
marvellous stories of the bending and speaking crucifixes narrated
in the lives of St. John Gualbert, St. Camillus of Lellis, St.
Bridget of Sweden, St. Catharine of Ricci, St. Collette and many
others. When we recall the intense devotion to this sacred image
of St. Francis and his first followers among the Franciscans, we
do not wonder that rays darting from the wounds of the figure
thereon, should impress on him the stigmata or marks of the wounds
our Lord received in His passion. St. Vincent Ferrer called it his
bible; St. Thomas Aquinas, the book from which he derived all his
wisdom; St. Thomas of Villanova, the inspiration of his eloquence;
St. Canute cast his kingly crown at the feet of Christ crucified,
fain that he and his people might together be the subjects of Him
who is the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
A proper spirit of veneration for the Crucifix would enable us to
find in it a clue to the mysteries of our faith. From it Christ
proclaims as from His pulpit the power, the wisdom, the justice,
the mercy of God the Father; the weakness, the folly, the malice
and the indifference of men. The true nature of sin, the false
standards of this world, the only true alleviation of its
miseries, the solid hope for the future, all appear in their true
light as we gaze upon the figure of Christ crucified.
He is raised aloft on this altar of propitiation, the one mediator
between heaven and earth, a victim whose sacrifice is of infinite
value, more than sufficient to atone for our sins, a priest whose
dignity enhances his offering and imparts merit even to our
imperfect services. He reigns from the tree, as was prophesied of
Him, from the tree of life, the life of hope; which he imparts to
everyone who gazes on Him reverently, the life of love, by which
He draws all things to Himself. His reign is one of power, power
to inspire the wicked with fear, to animate the just with a holy
courage.
"Dearly beloved brethren," said the eloquent Pope Leo I, "when we
gaze upon Christ lifted up upon the Cross, the eyes of our mind
see more than that which appeared before the wicked, unto whom it
was said through Moses: 'And thy life shall hang in doubt before
thee, and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none
assurance of thy life.' (Deut. xxviii, 66.). They saw in the
crucified Lord nothing but the work of their own wickedness, and
'they feared greatly,' (Matt. xxvii, 54), not with that faith
which giveth earnest of life by justification, but with that
whereby the evil conscience is tortured. But our understanding is
enlightened by the spirit of truth, and with pure and open hearts
we see the glory of the Cross shining over heaven and earth, and
discern by inward glance what the Lord meant when his passion was
nigh at hand and He said: 'Now is the judgment of this world, now
shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted
up from the earth, will draw all things unto Me.'
"O how wonderful is the power of the Cross! O how unutterable the
glory of the Passion, wherein standeth the Lord's judgment seat,
and the judgment of this world, and the might of the Crucified!
Lord! Thou hast drawn all things unto Thee! 'Thou didst spread out
Thine Hands all the day unto an unbelieving and gainsaying people'
(Isa. Ixv, 2), but the world hath felt and owned Thy Majesty!
Lord! Thou hast drawn all things unto Thee! All the elements gave
one wild cry of horror at the iniquity of the Jews; the lights of
the firmament were darkened, day turned into night, earth quaked
with strange tremblings, and all God's work refused to serve the
guilty. Lord! Thou hast drawn all things unto Thee! The veil of
the Temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, the Holy
of Holies denied itself as a sanctuary for the ministration of
unworthy priests, that the shadow might be changed for the
substance, prophecy for realization, and the Law for the Gospel.
"Lord! Thou hast drawn all things unto Thee! That which was veiled
under types and shadows in the one Jewish Temple, is hailed by the
love of all peoples in full and open worship. There is now a
higher order of Levites, a more honorable rank of elders, a
priesthood; with an holier anointing. Thy Cross is a well of
blessing for all, and a cause for thanksgiving for all. Thereby
for them that believe in Thee, weakness is turned into strength,
shame into glory, and death into life. The changing ordinance of
divers carnal sacrifices is gone; the one oblation of Thy Body and
Blood filleth them all. For thou art the Very Paschal Lamb, which
takest away the sins of the world, and art in Thyself all
offerings finished. And even as thou art the One Sacrifice which
taketh the place of all sacrifices, so may Thy Kingdom be one
Kingdom established over all peoples."
It is this power, this kingdom which some of the rulers of this
world are vainly striving to destroy by banishing the Crucifix
from strongholds which have been consecrated to it by the piety of
ages, from the school, the asylum, the hospital and even from the
cemetery. Fancy the impiety which but a few months ago prompted
the civil hospital committee of Toulon, in France, to remove the
Crucifixes from the sick rooms because they collected dust which
might retain germs of disease! A pagan spirit is endeavoring to
encroach on the domain of the Crucifix. If it cannot be buried out
of sight, other models and solutions must be recommended for the
misery and discontent of the poor and of those who bear the burden
of labor. Poverty is a disgrace, labor an injustice, suffering a
wrong and an indignity: the Cross is a superstition, a delusion, a
folly; it is in the way; it has served its time; men can mend,
just as they mar, their own fortunes in this life.
In contrast with this impious spirit is the spirit of reverence
with which the Church summons us to worship the sign of our
Redemption. What can equal the tenderness, the elevation, the
exuberance, the triumph, the confidence of her tributes of
veneration to the Crucifix! "Hail, O Cross! Brighter than all the
stars! Thy name is honorable on earth! To the eyes of men thou art
exceeding lovely! Holy thou art among all things that are earthly!
Thy ransom made the one worthy balance whereon the price of the
world was weighed." Confidently she asks "that by the ransom which
Thou didst pay upon that tree of life we may finally attain unto
life eternal." Triumphantly she sings:
The Royal Banners forward go;
The Cross shines forth in mystic glow,
Where Life for sinners death endured,
And life by death for man procured.
* * * *
O Tree of Beauty! Tree of Light!
O Tree with Royal Purple dight!
Elect on whose triumphal breast
Those holy limbs should find their rest.
* * * *
O Cross, our one reliance, hail!
This holy Passiontide, avail
To give fresh merit to the Saint
And pardon to the penitent.
Taken from "The Messenger", Volume I, Fifth Series, 1902,
published by the Apostleship of Prayer.
Copyright (c) 1997 EWTN Online Services.
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