Deborah Thompson Jones is a Cathedral of the Holy Spirit parishioner, wife, mum, birth doula, and newly baptised Catholic. The daughter of church leaders, she grew up in a nondenominational charismatic background and has been deeply involved in Christian ministry, from leading worship to planting churches. Her journey has taken her through various ecclesial experiences, but at the heart of it is her conviction that Jesus is truly present in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
From the age of two my daughter has eagerly engaged with crucifixes, but as a Protestant I would have struggled to categorise such behaviour in a child. I used to think, “I prefer MY Jesus OFF the cross.” I assumed the prominence given to crucifixes in Catholic churches meant a lack of attentiveness to the Resurrection and an inordinately sorrowful spirituality. But discovering the Saints’ devotion to Jesus on the Cross compelled me to rethink my assumptions on the road to Catholic faith.
The Last Supper and the Resurrection illuminate the Crucifixion with the twin realities of Jesus as Paschal Lamb and Jesus as God. In that light, to “look upon the Crucified” as St Teresa of Avila exhorts is to see the crucifix as a beacon of Divine Love, God’s self-gift. It is not a denial of Our Lord’s rising, but rather a profound trust in it. In short, apart from the Resurrection we would not bother with crucifixes!
Moreover, when I venerate a crucifix I don’t see the cup of wrath poured out on Jesus so much as the Cup of the New Covenant in His Blood. This befits the mystical emphasis of St Faustina on the flow of blood and water from His pierced side which “gushed forth for sinners” as the culmination of this supreme act of loving mercy.
I attest with St Teresa that in looking upon the Crucified “nothing else will matter to you”. The more I behold the ‘corpus’ on a cross, the more enamoured I am, absorbed in Jesus’ love, and I realise what it would cost me to turn toward some lesser good.
So I delight in my daughter’s Marian attentiveness to her Jesus “sleeping on the cross”. Perhaps her earliest memories of Christian formation will consist in those words. We talk about His “owies” and His great love for her and everybody. I trust in this way she will grow in the knowledge of that love and the Divine Mercy which triumphs over judgment.
Songs to listen to and ponder while beholding a crucifix:
Please note: The reflections and opinions expressed in this piece are those of the author and are shared in the spirit of personal faith and contemplation. They do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Diocese of Palmerston North.