Crux Fidelis


CRUX FIDELIS

Sing, my tongue,
the Savior's glory;
tell His triumph far and wide;
tell aloud the famous story
of His body crucified;
how upon the cross a victim,
vanquishing in death, He died.

Eating of the tree forbidden,
man had sunk in Satan's snare,
when our pitying Creator did
this second tree prepare;
destined, many ages later,
that first evil to repair.

Such the order God appointed
when for sin He would atone;
to the serpent thus opposing
schemes yet deeper than his own;
thence the remedy procuring,
whence the fatal wound had come.

So when now at length the fullness
of the sacred time drew nigh,
then the Son, the world's Creator,
left his Father's throne on high;
from a virgin's womb appearing,
clothed in our mortality.

All within a lowly manger,
lo, a tender babe He lies!
see his gentle Virgin Mother
lull to sleep his infant cries!
while the limbs of God incarnate
round with swathing bands she ties.

Thus, with thirty years accomplished,
went He forth from Nazareth.
Destined, dedicated willing,
wought His work and met His death.
Like a lamb He humbly yielded
on the cross His dying breath.

Lo, with gall His thirst He quenches!
see the thorns upon His brow!
nails His tender flesh are rending!
see His side is opened now!
whence, to cleanse the whole creation,
streams of blood and water flow.

Faithful Cross!
above all other,
one and only noble Tree!
None in foliage, none in blossom,
none in fruit thy peers may be;
sweetest wood and sweetest iron!
Sweetest Weight is hung on thee!

Lofty tree, bend down thy branches,
to embrace thy sacred load;
oh, relax the native tension
of that all too rigid wood;
gently, gently bear the members
of thy dying King and God.

Tree, which solely wast found worthy
the world's Victim to sustain.
harbor from the raging tempest!
ark, that saved the world again!
Tree, with sacred blood anointed
of the Lamb for sinners slain.

Blessing, honor, everlasting,
to the immortal Deity;
to the Father, Son, and Spirit,
equal praises ever be;
glory through the earth and heaven
to Trinity in Unity. Amen.


Click on this post to read an excellent article about the "Embracing the True Science of the Cross".





EMBRACING THE TRUE SCIENCE OF THE CROSS

by Father Thomas Rosica, CSB


Each year on Good Friday we read the Passion according to St. John. Throughout this hauntingly moving narrative, there is an emphasis on Jesus' sovereignty even in death.

As we contemplate the mystery of Jesus crucified, we learn in his suffering and dying how vast a person he was among us. We are invited to realize the tragedy of Jesus' death in the context of our own trials, sorrows, and deaths. Jesus' cross is a message, a word for us, a sign of contradiction, a sign of victory, and we gaze upon the cross and respond in faith to the message of life which flows from it, a message which brings us healing and reconciliation.

As the cross is held high in our midst, in some strange and mysterious way, we look upon it and find strength and hope in the midst of our own struggles.

"Ecce Homo"

Jesus crucified is the symbol of what humankind does to goodness -- we kill it. It is not evil that we are afraid of but goodness. In John's Passion story, Pontius Pilate presents Jesus to the people with the words: "Ecce Homo" -- Behold the Man (19:5). What an incredible expression to describe the paradoxical person and mission of God's own son!

"Ecce Homo" -- in whom humanity was so well integrated that he was fully human and is truly a model for each of how we must be fully human in order to be authentically holy.

"Ecce Homo" -- who lived for others, healing them, restoring them and loving them to life.

"Ecce Homo" -- who had the courage to choose women as disciples and close friends in his day.

"Ecce Homo" -- who claimed to have a unique, personal relationship with the God of Israel whom he called "Abba".

"Ecce Homo" -- who came into the world as the sinless one, the perfect one, the just one, the holy one, and his fellow human beings killed him. In the end, we destroy and kill the perfect human being, the very one that we have so longed for and loved.

From the very beginning of our lives, we are darkened with this self-destructive force, this primordial sin of being blind to human goodness. Is that not part of what we mean when we speak of original sin: the endless capacity within the human flesh for self-destruction and self-hatred?

In his death, Jesus turns us outward

In the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus is torn from the midst of his family, disciples and friends, and they don't ever get a chance to see him again until he is raised from the dead. But things are different in John's Gospel where Jesus does get a chance to say good-bye, at least to his mother and one of his male disciples, who are gathered at the foot of his cross. Before he dies on the cross, Jesus commits his beloved disciple to his mother's care and his mother to that disciple's care. "Behold your son! Behold your mother!" Jesus turns us outward toward people to whom we are not physically related, identifying these people as our spiritual mothers, fathers, sisters or brothers.

Through his death, Jesus breaks down the barriers between people and creates a new family by the power that flows from his death for humanity. Even the bowing of his head at the moment of death can be interpreted as a nod in their direction. Out of Jesus' death comes life for his followers.

The Science of the cross

On this day, the death of Jesus invites us all, especially Christians and Jews, into a knowledge of our communion with one another and, a recognition of the terrible brokenness of the world. Nothing and no one can ever wrench us away any longer from that communion. Nothing can remove our sense of belonging to, participating in, and being the beneficiaries of God's saving encounter with Israel and with the broken world, which occurred in the crucifixion of Jesus, who we Christians believe to be son of Israel and Son of God.

On Good Friday, let us remember a Jewish woman, Edith Stein, who loved the cross and embraced its contradiction and mystery throughout her own life. There is a marvelous, life-size, bronze sculpture Edith Stein in the center of the German city of Cologne, close to the archdiocesan seminary. The sculpture depicts three Edith Steins at the three critical moments of her life. The first moment presents Edith as the young, Jewish philosopher and professor, a student of Edmund Husserl. Edith is presented deep in meditation and a Star of David leans against her knee.

The second depiction of the young woman shows Edith split in two. The artist shows her face and head almost divided. She moved from Judaism to agnosticism and even atheism. Hers was a painful search for the truth.

The third representation is Edith as Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, and she holds in her arms the crucified Christ: "Teresa blessed by the Cross" as her name indicates. She moved from Judaism, through atheism, to Christianity.

In her biography, we find a poignant moment from the critical period in her life, in Breslau, when she was moving beyond Judaism. Before her official entrance into the Carmel of Cologne, she had to face her Jewish mother. Her mother said to her daughter: "Edith, You can be religious also in the Jewish faith, don't you think?"

Edith responded: "Sure, when you have never known anything else."

Then her mother desperately replied: "And you, why did you know him? I don't want to say anything against him; certainly he was a very good man; but why did he become God?"

The last weeks at home and the moment of separation were very painful. It was impossible to make her mother understand even a little. Edith wrote: "And yet I crossed the threshold of the Lord's house in profound peace."

Like Edith Stein, we encounter Jesus and his cross, and we have known something else. We have met Someone else: the Man of the cross. We have no alternative but to go to him.

After Edith had entered the Cologne Carmel, she continued to write her great work on the cross: "Kreuzwissenschaft" -- the science of the cross. From Cologne she and her sister Rosa were deported to Echt in Holland and then rounded up with other Jews only to be sent to Auschwitz where she and sister were burned to death by the evil Nazi regime on Aug. 9, 1942.

On Good Friday we gather together as the Christian community to "behold the man" -- "Ecce Homo" -- and to gaze upon Jesus, who took upon himself all of our sins and failings so that we could experience peace and reconciliation with the One who sent him. If we have not truly encountered and embraced the Man of the cross our efforts are in vain. The validity of all of our efforts is determined by our embracing Jesus and his cross each day, by allowing the Paschal mystery to transfigure our lives.

The cross of Jesus teaches us that what could have remained hideous and beyond remembrance is transformed into beauty, hope and new life. On Good Friday, may the cross be our true science, our comfort in time of trouble, our refuge in the face of danger, our safeguard on life's journey, until the Lord welcomes us to our heavenly home. Let us continue to mark ourselves daily with the sign of the cross, and be ever mindful of what we are truly doing and professing with this sign:

"In the Name of the Father"
We touch our minds because we know
So little how to create a world of justice, peace and hope.

"In the Name of the Son"
We touch the center of our body
To bring acceptance to the fears and pain
Stemming from our own passage through death to life.

"In the Name of the Spirit"
We embrace our heart
To remember that from the center of the Cross of Jesus,
God's vulnerable heart
Can bring healing and salvation to our own.



Via Crucis


The above picture was taken at the Stations of the Cross which were spread throughout the Sydney's Central Business District during World Youth Day last year. In the post below, I talk about the public nature of the Holy Week processions. People in our secular society wonder why must we religious people insist on bringing our faith into the streets. Why aren't we content with praying inside our homes and churches? Why can't we just keep God private and keep our beliefs to ourselves? The reason is that if we really have the Good News, then it would be mighty selfish of us to keep it secret. Also, the cross is not private. Or, rather, I should say that Jesus' crucifixion was not a private execution. Indeed, if Pilate had chosen, there were more cruel, more painful ways to kill someone, but crucifixion--at that time--was the most public form of capital punishment. If you think about it, one of the main reasons for nailing someone to a cross and then making it stand vertical is to make sure that everyone could see.

Similarly, the Stations of the Cross were originally designed to be a public act. The Friars of the Order of St. Francis are accredited with creating the first stations, starting out as individual chapels dedicated to each event of the Passion. They did this for the benefit of those who could not make it all the way to Jerusalem in order to literally walk on the actual Via Dolorosa (Way of Sorrow). After all, the Pope had placed the Franciscans in charge of all the churches at the sacred sites in the Holy Land. Since the Franciscans were often in contact with pilgrims walking from the praetorium to Golgotha, it would make sense for them to develop a series of 14 markers inside churches in order to recreate this pilgrimage, this journey of the Cross.

Please see the post below for more commentary on public expressions of faith during Holy Week. For this post, I want to focus of the Stations of the Cross, particularly the Via Crucis which took place during the recent World Youth Day in Sydney. As you know, Raj, Angela, and Edmund braved the Australian winter to experience it live. I, on the other hand, watched it online. It was almost like being there, except for the crowds and the cold. You can experience it too by clicking on the following links.

NOTE: As you can see the traditional 14 Stations have been modified in order to follow the events as described in the words of Sacred Scripture. Also, if you don't have time to view the entire stations, I suggest that you watch at least the 13th Station: The Descent from the Cross. The Pietà scene with the Pie Jesu being sung is truly moving.



Station #1: The Last Supper

Station #2: The Agony in the Garden

Station #3: The Trial Before Pilate

Station #4: Jesus is Scourged and Crowned with Thorns

Station #6: Jesus Carries the Cross

Station #7: Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus Carry His Cross

Station #8: Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem

Station #9: Jesus is Stripped of His Garments and Nailed to the Cross

Station #10: Jesus Promises Paradise to the Good Thief (St. Dismas)

Station #11: Jesus Entrusts Mary and John to Each Other

Station #12: Jesus Dies on the Cross

Station #13: Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross and Laid in the Tomb


Click on this post to see the real Stations of the Cross in Jerusalem.



Click here to view a map of the Via Crucis, the Way of the Cross.


PRELIMINARY "STATIONS"

The Last Supper

Jesus Prays at the Garden of Gethsemane

Jesus is taken to Ciaphas

The Holy Prison

The Trial Before Pilate


STATION #1: Jesus is Condemned to Death

STATION #2: Jesus Carries the Cross

STATION #3: Jesus Falls for the First Time

STATION #4: Jesus Meets His Mother, Mary

STATION #5: Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus Carry the Cross

STATION #6: Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus

STATION #7: Jesus Falls for the Second Time

STATION #8: Jesus Speaks to the Women of Jerusalem

STATION #9: Jesus Falls for the Third Time

STATION #10: Jesus is Stripped of His Garments

STATION #11: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross

STATION #12: Jesus Dies on the Cross

STATION #13: Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross

STATION #14: Jesus is Laid in the Tomb



Semana Santa




All throughout the world this week, the faithful literally take the Gospel to the streets. In metropolitan cities and in rural barrios, Holy Week (Semana Santa) will be celebrated by processions or pasos in which tableaus depicting scenes from Jesus' passion are carried by a team of people who undoubtedly had to go through some physical training since Christmas.

Some may view such elaborate processions as another example of Catholic idol-worshiping paganism. I, however, see a beautiful expression of faith. The statues themselves are themselves vehicles of evangelization because they communicate ideas and feelings that words sometimes cannot adequately do. The various scenes speak to the human heart in a profound and almost unutterable way. This is the power of true art, especially of Christian art. In seeing these tableaus carried in solemn procession, we are left speechless and all we can do is follow the cross. The beastial ferociousness of the guards as they scourge Christ, the pathetic desperation of Pilate, the heartbreaking grief of Mary, these aspects of the Passion most poignantly communicate the price for which Jesus ransomed our souls from slavery.

Each procession is like a mini-pilgrimage. For as the Pilgrim Church, we are constantly moving forward, toward a sure and glorious destination. Pilgrimages and processions involve leaving behind what is familiar and routine, as Peter and Andrew left their boat, fishing nets, and even their father in order to respond to Christ's invitation, "Come follow me." Yet we do not walk alone. In following the footsteps of Christ, we are accompanied by Mary, His Sorrowful and Immaculate Mother. As a mother receives her children through the pain of childbirth, Our Lady received us as her sons and daughters through the pain of her passion which she shared most intimately with Jesus.

Yet the path to Heaven is not an easy one; it is a journey of love, and love requires sacrifice; love requires suffering. This is most eloquently illustrated in the paso itself. For, as the penitent souls carrying the floats clearly know, our earthly pilgrimage to Heaven must also be a journey towards Calvary. Through the sweat and pain under the floats, while bearing the weight of hundreds of pounds, the strong Catholic men who carry the large platforms through the narrow streets must surely have these words of Christ imprinted upon their hearts: "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me" (Luke 9:23).

In considering all the difficulties of life, we may be tempted to just collapse on the side of the road, or worse yet, to attempt to find a seemingly easier path. But, as in a procession, we must follow Christ the leader; we must keep our eyes fixed on our goal. On this journey, we must travel on a long and arduous road with many dangers, traps, and obstacles. Indeed the journey will definitely test and challenge us. Yet in our weariness and frustration, we just keep putting one foot in front of the other. A procession of a thousand steps, must first begin with one step and then another and then another. Little by little we inch our way towards our destination, but always moving forward.

Click on this post for a couple more videos and additional analysis and information about the processions of Semana Santa.




Both videos above are from the pasos in Sevilla, Spain. God willing, one day I will be in Sevilla during Holy Week to experience these world famous processions in person. I just wanted to draw your attention to the last scene at 1:25 of the second video. It is the silhouette of the statue of Santa Maria de la Esperanza Macarena. It is not raining water, but she is being showered with rose petals.

Similar to the parades of Mardi Gras in New Orleans (which sadly have lost their religious and Catholic origins) that are sponsored by various krewes, the pasos in Sevilla are coordinated by groups of men who have organized themselves in brotherhoods or fraternities (cofradías or hermandads). Each of the cofradías has its own unique characteristics. Most, however, wear what appear to be Ku Klux Klan costumes. These outfits with the long robes and pointy hats are actually the traditional dress of people doing a public penance. Watch the video below to see what goes on behind the scenes (or rather under the scenes) in producing a paso. I especially love the little pep talk that is given to the men under the float by--who I am assuming--is the head of the brotherhood sponsoring that particular procession. Following this rousing pep talk (impresionante levantá), a special ornate knocker is banged to signal the lifting of the float.

The video is in Spanish, but I think you'll get the message. =)



Public acts of faith such as the Way of the Cross or Holy Week pasos through the streets and plazas of the city were once quite accepted in our country. Then, as a society, we somehow got it into our heads that to be respectful of other people who aren't Catholic, or Christian, or even theists (believers in a god or gods) means that we had to give up such public expressions of our love for a God who is real whether one believes in Him or not. Also, as Catholics we lost a sense of our Catholic culture. This cultural poverty occurs when acts such as processions loose their spiritual significance and sacramental character (think of the hedonistic Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans). When this happens, the once religious events turn into excuses for debauchery.

I think that it boggles the secular mind of our society when Christian communities like that in Sydney or in Sevilla dare to bring the Cross and Christ Crucified into the public streets.

[More about the cool alfrombras from Guatemala later. Sleepy.]