Devotion of the Crucifix
The crucifix, a symbol of sacrifice; the greatest sacrifice, the sacrifice of the divinity of God himself. The mystery of the the cross finds its theological, and thus human significance in this very fact, that God, rather than humanity, offered the sacrifice; in fact it was the sacrifice of his only Son Jesus Christ. Christ's death and suffering, as scripture and the church teach, bore the infiniteness of my sin, and all the sin of those who find salvation in the Christ.
The mystery of the crucifix finds its strength in the reality of the event that it calls the penitent to remember. As a present reality of a real past I find freedom to share in the sufferings of Christ, I find comfort and hope for I know the resurrection of the Savior. My sufferings, which cannot compare to Christ's, are contented when I remember the shame of the cross. To find help I reach to hold his pierced and bleeding hands, for I cannot find help except by the power of his hands. His bleeding side and feet draw me into communion as I share in his dying that I might live. My sacrifice, the sacrifice of thanksgiving, finds its strength in the significance of my Savior's death; the only death to which I embrace in times of deep hurt.