Where's the Cross?

A couple of days ago I was reading a reflection by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen that really struck me.

He was talking about the Loggia of Raphael at the Vatican. He mentioned that the paintings were made at the time of the Reformation. It was a period when the Church was in decline. He made an interesting point that seems just as appropriate today as it was 30+ years ago.

When you look at the art you will notice "There is no Crucifixion. No Cross. You will always know the dark days of the Church when there is a walking away from the Cross of Christ."

I think that this provides us with an excellent guide to where the Church is in decline v where it is growing. As you look at where the Cross of Jesus is rejected, things are in decline. But where Jesus' cross is lifted up, there is growth.

In another reflection Archbishop Sheen explains why he wears the silver Pectoral Cross he did. He talks about going into a New York Jewelry store where the Jewish owner tells him about a convent where the members got rid of the silver crucifixes they wore. They sisters said they were doing so because the cross seperated them from the world. I am willing to bet that order is 1 of those in major decline these days.

It seems to me that they missed the point in getting rid of their crucifixes, that the Cross is ment to seperate us from the world. Jesus told us to be in the world but not of it. St. Paul reminded us that to the world the Cross is a scandal. (Just a reminder, in this use of the term world, Jesus was talking about a system that rejected God & His will.)

They symbolicly refused to carry their cross by getting rid of their crucifixes. They said they would rather be of the world, rather that a sign of contradiction to that world.

Ultimately, each of us has to decide where we stand. Are we willing to take up our cross & by doing so proclaim Christ & Him Crucified? Or are we more concerned with being a part of the world?

The world wants us to be quiet about sin. the world wants us to accept lifestyles that are contrary to the Word of God. The world wants us to approve of abortion, euthenasia & all the other things on the agenda of the "culture of death". It wants us to deny Jesus by denying the Cross.

Jesus wants us to proclaim God's love & mercy. We start by our own repenting of sin. Then by calling the world to repentance by calling sin sin. Then by calling people to repent & receive God's mercy. But this forgiveness is only possible with the Cross of Christ being lifted high.

Are we going to be more concerned about what the world says now or what Jesus will say on the day of Judgement?

Where is the Cross in your life?