... and the reality of the gift of divine life through Jesus Christ:
Fr. Barron makes reference to the thought of Fr. Hans Urs von Balthasar, whose book, Mysterium Paschale: The Mystery of Easter (Ignatius Press, 2000, 2005), is a profound reflection on and theological contemplation of the suffering and death of Christ. Read Fr. Aidan Nichols' Introduction to the book:
Just as Christ is the new Adam, He is also the new fruit on Eden's tree of life. The cross is often referred to as a tree, poetically. He is the fruit who hangs there. It pleases God to let Him literally hang there, so we can understand. God has always preferred to communicate with us through very basic, agrarian symbols: lambs, grapes, wine, blood, bread, wheat, water, figs, etc. The animal and vegetal language of simple human society.
A cross stripped of Christ is worthless. A crucifix is the only worthwhile symbol for the work of redemption. A crucifix is a fruit by which we can know whether to trust a place or a group of people. Woe to the protestants with their simple crosses. The cross itself is not what saves, but rather He who hangs on it.
More so, when an extra-protestant church, like the Mormons, won't even display a Christ-less cross, one can see the danger. They do a stake, or even nothing at all. No Christ, not even his vehicle. No fruit, no tree.
Posted by: Brad | Thursday, March 03, 2011 at 10:01 AM