40 Crosses for 40 Days: 2nd Cross - the Clinging Cross

This cross, known as the Clinging Cross, sprang to mind yesterday, when I was at Mass on Ash Wednesday. The first reading, from the Book of the Prophet Joel, read:

Blow the trumpet in Zion!
Proclaim a fast, call an assembly;
Gather the people, notify the congregation;
Assemble the elders, gather the children.
(Joel 2:15-16)

Listening to this reading as I stood there in church, surrounded by several hundred people, it occurred to me that Lent is not a solitary journey. Each of us, on our own and by ourselves, will return to dust. We recognized that yesterday. But even though we each have to make our own journey to the cross, we don't have to do it alone. We don't, in fact, travel alone, and Thank God for that! There is the individual aspect of faith, yes, but there's also the corporate, communal nature of the Church to consider. We can lean on those around us, those who are also 'on the way,' who are endeavoring to pass through the valley of death to the morning of Easter Sunday. And even beyond those who are on earth with us now, those who are physically making the Lenten journey, we also have the "cloud of witnesses" (Heb. 12:1) praying for us in Heaven.

That's what this cross is about. It's a fairly well-known cross, available in many different colors and sizes, and is designed to fit snuggly into one's hand. You can see the gaps where fingers can curl around, just as though you're holding a hand. Because, really, we are. Holding the cross is also holding the hand of Jesus, disguised in the figures of other people. In fact, I was given this light pink Clinging Cross by a friend (proving my point that we are not merely solitary sojourners, struggling on our own). But even more, the people who travel with us, those whose hands we hold, form us as we trudge along together. As Henri Nouwen wrote, the turning point in our lives occurs when we recognize that "the many unexpected events (and people) are not just disturbing interruptions of our projects, but the way in which God molds our hearts and prepares us." (Out of Solitude) We are changed by the people around us. The hands we hold can steady us, and comfort and guide us, making us into better instruments of God. Whose hands are you holding this Lent?

Let us pray: Holy Trinity, help us recognize those who help us and help us see those who need our help. Inspire us to reach out and take their hand, since we know that you are in this loving gesture. And in all things, let us praise you. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

The Strawberry Vine - Cultivating a Catholic Imagination