A Letter on the Gift of Suffering and the Crucifix

Dear Friend,

Most of the world runs from suffering. We medicate it, disguise it, or pretend it doesn’t exist. And when death comes near, many are terrified — as if it’s the ultimate defeat. But in the Catholic faith, suffering is not a dead end. It is a doorway.

Why the Crucifix Must Remain Before Us
The Resurrection is victory, yes. But the Crucifix is indispensable.

We need to see Christ on the Cross because it reveals what we too easily forget: suffering has meaning.

Step into a Catholic hospital chapel and what do you find? A quiet light, a kneeler, and a Crucifix. That Crucifix is the heartbeat of the place. It tells every patient, every nurse, every family member in silence: You are not alone in your pain. He has been here first. He is with you now.

An empty cross leaves us gazing into mystery. But the Crucifix shows us the cost of love — and the courage to embrace suffering rather than flee from it.

Why Suffering Matters for the Soul
It unites us to Christ. St. Paul wrote: “I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, the Church” (Col. 1:24). Christ’s Cross is perfect. Yet our sufferings, offered with His, become part of His redeeming work.

It strips away illusions. Ease and comfort make us forget our fragility. Pain burns away pride and illusions of control. It returns life into God’s hands.

It teaches love. Real love always suffers. Parents lose sleep for their children. Spouses endure hardship together. Friends sacrifice for one another. The Crucifix is love to the very end — love that bleeds and never turns away.

It redeems death. Without Christ, death is darkness. With Him, death is transformed — no longer an enemy, but a passage into life. Even suffering before death becomes a preparation, a final offering of ourselves to God.

For Those Who Fear Pain or Death
It is natural to fear. But fear loses its grip when you realize the Cross is not tragedy, but triumph.

Every thorn, every nail, every wound was chosen out of love for you.

Keeping the Crucifix before our eyes is not dwelling in sorrow — it is remembering that God has already entered the worst of human suffering and filled it with Himself. This is why even in cancer, grief, or our final breath, peace is possible.

The Crucifix as Our Companion
Think again of that hospital chapel.

A patient shuffling in with an IV pole.
A family member with tear-stained eyes.
A nurse pausing between shifts.

Each looks at the Crucifix and sees the same truth: This is not meaningless. This is not wasted. He is with you.

The Crucifix is not a decoration. It is a mirror. It shows us what love looks like, and it teaches our souls that suffering embraced in love leads to resurrection.

The Final Word
For those who fear suffering: you do not carry it alone. Christ has already carried it to the end.

For those who fear dying: He has gone before you, and He has promised, “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).

So keep the Crucifix before your eyes. It is not just wood and metal. It is the heartbeat of our faith, the key to our courage, and the assurance that love is stronger than death.

I once knew a woman facing life-threatening surgery. She had seen my crucifixes — I carved the wood, and the Sisters of the Holy Cross painted the body of Christ by hand. She asked for one to hang on her recovery wall.

“I want it to be the first thing I see if I wake again,” she told me.

That is the power of the Cross of Christ. The most cherished of all Christian symbols.

If you have passed it by, take another look. It is not defeat. It is love stretched to the very end — and the door through which eternal life has already been won.