Crucifixes, cross and statues within a church have traditionally been covered during Passiontide (the last week of Lent and all of Holy Week). In the early Church many of the crosses in churches were "gemmatae," that is, covered with jewels and devoid of a corpus or with a corpus of the risen Savior - a sign of the resurrection. These crosses were covered during Passiontide to help people meditate more on the sufferings of Jesus. If the crosses were covered, it was thought necessary to also cover all the other pictures and statues, to evoke a “fasting of the eyes,” generating an environment more and more penitential as the Lenten season draws to a close. Sacred images are unveiled shortly before the celebration of the Easter Vigil.
May these remaining days of Lent be for us a blessed time of intensified spiritual renewal as we meditate upon our Lord’s Passion and the love He has for all of us.
David J. Conrad
May these remaining days of Lent be for us a blessed time of intensified spiritual renewal as we meditate upon our Lord’s Passion and the love He has for all of us.
David J. Conrad
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