Good Friday and Good Death:
A Meditation on Michelangelo’s Crucifix
As morbid as this may sound, one of the main functions of the Catholic Church is to teach us how to die. Death is the common lot of man—the great democratizing element in our lives. The only question that remains is whether or not it will be a good death. A good death is one that ushers us willingly and without remorse from the world we know into one that we comprehend only vaguely, as “through a glass darkly.” A good death is a death to attachment to objects or vices. A good death embraces its own suffering as purgation, fears not the coming judgment, and looks boldly forward to the promises of heaven and eternal bliss. A good death is a Christ-like death.
The spiritual function of sacred art has always provided a parallel to the Church’s teachings. Sacred art illuminates our understanding of doctrine and tradition by providing a tangible metaphor. It is one thing to affirm that Jesus Christ died for our sins, but it is quite another thing to experience and witness that death, albeit second hand, through the vividness of a sculpture or painting. As Catholics, when we interact with great works of art, we should be both intellectually and emotionally aware, responding with wonder to the great mysteries of our Faith made tangible.
Through His crucifixion, Jesus teaches His Church the lesson of a good death. This is true of the artistic depiction of His sacrifice. Every time we enter a Catholic church, we are thrust into confrontation with the image of Our God hanging naked and abused on a cross of wood. This is the great truth of our religion, the core of our creed. It is right that this image forms the central focus point of our churches, for by the contemplation of this image we have the opportunity to model our behavior in imitation of Christ Jesus and prepare for eternity.
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