The Lord sustained hundreds of wounds in the course of His Passion. We can even count them with some accuracy, if one accepts the Shroud to be what it seems to be, as there is sufficient detail to discern distinct wounds from lashes and so on.

That Christ chose to be hit repeatedly in the process of our redemption is shocking enough.

That He chose the final instrument of our salvation to be a device which stretched His limbs out is also quite extraordinary, and ironically it is underappreciated in large part due to the ubiquitous presence of its image, both in churches and in homes. We have grown used to it. It would not have been this way to the ancient Christians, who did not use the crucifix as a devotional image, since its use was still ongoing (or recent enough) and therefore conjured unwanted memories and unpleasant thoughts of one’s own potential fate. As the horrors of Roman abuses faded, the popularity of the Good Shepherd image waned in favor of the Cross, both simpler and more powerful a symbol and reminder of what the faith is about.

And one of the lessons the Cross contains is vulnerability.

When we are hit hard, we recoil and curl up to defend ourselves. We fear another blow and seek to protect the more vulnerable parts of our bodies. It’s similar with our psyches. We will “shut down” and use defense mechanisms to avoid psychological pain.

The Cross teaches a different lesson. It teaches one that to become strong, one must become vulnerable. One must be stripped and stretched and displayed. One can be hit from anywhere, and one is defenseless, unable to stop the blows.

It is not a call to mere sentimentality, or to rash divulgence of personal information, or presumptuously entering into physical danger… it is ultimately the call to virtue, especially to the sort of fortitude which reveals an individual who is whole and integral, who has nothing to hide in his soul because his soul is beautiful – and if someone rejects it or wishes it harm, then they are the ones who ought to be ashamed.

The hits will keep coming. We must suffer. And we will keep trying to block the blows, as is natural. But to reach the heights of Calvary, to become the greatest that we can be, despite the pain and the fear, we must allow ourselves to be stretched out.

For His grace is sufficient, and His power is made perfect in weakness. It is when we are weak that we are strong. (Cf. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10)