Tag: Cross

Abide With Me

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“Abide With Me” by Henry Lyte  is probably one of my all-time favourite hymns:

We sang it at my grandfather’s funeral. It seems appropriate for Maundy Thursday…

1. Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide;
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.		 2. Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see—
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
3. I need Thy presence every passing hour;
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s pow’r?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.		 4. I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness;
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
5. Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies;
Heav’n’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me

Symbolism: Why “INRI”?

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Yesterday was the Feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross. With that in mind, I’d like to share something that happened a few days ago. I was at Mass and, after communion, I was looking up at the large crucifix behind the altar. My eyes settled upon the sign above Jesus’ head and the thought crossed my mind:

“Huh…you know what?…I’m not really sure what ‘INRI’ stands for…”

How many thousands of crucifixes have I seen over the course of my life?!

Now, I wasn’t completely ignorant. I did remember the section of the Gospels where this sign is mentioned:

“Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS…and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek” – John 19:19-20

Hmm…so how exactly does “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS” get reduced to “INRI”? It turns out that these are the initials of the Latin version of notice:

Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum
Jesus (of) Nazareth, King (of the) Jews

The meaning of this acronym is less obvious to us because, in the Latin translation, the words for “Jesus” and “Jews” don’t begin with the letter “J”, but instead start with an “I”.  Since Classical Latin doesn’t have a “J”,  an “I” is used instead.

So, next time you’re looking up at a crucifix and see the sign, you’ll know what it means. Behold your king!

“Here I stand, covered by grace
Under the blood that was shed for me
Here I kneel, before the King upon His throne
Here I bow, to worship the Lord
Enjoying his favour on my life today
Knowing that we’ll never be apart” – Here I stand, Phatfish

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