Purple Cloth on Cross

Have you ever wondered why, during Lent, there's often a purple cloth draped over the cross? When I visited the Annex last week with my friend Alyssa, I was especially intrigued by this custom.

Turns out, the veil over the cross is symbolically hiding a portion of the cross, and of Jesus' suffering body, so that we may better appreciate the cross as a instrument of our redemption. It helps us acknowledge the device in which Christ died for our sins and it helps humble us.

By veiling the cross, we are also experiencing the loss of a sacred object in which is held very dearly in Christian culture. This imitates the loss that Christ experienced during his 40 day fast in the wilderness. The cloth doesn't completely cover the entire cross, for we are only losing a portion of the sacred object. Again, this is analogous to Christ's situation. At his death, he lost his pride and his earthly body, but he never lost his identitiy as the Son of God. The veil over the cross serves as a reminder that even in loss, there is still something that remains.

The purple color of the cloth is a symbol for Christ's royalty and kingship. The color purple is often associated with majesty, magic, mystery and royalty, all attributes to Christ. The veil is removed at the end of Lent on Good Friday.