“Our religion was founded by the One who said, ‘If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it (Matthew 16-25). And again, ‘They will put you out of the synagogues; indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God’ (John 16:2). These are not exactly cheerful tidings. We deny the dark side of Christianity.  Crucifixes that once reminded us of Christ’s sacrifice for the salvation of the world have been replaced in church by not terribly convincing statues of the Resurrection. We have attempted to block out the challenge of Christianity: the Cross.” ~Fr. Benedict J. Groeschel, CFR