That’s right....
For them the cross gains its significance by Jesus’ presence ‘on it’, they recognize it as ‘the cup’ he had to drink ..just as on their table.... I think they relate in that they cannot rise in Christ to new life without first dying with Christ on the Cross thus the pre-occupation with his sufferings on the cross.....Since they have no assurance of salvation they attain distorted comfort by relating to a crucified suffering Christ.
After seeing the number of posts here about purgatory and suffering, since it’s clear that they think suffering expiates sin, it would make perfect sense to the Catholic mindset to identify with His suffering.
They’re thinking it somehow accomplishes something when the something we need has already been accomplished (past tense, done deal) by Christ on the cross.
The wages of sin is death, not dying.
It wasn’t Christ’s suffering or dying that took away our sin, but rather by His death that it was done.
The empty cross is symbolic of the victory in overcoming sin and death by His finished death, not His continual dying.