In the days when he was in the flesh, Christ offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to God, who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and when perfected, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.
Scripture for
reflection: 1 Peter 1:18-19
You were delivered from the futile way of life your
fathers handed on to you, not by any dimishable sum of silver or gold, but by
Christ’s blood beyond all price: the blood of a spotless, unblemished lamb.
On the Feast of the
Exaltation of the Cross (or Triumph of the Cross) we honor the Holy Cross
by which Christ redeemed the world. The public veneration of the Cross of
Christ originated in the fourth century, according to early accounts. The
miraculous discovery of the cross on September 14, 326, by Saint Helen, mother
of Constantine, while she was on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, is the origin of
the tradition of celebrating the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross on this
date. Constantine later built the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on the site of
her discovery of the cross. On this same pilgrimage she ordered two other
churches built: one in Bethlehem near the Grotto of the Nativity, the other on
the Mount of the Ascension, near Jerusalem. In the Western Church the feast
came into prominence in the seventh century — after 629, when the Byzantine
emperor Heraclitus restored the Holy Cross to Jerusalem, after defeating the
Persians who had stolen it. Christians “exalt” (raise on high) the Cross of
Christ as the instrument of our salvation. Adoration of the Cross is, thus,
adoration of Jesus Christ, the God Man, who suffered and died on this Roman
instrument of torture for our redemption from sin and death. The cross
represents the One Sacrifice by which Jesus, obedient even unto death,
accomplished our salvation. The cross is a symbolic summary of the Passion,
Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ — all in one image. The Cross — because
of what it represents — is the most potent and universal symbol of the
Christian faith. It has inspired both liturgical and private devotions: for
example, the Sign of the Cross, which is an invocation of the Holy Trinity; the
“little” Sign of the Cross on head, lips, and heart at the reading of the
Gospel; praying the Stations (or Way) of the Cross; and the Veneration of the
Cross by the faithful on Good Friday by kissing the feet of the image of Our
Savior crucified. Placing a crucifix (the cross with an image of Christ’s body
upon it) in churches and homes, in classrooms of Catholic schools and in other
Catholic institutions, or wearing this image on our persons, is a constant
reminder — and witness — of Christ’s ultimate triumph, His victory over sin and
death through His suffering and dying on the Cross. We remember Our Lord’s
words, “He who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. He
who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake shall
find it” (Mt 10:38,39). Meditating on these words we unite ourselves — our
souls and bodies — with His obedience and His sacrifice; and we rejoice in this
inestimable gift through which we have the hope of salvation and the glory of
everlasting life.(http://www.wf-f.org/ExaltCross.html)
Prayer: Canticle:
Revelation 4:11; 5-9, 10, 12O Lord our God, you are worthy to receive glory and honor and power. For you have created all things; by your will they came to be and were made. Worthy are you, O Lord, to receive the scroll and break open its seals. For you were slain; with your blood you purchased for God – men of every race and tongue, of every people and nation. You made of them a kingdom and priests to serve our God and they shall reign on the earth. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength, honor and glory and praise. Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
My thoughts: This
is truly a great day in the Church. Today we pause from our busy lives to
contemplate the mystery of the Cross; the vehicle of shame which became the
vehicle of our salvation. We are reminded that our joy rests in the promise of
everlasting life given to us by God when His Son purchased our freedom by His
death. We have been washed clean in the blood of the Lamb, and as we take time
to pray before a crucifix today, our eyes fixed on our loving Savior, let us
remember that in our own lives, as in the life of Christ, no suffering is ever
wasted. All suffering is redemptive; from suffering comes strength, and from
strength comes conviction, and from conviction comes determination, and from
determination comes a heart set on the truth, the truth which can only be found
in Christ. Let us remember that we are celebrating the triumph of the Cross,
both Christ’s, and ours.
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