👉🏾👉🏾👉🏾The Glory of the Holy #Cross in #Orthodox Teaching
(Part 7)
Dear beloved in Christ, peace be multiplied unto you. Today we reflect on the holy mystery of the Cross its glory as proclaimed by the Scriptures and confessed by the Orthodox Church. For the Cross, once a sign of shame, has become for us the throne of victory, the fountain of grace, and the ladder leading to heaven.
14.making the sign of Cross as the Source of Blessing
The whole world was once under the curse of sin, condemned to death. But our Lord bore the curse upon Himself on the Cross, that He might grant us blessing in its place reconciliation with God and the gift of new life. As St. Paul teaches: “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Rom. 5:10).
Thus, every blessing of the New Covenant flows from the Cross. For this reason, our priests bless the faithful with the Cross, declaring that it is not from their own hands, but from the Crucified High Priest Himself, Jesus Christ. We venerate the Cross not as wood, but as the sign of Christ’s blessing and grace.
15. The cross is present in every mystery.
The mystery of the Cross is present in every mystery of the Church. All the Mysteries draw their power and grace from the blood that our Lord Jesus Christ shed upon the Cross.
Without the Cross, we would not have the blessing of becoming children of God through the sacrament of Baptism. Without the Cross, we would not have the privilege of partaking in His holy Body and Blood in the sacrament of the Eucharist. Without the Cross, we would not receive the grace that flows through the other sacraments of the Church.
Therefore, when our fathers and priests bless the mysteries with the Cross, we too draw near in faith, so that we may receive the grace our Lord has given and honor His holy mysteries.
16. The Cross as Our Glory and Fellowship with Christ
The Apostle cries: “I have been crucified with Christ” (Gal. 2:20). To be joined to Christ is to share in His sufferings, as St. Paul again says: “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings” (Phil. 3:10). The thief, too, who was crucified beside Christ and confessed Him, entered Paradise through the Cross. Thus, we make the sign Cross, for it is the sign of our union and friendship with the Lord.
17, Because of the Joy of Our Father, We Make the Sign of the Cross
The Father accepted our Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross as a sin offering and a burnt offering that pleased Him. “It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, a sweet savour before the Lord” (Lev. 1:9). Therefore, the prophet Isaiah said, “When He made His soul an offering for sin…the will of the Lord was done in Him” (Is. 53:10).
Our Lord Jesus Christ pleased the Father throughout His earthly life, but He brought this to perfection on the Cross. “And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:8). We always look to the Cross, where His perfect obedience was fulfilled, so that we may imitate Christ by becoming obedient even to death. This reminds us of His obedience.
The Cross of our Lord was a joy to the Father and to the crucified Son. Therefore, the apostle explains the joy of the Lord, saying: “For the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of God” (Heb. 12:2). The fullness of Christ’s joy was on the Cross, and we too, in order to share in the joy of the Cross of Christ, we make the sign of the Cross.
Continues 👇🏾