Rev. Fr. Jose Mathew

Tel. 2431 2064,  Mbl. 6516 1350

         

Beloved in Christ,

 

 We are approaching the seventh and last season of the Liturgical Year, “The Season of the Cross”, which starts with the Feast of Exaltation of the Cross (Triumph of the Cross) on September 14^th, when we honour the Holy Cross by which Christ redeemed the world. The practice of Public Veneration of the Cross of Christ originated in the fourth century. The ancient traditions of the Church place the miraculous discovery of the original cross on which the Lord was crucified, by Queen Helena (mother of Emperor Constantine) while on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, on September 14, 326AD, and hence we celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross on this date.

 

Constantine later built the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on the site of her discovery of the cross. Queen Helena is credited with the building of two other churches: one in Bethlehem over the Grotto of Nativity and the other, near Jerusalem at the Mount of the Ascension.  

 

We “exalt” (Raise high or acclaim) the Cross of Christ as the instrument of our salvation. Adoration of the Cross is adoration of Jesus Christ, who suffered and died on this instrument of torture for redemption of mankind from sin and death. The cross represents the One Sacrifice by which Jesus, obedient even unto death, accomplished the Salvation of Mankind. The cross is the summary of the Passion, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ.

 

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.

 

St. Paul praises the Cross in Galatians 6:14  “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” Boasting of the cross would have been an extremely strange statement to make in Paul’s day. The pain of crucifixion was so horrendous that a word was invented to explain it—excruciating—which literally means “from the cross.”

 

In this verse, Paul gives us two proper responses to the cross:

 

1.       The cross is an object of pride to Christians.

2.       The cross is the model for self – sacrifice.

 

Let us 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). In obedience to these words we join our souls and bodies to His obedience and sacrifice and rejoice in this inestimable gift through which we have gained Salvation and Eternal Life.

 

Yours in Christ

Jose Mathew Aachan