The Cross Triumphant

Come, let us worship Christ the King, who was raised up on the cross for our sake.

Today the Church celebrates the Exaltation or the Triumph of Christ’s Holy Cross. Through the Incarnation God the Father sent His Divine Son to earth, to take on our human nature so that He could free our nature from the dominance of sin and death. The Original sin of Adam and Eve had us in bondage and God the Father loved His creation so much that He longed to have it liberated from the consequences of sin.

Out of obedience to his Father Jesus took our human nature and allowed the soldiers to nail it to the Cross. At His death the waters of Baptism flowed from the gaping wound in His heart. In turn, through Baptism we are immersed into the Divine Life of the Trinity and freed from that awful Original Sin of disobedience. We still have to struggle with the weakness that Original Sin has caused in our human nature (concupiscence) but through the grace that flows from Christ’s Redemptive Act we are able to overcome those weaknesses and grow in the life of grace. That is why we exalt the Cross of Christ today – it is the instrument of our salvation.

Click on http://www.wf-f.org/ExaltCross.html for more reflections on the feast. If we ever doubt that we are loved, let us fix our eyes on the Crucifix. We owe our life to Jesus and to his triumphant Cross!

We adore you O Christ and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world. (St. Alphonsus Liguori)