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From Father Andrew: Feast of the Discovery of the Holy Cross

September 13, 2020
in Feature Articles, The Word
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St. Paul was talking about the Cross and he said:

“The message or the word of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. =“

By saying this, St Paul is distinguishing between the people. The ones who believe in the power of the Cross and the people who deny the power, the meaning or the message of the Cross. In other words, people who believe in Jesus who died on the Cross and the people who are still trying to find true God.

This feast is a call from God to all of us. Because before discovery of the wood of the Cross people were also looking for the Cross for so many reasons: To prove that the crucifixion was a true event. Also, to prove that Christ was really crucified. So, discovering the cross is very important in our spiritual life.

And we rediscover the cross in our actual life. When we talk about Cross, it’s beyond the sign and the cross we wear. It’s the sign of the victory, the sign of the blessing and it’s the source of all the blessings that are maybe hidden in our lives somewhere and we don’t know where it is. So, discovery of the Holy Cross is called the discovery of the True meaning of the Holy Cross in our lives.

A lot of people run away from the Cross. One of the church fathers say, “The one who run away from the Cross is the one who runs away from God itself. There is a very important spiritual book called “Following the Christ”. In this book the author says, “Whoever desires to find Christ without Cross, will find the Cross without Christ”. In other words, we want to become Christian, but when it comes to Cross we don’t want it. The Cross may mean suffering for the Christ, may mean following Christ with holding all the teachings, bible study, fasting, praying, helping the poor, going to the church etc.  The Cross gives every single suffering for our Faith a true meaning. That’s why a lot of people want Christ, they seek Christ, but they don’t want Cross with Christ. And at the end, those people will find the Cross but without Christ. So that’s why the discovery of the Holy Cross is a spiritual lesson for all of us. When we follow Christ we have to be ready to handle and to carry the Cross daily in our life.

This is what Jesus himself saying “Whoever desire to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his Cross and follow me” So without carrying our cross we can not follow Christ. Otherwise we are going to fool ourselves.

You see cross on a lot of people’s neck. When we ask them to come to the church, they say they don’t have time. This is actually denying to hold or carry  the cross. Refusing to help poor people also means denying to carry the Cross. When we refuse to begin our day by reading the Bible and praying is also denying to carry the Cross. That’s why when Jesus says if we don’t carry our Cross daily and follow Him, we are not true Christians. That’s why we really need to understand the true meaning of The Holy Cross. Its not to decorate ourselves but to have/suffer for Christ in all aspect.

We should not be ashamed of our cross, not only by carrying it but also by having Him in our heart and in our life. Having a cross is a sign of protection from diseases, sickness, anxiety, fear etc.

Signing the cross is also very powerful, it protects us .

In the Cross Jesus was able to crush the demon the head of the Satan. So, by having faith in the sign, by discovering the power of the Cross in our lives, we will also be able to crush all kind of trouble that we face in our lives. We need to come to the Cross; we sign the Cross we true and strong faith knowing that this sign can protect us and can lead us to true joy and happiness.

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