Happy Glorious Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross!

Since it was only through the Cross Christ brought us victory, it is only through the same Cross we will find any true victory in this life or the life to come. The many “victories” of this world are really losses while the once and for all “defeat” of Jesus on the Cross is the only real victory because by it sin and death are swallowed up and destroyed and by it the resurrection of Jesus was possible.

“No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

“O God, who willed that your Only Begotten Son should undergo the Cross to save the human race, grant, we pray, that we, who have known his mystery on earth, may merit the grace of his redemption in heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.”

– Collect (opening) Prayer for the Mass of the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross.

Cover Image Credit: Jesus Mafa Project. Fair Use.