Behold the Cross, upon which the Savior of the world died. O sacrament of union, of self-giving, of wedded love, the school of kenosis. With His arms outstretched, He drew all into one, making from all times and places one people, a holy nation, His body, the fruit of His love, the Church.
The shoulders of Christ are the arms of the cross
St Ambrose teaches how he sought all of us when we were dead in our sin:
Let us rejoice that the sheep that had strayed in Adam is lifted on Christ. The shoulders of Christ are the arms of the cross. There, I laid down my sins. I rested on the neck of that noble yoke. The sheep is one in kind, not in appearance, because “we are all one body” but many members. It is written, “You are the body of Christ, and members individually.” “The Son of man came to seek and save what was lost.” He sought all, because “as in Adam all men die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”[i]
The Cross above the Grave of Adam
In his dying on the cross, Jesus pierces the grave of Adam:
The very place of the cross is in the middle, as conspicuous to all. It is above the grave of Adam, as the Hebrews truly argue. It was fitting that the beginning of death occurred where the first fruits of our life were placed.[ii]
Mosaic image from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem, September, 2022
Through the Branches of the Cross
St Bonaventure identifies Christ as both the way and the door, the “throne of mercy over the Ark of the Covenant:”
Through the branches of the cross he will pass over the Red Sea, leaving Egypt and entering the desert. There he will taste the hidden manna, and rest with Christ in the sepulchre, as if he were dead to things outside. He will experience, as much as is possible for one who is still living, what was promised to the thief who hung beside Christ: “Today you will be with me in paradise.”…Look not to the light but rather to the raging fire that carries the soul to God with intense fervour and glowing love. The fire is God, and the furnace is in Jerusalem, fired by Christ in the ardour of his loving passion.[iii]
Mosaic image from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem, September, 2022
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.”
John 3:15-16
[i] Saint Ambrose. “Ambrose of Milan on Commentary on Luke 15:3.” Catena Bible & Commentaries. Accessed September 13, 2022. https://catenabible.com/com/585b6d619ac03ecd4b8e7547.
[ii] Saint Ambrose. “Ambrose of Milan Commentary on Luke 23:33.” Catena Bible & Commentaries. Accessed September 13, 2022. https://catenabible.com/com/585b6d629ac03ecd4b8e768f.
[iii] Saint Bonventure. “From The Journey of the Mind to God.” Readings for St. Bonaventure. Accessed September 13, 2022. http://www.liturgies.net/saints/bonaventure/readings.htm#loh. (Cap. 7,1.2.4.6: Opera omnia 5, 312-313)
Posted for September 14, 2022
Feast of the Triumph of the Cross
