Holy Saturday: The Cross and the Door To Mysteries
Reflections for this sacred day of in-between
“The cross is a scene of a love supreme, not a scene of divine domestic violence.”
- Brian Zahnd, The Wood Between The Worlds
“The sign of the cross is trophy raised against the power of the prince of the world.”
- Ignatius of Antioch, first century disciple of John the Apostle
“The cross is the door to mysteries.
Through it the intellect is illumined,
and our hearts are kindled with the fire of the Spirit.
The cross is the key to paradise."
-Isaac of Nineveh, 7th century, Syriac Christian mystic
“O blessed cross,
which has united the sweetness of love
with the bitterness of suffering.
On it I see not only the body of my Lord,
but His heart laid bare.
And I find in that pierced heart
the secret of love."
- Bernard of Clairvaux, 12th century, Cistercian monk
“At every forward step and movement, at every going in and out, when we put on our clothes and shoes, when we bathe, when we sit at the table, when we light the lamps, when on the couch, on a seat, and in all ordinary actions of life, we trace the sign of the cross on our foreheads.” - Father Tertullian, 2nd century
“May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.” - Paul the Apostle, Galatians 6:14
"I arise today
Through the strength of Christ with His cross,
The power of His resurrection and His ascension."
-Carmina Gadelica, The Celtic Way of Prayer
"I lie down this night with the cross of the Christ,
His shadow over my sleep,
His peace in my breathing,
His wounds in my rest."
-Carmina Gadelica, The Celtic Way of Prayer
"Faithful Cross, above all other,
one and only noble tree!
None in foliage, none in blossom,
none in fruit thy peer may be:
sweetest wood and sweetest iron,
sweetest weight is hung on thee."
-Crux Fidelis, 6th–7th century
At church last evening, the clergy carried in a huge wooden cross and place it right in front of the altar. Stark reminder of the sacrifice. To get to the communion stations, we each had to walk before the cross to receive the bread and the cup.
Thank you, Micha. I woke up this morning feeling the weight of death - the death of Jesus and the death I experience in my own life. The thoughts you shared reminded me to keep looking at the cross.