|
Homily Holy Cross Day, September 14th
2008...
"Grant O Lord that thy Word only
may be spoken and thy Word only received. In the Name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."
I…
Carved in stone above the doors of the first building ever built
as a Monastery in this land are the Latin Words- Crux est Medicini
Mundi. "The Cross is the medicine of the world". When
I visit parishioners' homes my eye is always looking for the cross
or crucifix which marks our homes as Christians. It reminds me that
the Christian home is an outpost of Heaven itself. But do we modern
day Christians even know why we value the cross and placmply a nice,
even wonderful we so much emphasis on it? Is it just that it reminds
us of Jesus? Or is it siork of art confirming our western culture
and civilization? We wear crosses around our neck and make the sign
of the cross on our bodies when we pray, but do we know why, and
are we consciously aware of its importance?
Historically the cross is not the first symbol used by Christians.
(My Confirmation Class will know which symbol was the first.) For
300 years Christians were afraid to be very open about their faith
in Jesus Christ. To do so meant certain death and a torturous martyrdom.
The cross in Jesus' society was a symbol of 'shameful death', a
negative symbol. A symbol of disgrace. Early Christians did not
live their faith so openly and freely as we do today. It was done
in much secrecy and hiding.
II…
II. The cross, of course, was known. St. Paul writes in his Epistles
of the Holiness, the Sacred Role and the importance of the Cross
to Christian life. At Holy Baptism, not only was water poured, but
also each and every child and adult would be marked on the forehead
with Holy Oil in the form of a cross. This showed that in baptism
we are made 'Christ's Own', baptized into His death and resurrection.
The oil is used because the word 'Christ' means 'anointed one' and
the cross made to show by what means Jesus died for our sins.
But back then no one hung a cross around his or her neck or on the
walls of their homes. It was in fact the Fish that was the first
Christian symbol. In the caves and catacombs Christians secretly
traveled, if you wanted to know if their were other Christians around,
you'd draw an arc. If later coming back that same way someone had
drawn the reverse arc (forming a fish), then you knew other Christians
were present. It was a secret sign because Christians knew the Greek
word for fish, IX?YC, had the first letter of the words standing
for 'Jesus Christ, Son of God, Lord and Saviour'. An acronym.
III…When
in 312 AD Constantine made Christianity legal, then the cross could
come out of hiding. Even the original Cross that Jesus was crucified
on was found and enshrined in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in
Jerusalem. It was Constantine's mother, St. Helena, who had the
cross searched for and eventually found on Sept. 14, 320 AD. When
we sing 'In the cross of Christ I glory, towering over the wrecks
of time…' we proclaim that the cross is part of God's whole
plan to reconcile us, to forgive our sins, and to make us citizens
of His Eternal Kingdom. Is it any wonder then that I look for the
Cross in the homes of Christians? I think God does too. But are
we really taking in what it means? Especially when you make the
sign of the cross on your body? What's that about?
IV...
It is first and foremost making a connection to your baptism, when
the first cross was make on your forehead, to link you to the greatest
event of your life- Salvation in Jesus' death on the cross. So when
people enter the church building you see them take Holy Water and
make the sign of the cross. Next, we make it when we hear 'In the
Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit', which
is the name of the Holy and Blessed Trinity, one God. For again
at baptism the priest poured water on us in the Name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Thirdly we make the sign
of the cross when a Bishop or Priest makes the sign of the cross
over the people to Absolve Sin or Bless us. I tell my First Communion
Class that it is like the priest throwing or pitching you a baseball
and you are going to open your glove to catch it. As he makes the
sign with his hand you catch the blessing by making the sign of
the cross on your body. Then there are those three little crosses
made at the Gospel. They go with the prayer we should say as the
Gospel is announced:
"May the Lord be on my mind, upon my lips and in my heart as
I hear the Holy Gospel."
Finally it is always good form for Christians to begin and end their
prayers with the sign of the cross. It is like bookends holding
up our prayer, setting the tone and demeanor of our prayer as simple
and serious. So you will see many people doing it just before and
after receiving their Holy Communion, or when the kneel down in
their pews to pray before and after Mass. That is also why we are
quiet and don't talk or chit-chat before Mass, because people are
praying and preparing themselves to worship God.
So let us be mindful, knowledgeable and above all prayerful in the
use of this sacred sign of our Faith. Remember it is the means of
the Salvation by which God planned to forgive our sins and bring
us into His Eternal Kingdom through Jesus Christ. Yes, it is the
medicine of the world! Crux est medicini mundi.
+In the Name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
For complete
copy of Homily Download PDF
(Top
of Page)
|
