“It shows us the perspective from which we should view at least the Church Year that is beginning, if not our entire lives,” Bishop Ioan Casian of Canada said in a reflection on the Holy Cross.
The bishop celebrated the Divine Liturgy on Monday at the Cathedral of Sts Constantine and Helen and St Paraskeva in Edmonton, Alberta, where he explained that placing the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross near the beginning of the Church Year sets before the faithful the centre of Christ’s saving work.
“The Church reminds us of the essential, important and defining moments of our Christian tradition and our spiritual life. Beyond the historical dimension of the feast, at its centre remains the fundamental truth of the Christian faith: Christ is the One who sacrifices Himself for us on the Cross.”
The Bishop of Canada also explained that salvation history gradually reveals the limitations of human beings attempting to find their own way to God.
“This long period until the incarnation of Christ the Saviour was necessary so that humanity might experience both blessing and its own weakness. Humanity had to reach the point of realising that, by itself, it had no possibility of attaining salvation and then, in the depths of its weakness, cry out for God’s help,” His Grace said.
Humanity seeks God’s help
Bishop Ioan Casian said the Holy Cross is not merely a symbol of faith, but a reference point by which Christians are called to orient their lives.
“The perspective projected by the Cross is precisely this crucifixion of our human mind.”
The bishop also explained the significance of making the sign of the Cross, describing it as both a confession of Christ’s sacrifice and an invocation of the Holy Trinity.
“When we make the sign of the Cross, we mark ourselves precisely with the Cross upon which Christ was crucified, and therefore we remember His crucifixion and His sacrifice for us and for our salvation.
“At the same time, when we make the sign of the Cross, we also pronounce the names of the three Persons of the Holy Trinity — the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,” His Grace added.
The Bishop of Canada concluded by highlighting the Church’s responsibility to keep this perspective alive in a society marked by turmoil and change.
“The Church has the role of reminding society that we need the Word of God, because only the Word and work of God, His grace, can set our lives right.”
Photo: BASILICA archive
