“It unites us with Christ, who transforms pain into joy, suffering into hope, loneliness into communion and weakness into spiritual victory,” His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel said of the Holy Cross on Sunday at the historic Chapel of the Great Martyr George at the Patriarchal Residence.
Reflecting on the Saviour’s call to take up one’s cross, His Beatitude explained that Christ freely invites people to follow the “path of salvation”.
“God desires that human beings respond freely to the call to salvation, because salvation means love for God and for one’s neighbour.”
The Patriarch of Romania explained that self-denial does not mean negating the human person, but rather “freeing the soul from obsessive egocentrism in order to receive the merciful or generous love of Christ instead and to share this love with others”.
“By renouncing the selfish self, the human person opens up to communion with God and with others, so that the life of the merciful Christ may become the life of the human person, in accordance with the testimony of the Holy Apostle Paul, who says: ‘It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.’”
Every person bears a cross
Patriarch Daniel explained that the suffering and trials a person experiences constitute, in a spiritual sense, their own cross, which can take different forms from one person to another.
“Every person bears the cross of their life, lighter or heavier, according to the strength of their soul,” His Beatitude said.
The Patriarch of Romania emphasised that people should not take up their cross without God.
“In order to transform the suffering of life into spiritual victory, human effort is needed to sanctify one’s life and attain salvation or eternal life, that is, the union of the human person with God, the Source of eternal life.”
“Christ the Lord exhorts each person to take up their cross and follow Him, meaning that they should not take it upon themselves alone, but carry it while asking for His help in life. Through His merciful love, He transforms human suffering into hope, loneliness into communion and weakness into victory,” His Beatitude added.
The Cross, the sign of salvation
The Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church highlighted the connection between the Cross and the Church’s life: “It directs us towards Christ crucified and risen.”
“The Cross is the sign of our salvation, of our common freedom, of the meekness of our Master, who went like a sheep to the slaughter.”
Patriarch Daniel urged the faithful to venerate the Holy Cross and follow Christ with patience, faith and hope, particularly in times of trial.
“May the All-Merciful God help us to be both worshippers and venerators of the Holy Cross and followers of Christ, who accompanies us in times of suffering and helps us to bear the cross with peace of soul and hope, so that we may attain the glory of the Kingdom of Heaven,” His Beatitude concluded.
Photo: Lumina Newspaper
