Sept. 14: Feast of the Holy Cross

In the 7 Sundays
comprising
the Feast of the Holy Cross,
we behold
the Sign of Jonah
and
the Hope of our Salvation.

We enter in faith
the culminating celebration of the Church's calendar year.

We enter in hope
the culminating celebration of this world and the world to come.

We enter in love
the Holy Mysteries of "Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven."

Jesus living in the Church, Jesus living in Mary,
Come live within us!

In the Holy Cross we enter the heart of the Mother of God,

and there we encounter
the maternal love
given to the beloved disciple
at the Foot of the Cross.

She is the great birth-giver of discipleship
-- and thus the Church itself -- the New Eve
"the Mother of All the Living" members
of the Body of Christ.

Note here the "re-capitulation" of Pentecost

in the Feast of the Holy Cross.

And through time and history

see the "Anno Domini" as an epiphany of the Church

From St. Ephrem in his second mêmrâ
"On Reproof"

Let us be builders of our own minds
into temples suitable for God.

If the Lord dwells in your house,
honor will come to your door.

How much your 'honor' will increase
if God dwells within you.

Be a sanctuary for him, even a priest,
and serve him within your temple.

Just as for your sake he became
High priest, sacrifice, and libation;

you, for his sake, become
temple, priest, and
sacrificial offering.

The Coptic Cross
of
the Church of Alexandria