"The resurrection is not something that comes after the cross, but the resurrection is found in the cross." +Archbishop Anastasios of Albania
Last week, we celebrated one of the 12 Great Feasts in the Orthodox Church. On the Feast of the Holy Cross, we remember two events: the finding of the Life-Giving Cross in 326; and it’s recovery from Persia in 628. Let me share a little history about this feast.
After Christ died and was resurrected, in the first few centuries of Christianity, there was a great persecution against Christians, the pagans wanted to destroy all things that had to do with the life of Christ. This included the Cross that He was crucified on.
When Constantine the Great was Emperor in the 4th Century, after his conversion to the Christian faith, he allowed the official opening of Churches and gave people the right to worship freely. His mother, St. Helen, wanted to find the Holy Cross. So she traveled to Jerusalem. She was told that it was buried under the temple to the pagan goddess Venus.
According to tradition, Helen found the location of the True Cross by digging for it under a large growth of basil. (why did she dig by basil, she just saw basil and decided to dig?)Basil plants were reputed to have sprung up at the foot of the Cross where the Precious Blood of Christ fell, along with the tears of the Mother of God.
Upon finding the Cross, all faithful wanted to see it and venerate it.
St. Helen had a Church built over the Holy Sepulchre where the Holy Cross would stay. The Church was consecrated on September 13, which is why the following day is when we celebrate the finding of the Holy Cross.
In the 7th Century, the Cross was taken by the Persians, but 14 years later, it was brought back to Constantinople, to the Church of Agia Sophia (Holy Wisdom). It was there that the Emperor declared that the Feast of the Holy Cross will be celebrated throughout the whole world!
When Christ was crucified on the Cross, it was a symbol of death. But, with His resurrection, it has become a symbol of life. The Cross is an instrument for our salvation.
In Philippians (2:8) we are told: By the Cross, the Son of God having become man, accomplished our salvation. He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross.
St. John Maximovitch explains the crucifixion and importance of the Cross: “The whole human race, by the death of Christ on the Cross, received deliverance from the authority of the devil, and everyone who make use of this saving weapon is inaccessible to the demons.”
There are numerous stories of Saints who guarded themselves with the sign of the Cross, and all evil perished. Like Saint Anthony, when a legion of demons appeared to him. He made the sign of the Cross and they went away.
The sign of the Cross.
How often when we are in Church do we, as Orthodox Christians, make the sign of the cross? Probably hundreds! When we walk in the Church; light a candle; kiss the icons; listening to the Litany; singing hymns; receiving communion; and receiving Prosphora. That is just to name a few.
Now how often when we are not in Church, do we make the sign of the cross? I want you to take a moment and think about this.
I want to share a story with you. My family and I were traveling in America, almost three years ago, when we stayed at the house of a family that we knew of, but had not met previously. They went to the Church that we were visiting and graciously opened their house to us. It was a blessing to be with them and for their hospitality. But one memory that I implemented in my life is this: whenever the Mom, Maria, ever gave one of us a hug, walked passed us, or even said “Hi” to Moses: she took her right hand, put her three fingers together, and made the sign of the cross on our backs.
The first time it happened, it seemed really simple and I didn’t think much of it. But the more she did it the more I felt strengthened and the more I felt the presence of God.
Since we left her house, I have continued to make the sign of the cross on the back of Moses. Not only when we are in Church (because sometimes he’s not quite paying attention) do I do this, but I do it randomly throughout the day. I ask God to bless him and I make the sign of the cross on his back. This simple act can be a reminder to us as mothers to put the lives of our children in God’s hands, and how important it is for us to pray for our children.
Some other times throughout the day that we make the sign of the cross are: when we wake up, when we go to bed, during prayers, before and after we eat, when we pass an Orthodox Church, when we hear the siren of a police car or ambulance, before we leave the house, and before we travel with transportation (car, bus, bike, etc.).
This past week a lot of children have started school. Now Moses is not yet in school, but he has recently started to be an altar boy in Church.
I have to be honest, the first time he went in the altar, I found myself all alone in Church. And I was so confused and in a daze. I had not been alone in Church since my son was born. I had no idea what to do! I honestly felt like I forgot how to pray by myself. On top of that, I was so worried (I worry a lot) about my son and how he was doing. Was he feeling alone? Scared? What if he needed something, would he know who to ask? Now that I am reflecting on this event, everything I was feeling was not for my son, but for myself.
I can imagine that these feelings are also similar to when your child goes to school. Who will comfort them if they fall? Will they know that my child likes certain things a certain way?
How can I help myself and my child in this time of year? A time going to a new place, whether church or school, without their parents or grandparents?
One new idea I had to implement this month in our house it to put an icon at my son’s level, and one at my husband's and my level, and put these icons near the front door. And whenever we leave the house we can kiss the icon, make the sign of the cross, and ask God to bless us.
Another idea that I had to extend to my family, that I’ve been doing since Moses was born, is trying to pray the four daily hours. What are the hours? During the early Christian times, they would pause their days to pray every third hour in the day. The work of the early Christians, especially the Saints, became a balance of work and prayer. Here in the church of Tirana, we celebrate the “service of the hours” during Christmas, Epiphany, and Holy Friday.
After Moses was born, I found myself relying a lot more on prayer since I had very little sleep! I have an app on my phone (Daily Readings App) that has the four hours prayers. Each of the prayers has a different theme.
The idea that I have is to print out these prayers and post them at different places in our apartment. Then when the times come around (7 AM, 9 AM, 12 PM, 3 PM) we stop for a few minutes and say these prayers out loud. They are short, and can be done easily a lay people.
If you want to read more about the prayers of the hours, you can get this book from the bookstore, it was recently translated and printed in Albania: Making God Real in the Orthodox Christian Home.
Saying the hours prayers can help us to balance not only our family and work lives, but also our prayers lives.
Make the sign of the cross and use these four prompts that Fr. Anthony Coniaris gives to us for the hours.
First Hour: thank Christ for the new day that he has given you.
Third Hour: thank God for the Holy Spirit and ask for the Holy Spirit to guide you.
Sixth Hour: have a moment of quiet, then thank God for His great love for us.
Ninth Hour: to ask God to remember us when we go to His Kingdom.
Even for myself, I don’t always remember to do this. But, because the honest truth is we all have our phones with us every minute of every day, let us also have prayer and the power of the Cross with us as well. Set an alarm on your phone for 4 times a day. First, start by making the sign of the cross. Then, slowly, use those times to pray the hours.
We are our children’s best examples.
Moses has been more excited about making the sign of the Cross, but it was not something he learned just by watching us. We took the time to explain to him the symbolism of how we put our hands and how we cross ourselves. There is a great song by Gigi Shadid that Moses loves to sing.
The lyrics are: When we make the sign of the Cross, we remember that God is the boss. We say: hollow my thoughts, and cleanse my heart, take the heavy weight off of my shoulders. Three for the Trinity, two for the natures of Christ: fully God and fully Man.
After learning that song and singing it often, we then used our hands to form Moses’ hands so that he understood how his fingers should go. Then we practiced, lots of times, where he should cross himself. First at the forehead; then at his belly; his right shoulder; and finally his left shoulder.
One very important thing that we tell Moses is that we never rush, or go fast, making the sign of the Cross. It is not a race. We take our time, just like we do when we pray, making the sign of the cross.
When we make the sign of the Cross we are proclaiming that we belong to God, and are followers of Christ. Just like in our baptism when we were blessed by the Priest: he made the sign of the cross not only with his hands, but also with the oil and chrism as it was placed on our bodies. The cross will never leave us and will always be with us.
As Orthodox Christians if we make the sign of the cross, it is our strongest protective covering that we have. I would like to leave you with one thought, Archbishop Anastasios says: the resurrection is not something that comes after the cross, but the resurrection is found in the cross.
So what does this mean? The cross is not simply a magic symbol, an evolution of the idols of old. The cross is a reminder of our journey as Christians. We are all called to take up our crosses and follow Christ. It is through this act of voluntary self sacrifice that we enter the joy of the resurrection. Through the actions of Christ, Sacrifice itself is now filled with the joy of the resurrection. The Cross is not a guarantee of an easy life filled with health and money. As mothers we face seemingly unending crosses and difficulties. Struggle after struggle. But through Christ all of these things can be transformed into joy. When Moses acts up, this is a chance to love him. When my husband is being needy, this is a chance to fight against our own egoism. In every moment and every struggle there is a deeper layer of joy that fills everything. Just think of Christ on the Cross, he is being killed.
What is Christ’s response. It is one of love. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do! Even the torture and pain of the cross becomes filled with a deep love that grants peace. God is with us. All we need to do is stop a minute and look for him and each cross we face in our lives become a joyful experience of the resurrection, an experience of love.
Let us remember these words by our Archbishop. Let us ask God to protect us, His people, by the power of the Cross. Let us struggle to live the words of the saints: “glory to God for all things!”