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The Light of the World
The cross is the sign of our salvation. It was traced on our forehead and on our breast at the time
of our baptism. By this sign we are recognized as the disciples of the Crucified. “But it behooves us
to glory in the cross of our Lord, Jesus Christ, . . . by whom we are saved and delivered” (Introit).
The priest blesses us with the sign of the cross, and at this sign the devils are seized with
terror. By making use of the sign of the cross we receive grace, power, light, and strength. Our
forefathers in the faith would not begin a single task without first making the sign of the cross,
so deep was their faith in the power of this sign. Do we hold the sign of the cross in such high
esteem? Do we exalt the cross in our daily life? “In this sign you shall conquer.” There is no other
way to holiness, resurrection, and eternal life except the way of the cross.
Prayer
O God, who dost gladden us this day by the annual solemnity of the Exaltation of the Holy
Cross, grant, we beseech Thee, that as we have known its mystery on earth, we may deserve in
heaven the reward which it has purchased. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
September 15, The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Forty days after Christ’s birth, Mary carried Him to the temple of Jerusalem to present Him
to God. The aged Simeon blessed her and repeated the words of the prophet, “Behold this
child is set for the fall and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be
contradicted. And thy own soul a sword shall pierce” (Lk 2:34 f.). This prophecy is fulfilled in
Mary as she stands beneath the cross on Golgotha in an intimate union of suffering and pain
with her Son, who sacrificed Himself on the cross for sinners. For many centuries the liturgy
has honored Mary as Queen of Martyrs.
“At that time, there stood by the cross of Jesus, His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary of
Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen. When Jesus therefore had seen His mother and the disciple
standing whom He loved [ John], . . . He saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from
that hour the disciple took her to his own” (Gospel). Mary had waited a long time for the
fulfillment of Simeon’s prophecy. She was well acquainted with the words of the Psalmist.
She knew that her Son was the Son of God, who had become man that He might sacrifice
His life voluntarily for the salvation of men. Now that dread moment had come. Mary, who
was so intimately united to the Lord, was to take part in this work of salvation and share all
His sufferings with Him. Such was her vocation as His mother. God showed her no mercy,
as He had shown none to His Son. She could not depart from Calvary, but felt that she
must share His anguish and pain. His dishonor and sufferings were hers too, and she stood
beneath the cross to unite her own sacrifice with the sacrifice of Christ. She offered up to
the Father that which was most dear to her, her divine Son. She suffered unspeakably. In a
sense her desolation was complete when she heard her Son give her away to be the mother
of another: “Woman, behold thy son.”
From now on another man would call her mother, John, the son of Zebedee. Are the bonds
which bound her to the fruit of her womb to be torn asunder? Is it not enough that she has
shared the tortures and humiliation of her Son? No, she must also share His final desolation,
His abandonment by the Father: “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” (Mt 27:46.)
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