The Exaltation of the Cross

O Holy and Sacred Wood!

We should glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, for he is our salvation, our life and our resurrection; through him we are saved and made free.

God's work of salvation stands human expectations on their head: humility is exaltation, wounds are healing and death is life.

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world (Gal.6:14).

May I never desire any other treasure than his poverty, any other joys than his sufferings and any other love than He Himself.

Brother Vincent-Francis FSD
(A priest by and through the Grace of God)

Thank you Fr. Vince Inghilterra!

Exaltation of the Cross

Prayer in Honor of Christ's Cross

Christ our God,...
we adore your holy cross
while we say:
the cross is a weapon which does not fail;
the cross is a stronghold which does not fall;
the cross dispersed the people of the Jews;
the cross gathered together the nations;
the cross put to shame the unbelievers;
the cross crowned the martyrs;
the cross reconciled those in heaven
with those on earth.

Therefore, Lord,
by your cross pardon our offenses;
by your cross forgive our faults;
by your cross guard our churches;
by your cross exalt our monasteries.
Make us and our departed brothers and sisters
worthy to worship you
on the day of your manifestation,
that we may be protected beneath the wings of your cross.
And we will offer praise and thanksgiving
to you and your Father and your Holy Spirit
now and forever.

- Syrian Orthodox Church

New Saint Joseph People's Prayer Book, Catholic Book Publishing Co.

What is a Cruifixion?

Painting by Thomas Eakins

Thanks Barb!

C. Truman Davis, M.D.,
in The Expositor's Bible Commentary writes:

What is Crucifixion?
A medical doctor provides a physical description:

The cross is placed on the ground and the exhausted man is quickly
thrown backwards with his shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire
feels for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy,
square wrought-iron nail through the wrist deep into the wood. Quickly
he moves to the other side and repeats the action, being careful not to
pull the arms too tightly, but to allow some flex and movement. The
cross is then lifted into place. The left foot is pressed backward
against the right foot, and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail
is driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees flexed. The victim
is now crucified.

As he slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in the wrists,
excruciating fiery pain shoots along the fingers and up the arms to
explode in the brain -- the nails in the wrists are putting pressure on
the median nerves. As he pushes himself upward to avoid this stretching
torment, he places the full weight on the nail through his feet. Again
he feels the searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves
between the bones of his feet.

As the arms fatigue, cramps sweep through his muscles, knotting them
deep relentless, and throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the
inability to push himself upward to breathe. Air can be drawn into the
lungs but not exhaled. He fights to raise himself in order to get even
one small breath.

Finally, carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream,
and the cramps partially subsided. Spasmodically, he is able to push
himself upward to exhale and bring in life-giving oxygen.

Hours of limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-renting cramps,
intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain as tissue is torn from
his lacerated back as he moves up and down against rough timber. Then
another agony begins: a deep, crushing pain deep in the chest as the
pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart.

It is now almost over. The loss of tissue fluids has reached a critical
level. The compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish
blood into the tissues. The tortured lungs are making frantic effort to
gasp in small gulps of air. He can feel the chill of death creeping
through his tissues.

Finally, he allows his body to die!