The Cross. It's tempting to not be scandalized by "the brand" of our faith when it's grown so familiar. Crosses are ubiquitous, adorning our walls as decorations and our bodies as jewelry. But for the early Christians, the Cross was the instrument of brutal, humiliating torture, and no one would adorn themselves with a cross willingly.
Jesus took on the Cross to save the human race. "Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life" (John 3:15).
Today's feast celebrates this great mystery in the life of Christ: not even the instrument of the most painful death, the Cross, has final power over God!
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your Cross you have redeemed the world!
Why Did Jesus Have to Die on a Cross?
Watch this lesson from Bishop Barron addressing why Jesus died the way he did: