Power of the Holy Cross
Opinion
September 14 is the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. This feast is so important that it replaces Sunday when it falls on the Lord’s Day. For those of us baptised in the Catholic faith, our first ritual step into Christianity was the wordless reception of the symbol of the cross when the celebrant claimed us for Christ by tracing the sign on our forehead.
In the ritual for baptising infants, this moment might be overshadowed by the culmination of the three-fold immersion into the waters of eternal life. By contrast, in the preparation of adults for initiation, the first reception of the sign of the cross happens long before the rite of baptism and invites an opportunity for the individual and for all of us to deeply consider its significance.
We all start somewhere. Unbaptised adults interested in becoming Catholic Christians are simply inquirers. Once they have connected with a faith community, they begin sharing their story and hearing from us stories of how God is active in our lives. Once they and the community discern that they are prepared to begin a journey of apprenticeship in the Christian life, they enter a period of instruction called “the catechumenate”, after the Greek word for ‘instruction’. This transition is marked by a ritual called the Rite of Acceptance.
It is an interesting ritual that is centered on receiving the cross as a sign of God’s love and protection. Through this rite, the individuals become members of the household of faith. What does that mean exactly? As catechumens, these individuals now have the right to a Christian burial and can be married according to the Catholic Order of Matrimony. Usually, the rite happens at Mass. After the greeting, the celebrant goes out to meet the inquirers. There, they are asked for their names, why they have come, and if they are ready to begin a journey of following the way of the Gospel. The celebrant then asks the sponsors and the whole community if they are ready to help them find and follow Christ. Once the inquirers are assured of the community’s support, the celebrant traces a cross on their forehead with his thumb to strengthen them with this sign of Christ’s love.
The next part is optional but especially meaningful. The sponsors trace the sign of the cross on various parts of the body, claiming the whole person for Christ. Take a moment to read and reflect upon what it means to have each of these body parts marked by the cross:
Receive the sign of the cross on your ears, that you may hear the voice of the Lord.
Receive the sign of the cross on your eyes, that you may see the glory of God.
Receive the sign of the cross on your lips, that you may respond to the word of God.
Receive the sign of the cross over your heart, that Christ may dwell there by faith.
Receive the sign of the cross on your shoulders, that you may bear the gentle yoke of Christ.
Discipleship demands all of us, everything we do, including the work of our hands or, in this case, eyes, ears, lips, heart, and shoulders! This ritual claims the whole body for Christ. It invites the new catechumens, and all of us, to think about the way we live, both inside and outside of the church, with Christ in mind. On this feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, let us recall the power of the Holy Cross by which we were signed at baptism, accept its protection, and honour it with the living out of our baptism in discipleship and mission.
Simone Brosig is pastoral leader of Community Life and Worship.
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