Cross (religion)

“ Oh, my brethren, that the cross should be the great symbol of our highest measure, that that which stands for consecration, that that which stands for the divine statement that a man does not live for himself and that a man loses himself when he does live for himself—that that should be the symbol of our religion and the great sign and token of our faith? ”

“ Nor without embracing the cross at least in heart and affection, can any one belong to the religion of Christ. Upon entering life we are marked with the cross; through the various vicissitudes thereof our every step is encountered by it—go whithersoever thou wilt and thou shalt find it impossible to escape the cross—and it accompanies us even unto death and the grave. For a Christian dieth pressing the cross to his lips; and the cross is engraven upon his tomb that it may bear witness of his faith and hope. ”

“ There is always the shadow of the cross resting upon the Christian's path. Is that a reason why you should avoid or not undertake the duty? Have you made up your mind that you will follow your Master everywhere else, save when he ascends the path that leads to the cross? Is that your religion? The sooner you change it, the better. The religion of the Lord Jesus Christ is the religion of the cross, and unless we take up our cross, we can never follow Him.—W. Hay Aitken. [63] ”

“ This sacred sign of the cross is a means of reminding us of the two great and most important truths of our holy religion, the Unity and Trinity of God, and the incarnation and death of Jesus Christ, which two mysteries are the sum of all Christian knowledge; for there are two things in this life which it is chiefly important to know - our last end, for which we were created, to which all our desires ought to tend, and in which our true and perfect happiness is only to be found ”

“ Let us carry about the cross of Christ as a crown, and let no one blush at the ensign of salvation. By it is every thing in religion done: the cross is employed if a person is regenerated, or fed with the mystical food, or ordained ”

“ And what is the moral of the real, as distinguished from the imaginary, history of the symbol of the cross but this: that from the beginning nought has caused the beliefs of men to assume an appearance of radical difference, save the difference in the name or dress with which this or that set of men have clothed similar ideas?
For, as has already been hinted, Humanity has ever had but one God and but one Religion. ”

“ IV. Finally, the atonement of the cross stamps its own character and spirit on the entire ethics of Christianity. The Fatherhood of God, the unity and solidarity of mankind, the issues of eternal life or death [319] awaiting us in the unseen world—all the great factors and fundamentals of revealed religion gather about the cross of Christ; they lend to it their august significance, and gain from it new import and impressiveness. ”

“ Jesus tells us to take up the cross and follow him, to bear submissively the lot apportioned out to us. No one hears his words or follows his command. But let a man in a uniform decked out with gold lace, a man whose speciality is to kill his fellows, say, "Take, not your cross, but your knapsack and carbine, and march to suffering and certain death,"—and a mighty host is ready to receive his orders. ”

“ XI. Nor is a recluse life, the boasted righteousness of some, much more commendable, or one whit nearer to the nature of the true cross: for if it be not unlawful as other things are, it is unnatural, which true religion teaches not. ”

“ Thus the Catholic Church, with respect to the natural order of things, teaches about God and the final blessedness of man, nought save what is most reasonable and intelligible.
If we next call to mind the picture which I drew of the Triumph of the Cross, we shall see that Christians, in confessing the faith of Christ, show the truest wisdom. For, the necessity of the existence of some religion in the world cannot be denied, when man’s natural tendency to [206] religion—the means whereby blessedness is attained—is taken into account. ”

“ They are said to cherish a high regard for the Christian religion, of which clearly they have some corrupt remains. They practise the rite of baptism, make the sign of the cross, so emblematical of Christianity in the East, put off their shoes, and kiss the threshold when they enter a Christian church ”

“ This gives to the cross all its glory and efficacy. It is on the supreme Deity of Christ—on the expiation made for sin by the Maker and Sovereign of worlds—that the whole fabric of evangelical truth rests. On any other supposition, the sacrifice of the cross was a very ordinary affair. If the Saviour of sinners be not God—if he be a created being, of whatever grade,—where is the mystery of Godliness?—Where those unfathomable depths of divine love, into which the angels desire to look? ”

“ Well, we do the same through the Christian's glorious standard, which is the sacred symbol of the cross. Be it of wood or of the most precious metal—be it the production of the most unskilful or the most cunning workman—it is for us the symbol of man's redemption, and around it cluster our most tender feelings of veneration and love. It is placed over our altars, over our churches; it hangs in our rooms; where Catholic feelings can save it from insult, it is raised up in the highways, and is made to meet our eyes wherever we turn. ”

“ You must understand (as I have already touched) that there is no man that goeth to heaven but he must go by the cross. The cross is the standing way-mark by which all they that go to glory must pass.
"We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of heaven." "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." If thou art in thy way to the kingdom, my life for thine thou wilt come at the cross shortly (the Lord grant thou dost not shrink at it, so as to turn thee back again) . ”

“ Only by suffering could suffering be assuaged; only by dying could death itself be conquered. The cross is therefore the symbol of peace, of power, of triumph. There the law was fulfilled and magnified, the integrity of the Divine perfections vindicated, justice was satisfied, mercy found its most bounteous outlet, and love its crowning joy. The cross is the source of every blessing to the fallen; the centre round which a disordered universe again revolves in beauteous order and rejoicing harmony ”

“ All are a wakened, are revived, and seized again at its glance. No wonder, then, that the Catholic loves the cross; that he loves to prostrate himself in adoration before it; that he looks to it when he seeks consolation in suffering, support in affliction, light in his difficulties, purity of spirit in his joys. ”

“ All we can say, and especially in so narrow a compass, will fall far beneath the dignity and sublimity of it. We shall only remind you, with simplicity and plainness, that the cross of Christ is the fulfilment of divine purposes and predictions--the sum of the Gospel--the salvation of sinners--the conquest of all enemies--the foundation of hope--the ground of triumph--the display of the divine perfections--and the grand incentive to holiness. ”

“ Well for thee, O cross, which hast put on the Lord, hast gathered in the robber, hast called the apostle to repentance, and hast not deemed us unworthy to be received by thee! But why do I speak yet so long and allow not the cross to embrace me, in order to be raised to life in the cross, when I, through the cross, have gone from life to death, which is the lot of all? Come then, servants of my joy and beadles of Aegeates, and fulfill the wish of both of us and bind the lamb to the cross of suffering, the man to the demiurge, the soul to the Saviour! ”

“ Dear children, I have had much sorrow since we last met and talked of the joys of heaven—a beloved brother has, I trust, through Christ’s merits, joined the bright hosts rejoicing there. But should not I meekly bear the cross which my heavenly Father sees good to send me? To every one passing through this life is given a cross—a trial to bear. To some it is so light that they scarcely feel it; with others so heavy that it bows them to the dust. Each of you knows, or will know, its weight. But let none be afraid nor cast down. The cross prepares for the crown. ”

“ The view of Jesus Christ, said a great servant of God, makes the cross so sweet, that it seems to me impossible to be happy without it. I feel disposed to remain all my life without any consolation, even spiritual. The love of Jesus Christ is everything to me. The cross has its charms, and whoever loves Jesus Christ perfectly, finds ineffable delight in crosses. ”

“ And is it poslible for any human heart to contemplate the cross of so divine a Being, and not to glory? is it possible to say, Angels, he rules over you; but he died, he died on a cross for meː and not exult in such transporting beneficence?———This will be more evident, if we examine,
III. What reason the apostle had to glory in the cross of Christ. The cross, though in itself an ignominious tree; yet, being the cross of Christ, is infinitely ennobled. It becomes the tree of life; it bears the divine fruit; its clusters are all spiritual and heavenly blessings. ”

“ Indeed, the better Christians, the better men we are, the more will Christ’s cross fill us with thoughts which nothing else can give us; thoughts which we are glad enough, often, to forget and put away; so bitterly do they remind us of our own laziness, selfishness, and love of pleasure.
But still, the cross is our sign. It is God’s everlasting token to us, that he has told us Christians something about himself which none of the wisest among the heathen knew; which infidels now do not know; which nothing but the cross can teach to men. ”

“ When it is not only indulged, but cherished as a luxury, it soon becomes sinful. When the mourner persists in nursing his woe, and feeds it with melancholy reflections in silence and seclusion, heeding neither the dissuasives of friendship nor the solacements of religion, he despises his own mercy and injures his own soul. Remember your departed friends with tenderness, but let your sorrow be subdued and holy, and aid the healing art of Nature with the balm of grace to shorten as much as may be the term of its continuance. ”

“ We should expect no share in the fruits of Christ’s death, unless we participate in the work of his life. The cross is a meaningless symbol until we approach it over the pathway of humility, trust, self-denial and obedience. ”

“ The cross he bears is painful, heavy, and unjust, and yet he cheerfully carries it, inviting thee to carry your cross after him to Paradise. No cross will ever be so weighty or painful for thee as Jesus’ was. Wilt thou, then, refuse to accept it from his hands? Wilt thou shrink from bearing it in his company? Without the cross the way to heaven is not open to thee; without the cross thou canst not be a follower of Jesus. Courage, then, and follow in his footsteps with cheerfulness. Do not fear that he will not lighten its weight; he will cheer thee and assist thee. ”

“ Painting, music, poetry, sculpture. They are the soul of life, I think. What should we do without them? Think if we had only in life the Church, dusters and the poor!"
Everest laughed, and so did she. "It does sound an awful combination! Yes, I think with you art is the one thing that brings a little heaven on earth. It is the only true religion, the only true elevator of that poor wretch—man. I am never so happy, and I never feel so good and so charitable, as when I am painting."
"Do you paint?" asked Regina, with a fiery interest in her glowing eyes. ”

“ Whenever the missionaries of the church have abandoned country and friends, taken their lives in their hands, and penetrated into the remotest wilds of the savage, in order to "preach the Gospel to every creature," the holy cross, with its divine associations, has always led the way, beckoning them on in their great life-work of love, mercy, and Christianity. ”

“ Here truth, more unshaken than a rock, takes her immoveable stand: and mercy, tenderer than the mother's tears, yearns with bowels of everlasting pity. In a word, the cross of Christ is a conspicuous theatre, on which all the divine perfections unite, and harmonize, and shire forth with transcendent lustre. ”

“ Almighty God, whose beloved Son willingly endured the agony and shame of the cross for our redemption: Give us courage to take up our cross and follow him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. ”

“ Surely the cross is that wonder-working rod which can bring water out of a rock. If you understand the full meaning of the divine sacrifice of Jesus, you must repent of ever having been opposed to One who is so full of love. ”

“ So deep, so close is this union, that I am actually and properly possessed of all the blessings which our head Christ Jesus has diffused through all his members, whether men, or angels, in heaven and earth. And the effect of this inward love is patience, by which a man readily and willingly takes up his cross, as a preparation for very exalted gifts of God. For no cross comes without its special grace. ”

“ Hence we learn that the saints in all ages have esteemed the reproach of the cross of Christ as their greatest treasure. And we may depend upon it, that no man can be admitted to the joys of the next world, who has not fought manfully under the banner of the cross in this world. How can we imagine that those blessed spirits will own us to be of their company in heaven, if we did not bring with us the sign of the cross? ”

“ Through his cross we enjoy the favour of God, which is better than life. His love is manifested to us through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The cross of Christ procures our spiritual life—We are raised from a death in trespasses and sins, in consequence of the Redeemer's death for us. The end of his dying for us, we are assured, was, that we might live unto God; that divine life might be imparted to us from the living head. ”