3rd Sunday of Great Lent: Adoration of the Cross

With the help of God, we have almost reached the middle of the course of the Fast, where our strength has been worn down through abstinence, and the full difficulty of the labor set before us becomes apparent. Therefore our holy Mother, the Church of Christ, now brings to our help the all-holy Cross, the joy of the world, the strength of the faithful, the staff of the just, and the hope of sinners, so that by venerating it reverently, we might receive strength and grace to complete the divine struggle of the Fast. The Cross of Christ is a sign of the absolute solidarity that God has with us.  He not only took on our flesh, He took into himself our suffering, our pain, and the feeling of abandonment we have at times.  The Cross is proof of God’s intimacy with our human condition. It is a gateway to the resurrected life brought to us at Holy Pascha.  We venerate it piously this day because it is our hope!

Rejoice, O life-bearing Cross, O bright paradise of the Church, O Tree of incorruption, thou who didst bring forth for us the enjoyment of glory everlasting, through whom the hosts of devils are driven out, the ranks of angels rejoice together, and the congregations of believers celebrate, O unconquerable weapon and impregnable foundation, the triumph of kings and the pride of Priests, grant us to apprehend the Passion of Christ and his Resurrection.
–Vespers of the Feast