PRAYER BEFORE A CRUCIFIX
If you would like to know God, LOOK AT THE CRUCIFIX! If you would like to love God, LOOK AT THE CRUCIFIX! If you want to serve God, LOOK AT THE CRUCIFIX! If you hope for eternal Happiness, LOOK AT THE CRUCIFIX! If you wonder how much God loves you, LOOK AT THE CRUCIFIX! If you wonder how He tries to prevent you from the yawning jaws of hell, LOOK AT THE CRUCIFIX! If you wonder how much He will help you to save your immortal soul, LOOK AT THE CRUCIFIX! If you wonder how much you should forgive others, LOOK AT THE CRUCIFIX! If you wonder how much your faith demands of you, in humility, poverty, charity, meekness and every virtue, LOOK AT THE CRUCIFIX! If you want to know what unselfishness and generosity are, LOOK AT THE CRUCIFIX! If you wonder how far your own unselfishness should go to bring others to Christ, LOOK AT THE CRUCIFIX! If you want to understand the need for self-denial and mortification, LOOK AT THE CRUCIFIX! If you wish to live well, LOOK AT THE CRUCIFIX! If you wish to die well, LOOK AT THE CRUCIFIX! + St. Thomas Aquinas, priest (1225-1274 A.D.)
Holy Cross
He himself bore our sins in His body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed. 1 Peter 2:24
“The cross is the glory of all the apostles, the crown of the martyrs, the sanctification of the saints.” + St. Theodore the Studite, bishop (759-826 A.D.)
“The cross is the Father’s will, the glory of the only begotten, the joy of the Spirit, the pride of the angels, the guarantee of the Church, Paul’s boast, the bulwark of the saints, and the light of the entire world.” + St. John Chrysostom, bishop (347-407 A.D.)
“Had there been no cross, death would not have been trodden underfoot, nor hell despoiled. Therefore, the cross is something wonderfully great and honorable.” + St. Andrew of Crete, bishop (650-712 A.D).
“The Catholic Church glories in every deed of Christ. Her supreme glory, however, is the cross.” + St. Cyril of Jerusalem, bishop (315-387 A.D.)
“No type of cruelty can tear down the religion established by the mystery of Christ’s cross.” + St. Leo the Great, pope (400-461 A.D.)
“For our sake Christ offered himself to the Father upon the altar of the cross.” + St. Thomas Becket, bishop (1118-1170 A.D.)
“In the cross there is no mingling of good and evil, as in the tree of paradise: it is wholly beautiful to behold and good to taste.” + St. Theodore the Studite, bishop (759-826 A.D.)
“Christ’s glory is his cross and his exaltation upon it, as he plainly says: When I have been lifted up, I will draw all men to myself.” + St. Andrew of Crete, bishop (650-712 A.D.)
“On the cross Christ effected a great exchange. There the purse containing the price to be paid for us was opened.” + St. Augustine, bishop (354-430 A.D.)
“The cross stands for Christ’s suffering because on it he freely suffered unto death. But it is also his trophy because it was the means by which the devil was wounded and death conquered.” + St. Andrew of Crete, bishop (650-712 A.D.)
“The cross is honorable because it is both the sign of God’s suffering and the trophy of his victory.” + St. Andrew of Crete, bishop (650-712 A.D.)
“The cross was the tree on which Christ, like a king on a chariot, destroyed the devil, the Lord of death, and freed the human race from his tyranny.” + St. Theodore the Studite, bishop (759-826 A.D.)
“The cross is our trophy raised against the demons, our sword against sin, and the sword of Christ used to pierce the serpent.” + St. John Chrysostom, bishop (347-407 A.D.)
“No one, however weak, is denied a share in the victory of the cross.” + St. Leo the Great, pope (400-461 A.D.)
“It was clear through unlearned men that the cross was persuasive, in fact, it persuaded the whole world.” + St. John Chrysostom, bishop (347-407 A.D.)
“No one should be ashamed of the cross of Christ, through which the world has been redeemed.” + St. Leo the Great, pope (400-461 A.D.)
“Anyone who refuses to admit the testimony of the cross is of the devil.” + St. Polycarp, bishop and martyr (69-155 A.D.)
“What is water without the cross of Christ? Only an ordinary element without sacramental effect.” + St. Ambrose, bishop (340-397 A.D.)
“My spirit is given over to the humble service of the cross which is a stumbling block to unbelievers but to us salvation and eternal life.” + St. Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr (35-98 A.D.)
“By the cross we, the sheep of Christ, have been gathered into one flock, destined for the sheepfolds of heaven.” + St. Theodore the Studite, bishop (759-826 A.D.)
“How marvelous the power of the cross; how great beyond all telling the glory of the passion: here is the judgment seat of the Lord, the condemnation of the world, the supremacy of Christ crucified.” + St. Leo the Great, pope (400-461 A.D.)
“You have observed Christ’s outstanding triumph, the splendid achievement of the cross.” + St. John Chrysostom, bishop (347-407 A.D.)
“The cross of Christ’s passion is his invitation to you who are the members of his body.” + St. Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr (35-98 A.D.)
“Whoever wishes to live perfectly should do nothing but disdain what Christ disdained on the cross and desire what he desired, for the cross exemplifies every virtue.” + St. Thomas Aquinas, priest (1225-1274 A.D.)
“God grant that our hearts may find no rest and seek no other food in this world, save in hardship and suffering beside the Lord’s cross.” + St. John of Avila, priest (1499-1569 A.D.)
