When you wake up in the morning, what is the first thing you should do? Every day should begin by doing the Sign of the Cross. Each time we do the Sign of the Cross we remember that our Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross so that we can be with Him in Heaven. The cross also reminds us that He will come again. Our Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross because He loves us!
THE POWER OF THE HOLY CROSS The Holy Cross is like having your own super power. The Cross keeps you safe, it keeps the devil away from you, it helps you when you are scared or taking a test or when you think about doing something wrong. The Cross protects you! The Cross also blesses you! You should do the sign of the cross when you wake up, before you pray, before you eat. When you go in the car, before you enter the school bus, when you go into school, before you enter the Church and before you sleep. Soon you will find yourself doing the sign of the Cross throughout the day and each time remembering that our Lord Jesus Christ is with us each time, keeping Christ always in our heart. Why Orthodoxy gives such importance to the Cross? The emphasis of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me“ (Mat. 10:38) “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Mat. 16: 24)
Our fathers the Apostles emphasized the Lord's crucifixion in their preaching; as St. Paul says: “..We preach Christ crucified” (1 Cor. 1: 23) “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1Cor. 2: 2) He means that the cross is the only subject he wants to know. The cross was the object of the Apostles’ glory St. Paul the Apostle says: “But God forbid that I should Glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal. 6: 14). When we make the sign of the cross, we remember many of its divine and spiritual meanings: We remember God's love for us, who for the sake of our Salvation accepted to die for us. When we make the sign of the cross, we confess that we belong to the Crucified. In making the sign of the cross, we confess our belief in the Holy Trinity. We say: “In the name of The Father and of The Son and of The Holy Spirit. One God. Amen”
Every time we make the sign of the cross we remember His death and will remember Him till He comes. In making the sign of the cross, we remember that the penalty of sin is death and that Christ gave us new life. We make the sign of the cross because it gives us power “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1Cor. 1: 18). Therefore, when we make the sign of the cross and when we mention the cross, we are filled with power because we remember that, through the cross, the Lord trod upon death, granted life to all people, defeated and overcame Satan. In making the sign of the cross, we receive a blessing. The whole world was cursed and under the penalty of death. But on the Cross the Lord carried all our curses to give us the blessing of reconciliation with God (Rom. 5: 10). The blessing of the new pure life; the blessing of membership in His body. All the graces of the New Testament are derived from the cross. That is why the clergymen use the cross in giving the blessing, signifying that the blessing does not come from them personally but from the Cross of the Lord who entrusted it to them to use in giving the blessing. In addition, they use the cross because they derive their priesthood from the Priesthood of the Crucified. The cross is used in all the holy Sacraments in Christianity. All the Sacraments sprang from the merit of Christ's blood on the Cross. We carry Christ's cross because it reminds us of His Second Coming “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matt.24: 30). Let us venerate the cross, the sign of the Son of Man, now on earth as long as we expect to see it in heaven when He comes on the clouds of heaven at His great Coming. Try to memorize the following verses from the doxology of the Cross
Hail to you O Cross the sign of Salvation Hail to you O Cross the shining light
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