Introduction Theology Uncorked is a faith formation series of - PDF document

Introduction  Theology Uncorked is a faith formation series of presentations  Spiritual formation is as much a part of our overall faith formation as catechesis  This year ’ s Theology Uncorked series will focus on the Cross with the intention that meditation on the Cross will provide seeds for further reflection and meditation later on Presentation 1: Veneration of the Cross  Why venerate the Cross? (What does – and what should – the Cross mean to us?) o What the Cross is – literally  Instrument of torture/execution  Widespread use in antiquity, especially in the pre-Christian Roman Empire o What the Cross is – figuratively/spiritually  Altar of the Sacrifice  Key to the Kingdom  Throne of the Lord  Cross vs. crucifix ( show-and-tell )  History of the Cross o St. Helen  Mother of the first Christian Roman emperor, Constantine  Edict of Milan, 315 AD  Legalization of Christianity  Jerusalem pilgrimage in 326 AD  True cross was found  Site of Golgotha was identified, excavated, and preserved in a newly- constructed church  Other relics pertaining to the Passion found/recovered (e.g. the steps of the Praetorium of Pontius Pilate, now preserved in the Chapel of the Sancta Scala near St. John Lateran Basilica in Rome)  Often depicted in iconography and religious art holding a cross o Relics of the true Cross  Sign of the Cross o This refers to various manual acts, liturgical or devotional in character, which have at least one commonality: the gesture of tracing two lines intersecting at right angles indicate symbolically the figure of the Cross of Christ o The most common Sign of the Cross is tracing the Cross from forehead to breast and then from shoulder to shoulder, such as Catholics are taught when they begin their prayers, and such also as the priest makes at the foot of the altar when he begins Mass with the words: “In the N ame of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” ( demonstrate this action ) o Another kind of Sign of the Cross is that made by bishops and priests in blessing persons or material objects; this occurs many times in the liturgy of the Mass and in nearly all the ritual offices associated with the Sacraments and sacramentals o A third variety is represented by the little cross, generally made with the thumb, which the priest or deacon traces for example upon the Book of the Gospels and

then upon his own forehead, lips, and breast at Mass, as also upon the forehead of the infant in Baptism and upon the forehead and hands in Anointing of the Sick, etc. o Of all the above methods of venerating the Cross and adopting it as an emblem, the marking of a little cross seems to be the most ancient  There is positive evidence in the early Fathers that such a practice was familiar to Christians in the 2 nd Century (Tertullian: “ In all our travels and movements, in all our coming in and going out, in putting of our shoes, at the bath, at the table, in lighting our candles, in lying down, in sitting down, whatever employment occupies us, we mark our foreheads with the Sign of the Cross.”)  This must soon have passed into a gesture of benediction (St. Cyril of Jerusalem : “L et us then not be ashamed to confess the Crucified. Be the Cross our seal, made with boldness by our fingers on our brow and in everything; over the bread we eat and the cups we drink, in our comings and in goings; before our sleep, when we lie down and when we awake; when we are trave lling, and when we are at rest.”) o The development of this veneration seems to have been the following  The Cross was originally traced by Christians with the thumb or finger on their own foreheads; this practice is attested by numberless allusions in Patristic literature, and it was clearly associated, at least in the basic idea, with certain references in Scripture, notably Ez 9:4 (of the mark of the letter Tau); Ex 17:9-14; and especially Rev 7:3, 9:4, and 14:1  The custom of marking a Cross on objects had hardly been recorded in history when already we hear of the Sign of the Cross being traced on the lips and on the heart  If the object were more remote, the cross which was directed towards it was made in the air  All this obviously leads up to the suggestion of a larger cross made over the whole body o The use of two fingers (the forefinger and middle finger, or thumb and forefinger) is common, typifying the two natures and two wills in Jesus Christ; at a somewhat later date, throughout the greater part of the East, three fingers, or rather the thumb and two fingers were displayed, while the ring and little finger were folded back upon the palm (the two held to symbolize the two natures or wills in Christ, while the extended three denoted the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity) o ( demonstrate how I make a Sign of the Cross on myself and then again as a blessing on the people )  The effects of grace and power attributed by the Church at all times to the use of the Sign of the Cross cannot be overstated o From the earliest period, the Sign of the Cross has been employed in all exorcisms and conjurations as a weapon against the spirits of darkness o The Sign of the Cross is just as consistently used in the ritual of the Sacraments and in every form of blessing and consecration  Stations of the Cross o Some are scriptural; others are not – yet all are traditional o In Jerusalem, seven of the fourteen Stations are still preserved very near (if not exactly at) where they actually took place  The Five Sacred Wounds (the Stigmata )

o One in each hand/wrist o One in each foot/ankle o One in the side o The Stigmata  The Five Sacred Wounds (some or perhaps even all of the Five) mystically appearing on the body of a faithful Christian  Notable saints known to have suffered the Stigmata (some, if not all, of the Five Wounds)  St. Francis of Assisi  St. Gertrude  St. Catherine of Siena  St. Frances of Rome  St. Colette  St. Rita of Cassia  St. John of God  St. Margaret Mary Alacoque  St. Pio of Pietrelcina (aka “Padre Pio”)  Triduum Veneration of the Cross o Good Friday (the second celebration of the three-part liturgy of the Sacred Triduum) o NOTE: This is not Mass (the only day in the liturgical year when there is never a Mass) o Three parts  Liturgy of the Word  Veneration of the Cross  Holy Communion (NOTE: Eucharist consecrated the night before) o ( description of the church for this commemoration and why that is significant )