By the sign of the Cross, we confess the truth about God
Today is the Sunday of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross. In the very center of the Great Fast, we meditate on the sign of the Holy Cross, which conquers Hell and this world. By this sign, we always protect ourselves, and we teach our children to hope in this sign as well.
By the sign of the Cross, if we truly live according to the Mystery of the Cross, we fulfill the commandments of Christ. For example, how can we fulfill the first commandment? First and foremost, we pray. And how do we pray? How do we begin? By the sign of the cross: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. In this way, we express our trust in God. We trust that His Revelation is true. Truly, He is One God, Who is a unity of Three Divine Persons.
We recommend our works to God by the use of His Name
Not only does the sign of the cross express the truth, but, by it, we also pray in the Name of God. When, in the course of life, we have to accomplish important matters, it is often useful to recommend our task to some authority by mentioning the name of some important person. In this context, how helpful it is to be able to say: So and so sent me, or such and such a person recommended me to you. We know that no one is greater than God; thus, when we go before God in prayer, we use His Name, since there is no greater Name. This is what the Holy Apostle Paul tells us, when he proclaims that there is no greater Name in Heaven or on earth than the Name of the Lord Jesus. In fact, the saints used this Name to work the most astounding miracles. For example, Saint Christina used the Name of Jesus to flatten an enormous, evil army, and St. Benedict of Nursia, when his monks desired to kill him by poison, he discovered their plot by the sign of the Cross and the Name of the Holy Trinity, since, when he blessed the cup, it exploded and the drink, which contained the poison spilled out onto the floor. Therefore, when we pray in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we confess the truth about God, and we recommend ourselves to God by the use of His Name.
By the sign of the Cross, we fulfill the commandments of Christ
But, in order to fulfill the first commandment, we need to do more, since the Holy Apostle Paul tells us: “Whatever you do—do it in the Name of the Lord Jesus, praising God the Father through Him.” We should form the habit of doing everything with the sign of the Cross, for, in this way, the sign of God’s love for us will also become the sign of our love for God. All the details of our life become simple and yet profound, when we consecrate them in this way.
Our goal—the love of God
We always understand the obligations of the first commandment in light of the Great Commandment, which orders us to: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” We poor, poor human beings! Since the time that we were tiny children, we heard about our obligations to God and the Church—you have to go to church on Sunday; you have to pray morning and evening; you have to be obedient to the commandments. But no one ever told us we have to love God. Love for God is the meaning and reason for all the rest. If there is no love of God in us, then there is no good that can come from our presence in church, or from our prayers.
God made us to have every reason to love Him, just as we say in the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great: “Grant us Your love, Lord, our God, for You have given us everything.” He has given us everything, especially the most precious gift of the Incarnation of His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, His Crucifixion, His Suffering, His death, and His Resurrection on the third day, together with His abiding presence in the Most Holy Eucharist.
He has given us everything, but we are able to give one thing to Him: Our very being. This is our offering, which He will accept as long as it is offered with love. Only one thing is able to prevent our offering—selfishness.
Selfishness—the only obstacle
We really ought to think of this world as having only two energies and forces: the love of God and selfishness—worship of the true and only God and idolatry. It is clear that all idolatry is actually selfishness, because we never worship material things for their own sake, but always for the sake of the ways in which they can profit us. In this world there are a lot of idols, which are able to give us temporary profit, and to which we constantly cling as a result of our selfishness. But, the worship of the true God always involves suffering and mortification, because our God will not satisfy our temporal, material and carnal desires. Instead, He seeks to raise our minds above this world.
When we begin all our actions with the sign of the Cross, we lift our minds above this world to the contemplation of the truth of the Heavenly Kingdom
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