Behold the Wood of the Cross

In the middle of the garden of Eden stood the "tree of life."  Of its fruit the first couple ate and thus allowed death  to enter the human experience.  Atop the hill called Golgotha another tree, the tree of the cross was the instrument of death for the author of life, yet through that death, life eternal became available to the human family.  In this afternoon's Liturgy of the Passion, the unveiling of the cross plays a central role as the chant, similar to this, "Behold, behold, the wood of the cross, on which is hung our salvation.  O come, O Come let us adore" is sung.  We are invited to venerate it and it occupies a central place in an otherwise stripped down church.
 If we do or don't attend the Liturgy, it would be good to take some time to venerate the cross at home, by taking it off the wall and holding it in our hands, looking carefully at it and thanking Jesus for using it to save us.  We might also sit in silence with it and let it speak to us as we listen attentively.  One would hope that this day of somber commemoration might be one spent in more that our usual contemplation and that our veneration of the cross might be a means to come to a deeper appreciation of the sufferings of Jesus.
Bro. Rene