Cross Raised For World To See — The cross is raised and appears above the earth which until recently malice had kept hidden. It is raised, not to receive glory — for with Christ nailed to it what greater glory could it have? — but to give glory to God who is worshiped on it and proclaimed by it.
It is not surprising that the church rejoices in the cross of Christ and robes herself in festal clothes, revealing her bridal beauty as she honors this day. Nor is it surprising that this great throng of people has gathered together today to see the cross exposed aloft and to worship Christ whom they see raised upon it. For the cross is exposed in order to be raised and is raised to be exposed.
What cross? The cross, which a little while ago was hidden in a placed called “the Skull” but now is everywhere adored. This is what we rejoice over today; this is what we celebrate; this is the point of the present feast; this is the manifestation of the mystery.
For this hidden and life-giving cross had to be exposed, set on hight like a city on a hill or a lamp on a stand, for all the world to see.
Saint Andrew of Crete
Today, Sept. 10, is the Sunday before the Exaltation of the Cross, which is Sept. 14. Saint Andrew was the bishop of Gortineia in Crete from the late 600s to his death in the early 700s.
