Autumn is upon us with its mix of weather: recent days
there's been warmth and coolness, rain, clouds and sun. The earth is adjusting and so are we, at least liturgically. Judging by the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church we are
near the end of the liturgical year with the First Sunday of Advent only a few weeks away. Some churches, like the Maronites in
particular, mark this time of the liturgical year by counting weeks after the
Exaltation of the Cross in a time called the Season of the Cross. This particular season of the Maronite liturgical calendar prepares us to account for our lives by looking to our personal final victory through prayer, fasting, waiting, and conversion of life. The rich liturgical theology of the Maronite Church ought to draw us more closely to the glory of the Lord's right side in an attitude of gratitude for all things in life.
You'll hear Maronite liturgical theology speak of
Jesus' Cross as "the Cross of Light," the symbol -the reality-- par excellence of
the victorious Son of Man and Son of God. The cross of is that primary sign by
which Jesus Christ, Our Lord, becomes for us the victor over death and opens
the gates of heaven for our entrance into blessedness with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
The Maronite Church
prayed today: When you shall appear on the last day the sign of the cross shall
shine brighter than the sun, enable us, your worshipers, to enter your kingdom
of light, and glorify and thank you, O Christ, with your father, and your Holy
Spirit, now and forever.
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