Back to the Cross...

The Cross is the sign of Christ's victory over death. The cross is the sign of life. It is the trellis upon which grows the Mystical Vine whose life is infinite joy and whose branches we are. If we want to share the life of that Vine, we must grow on the same trellis and must suffer the same pruning...

Christian asceticism does not provide a flight from the world, a refuge from stress and the distractions of manifold wickedness. It enables us to enter into the confusion of the world bearing something of the light of Truth in our hearts, and capable of exercising something of the mysterious, transforming power of the Cross, of love and sacrifice.

Thomas Merton, Seasons of Celebration, pp. 131-132

This Lent, more than any I can remember, I'm constantly being drawn back to the Cross. Things people say, even, random comments, scraps of text online, things I see, like the bars of windows, telephone poles, continually remind me.

The Cross is sign, yes, but more than a sign, just as a sacrament is a sign, but far more than just a sign. "Mysterious, transforming power" is what it is. I keep thinking of St. Francis' words, "We adore you most holy Lord, Jesus Christ... and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world."