The Weapon of Peace

On the Sunday after the Exaltation of the Cross, Abp. Irineos discusses how the Gospel reading today shifts us from the Feast's veneration where we are called to fall down before the cross in worship to Christ's command that if we are to follow Him we must first deny ourselves and take up our own cross.  This forbearance calls us to patiently endure our own afflictions, fight against the passions, forgive those who have wounded us, and to preach the Gospel in a world that may mock or persecute us.  The Cross does not belong just to Christ, but to all Christians who seek to follow Him.