The Collect
O GOD, who by the passion of thy blessed Son hast made the instrument of shameful death to be unto us the sign of life and peace: Grant us so to glory in the Cross of Christ, that we may gladly suffer shame and loss, for the sake of the same thy Son our Lord.
Amen.
"
How splendid the cross of Christ! It brings life, not death;
light, not darkness; Paradise, not its loss. It is the wood on which
the Lord, like a great warrior, was wounded in hands and feet and
side, but healed thereby our wounds. A tree has destroyed us, a tree
now brought us life." (Theodore of Studios).
