Friday in the Second Week of Easter

We pray Friday in the second week of Easter with a Morning Offering and a reading from Saint Theodore the Studite that praises the Cross as the Tree of Life. We meditate on how the Cross overturns sin and death, fulfills the signs of Scripture, and draws us back toward paradise with Christ. 
• Opening prayers and the Morning Offering through the Immaculate Heart of Mary 
• The Cross as precious gift and Tree of Life that brings light and return 
• Christ as king and warrior who defeats the devil and heals our wounds 
• The great reversal: death into life, shame into glory, pride into true wisdom 
• Old Testament figures that foreshadow the Cross: Noah, Moses, Aaron, Abraham 
• The Cross as glory of the apostles, crown of martyrs, sanctification of saints 
• Closing prayer, Sacred Heart devotion, and Marian intercessions 
If you found this time of prayer and reflection fruitful and would like more opportunities to grow in your faith, consider joining the Cristeros and purchasing our publications now available on Amazon.com. The Cristeros app is available on the Apple app and Google Play Store. More information on the Cristeros can be found at theCristeros.org. 

Transcript

Saint Theodore On The Cross

Old Testament Signs Of The Cross

The Cross And Our New Life

Closing Prayer And Dismissal

Invitation To Join Cristeros

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Friday in the second week of Easter. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day, in union with the holy sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, for the remission of my sins, for the intentions of my family and friends, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen. From a sermon by Saint Theodore the Studite. How precious the gift of the cross, how splendid to contemplate. In the cross there is no mingling of good and evil, as in the tree of paradise. It is wholly beautiful to behold and good to taste. The fruit of this tree is not death but life, not darkness but light. This tree does not cast us out of paradise, but opens the way for our return. This was the tree on which Christ, like a king on a chariot, destroyed the devil, the Lord of death, and freed the human race from his tyranny. This was the tree upon which the Lord, like a brave warrior, wounded in his hands, feet, and side, healed the wounds of sin that the evil serpent had inflicted on our nature. A tree once caused our death, but now a tree brings life. Once deceived by a tree, we have now repelled the cunning serpent by a tree. What an astonishing transformation! That death should become life, that decay should become immortality, that shame should become glory. Well might the Holy Apostle exclaim, Far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. The supreme wisdom that flowered on the cross has shown the folly of worldly wisdom's pride. The knowledge of all good, which is the fruit of the cross, has cut away the shoots of wickedness. The wonders accomplished through this tree were foreshadowed clearly, even by the mere types and figures that existed in the past. Meditate on these, if you are eager to learn. Was it not the wood of a tree that enabled Noah, at God's command, to escape the destruction of the flood, together with his sons, his wife, his sons' wives, and every kind of animal? And surely the rod of Moses prefigured the cross when it changed water into blood, swallowed up the false serpents of Pharaoh's magicians, divided the sea at one stroke, and then restored the waters to their normal course, drowning the enemy and saving God's own people. Aaron's rod, which blossomed in one day in proof of his true priesthood, was another figure of the cross. And did not Abraham foreshadow the cross when he bound his son Isaac and placed him on the pile of wood? By the cross, death was slain, and Adam was restored to life. The cross is the glory of all the apostles, the crown of the martyrs, the sanctification of the saints. By the cross we put on Christ and cast aside our former self. By the cross, we, the sheep of Christ, have been gathered into one flock, destined for the sheepfolds of heaven. A tree of priceless value stands in the center of paradise. By his own death on this tree, our Savior overcame death for us. Alleluia. Among the cedars of the forest, this one surpasses all the others. By his own death on this tree, our Savior overcame death for us. O God, hope and light of the sincere, we humbly entreat you to dispose our hearts to offer you worthy prayer and ever to extol you by dutiful proclamation of your praise. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen. Let us praise the Lord and give him thanks. All that I have and all that I am I give to your hands, Jesus, through the heart of Mary, your blessed mother. Amen. Sacred heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. If you found this time of prayer and reflection fruitful and would like more opportunities to grow in your faith, consider joining the Crister's and purchasing our publications now available on Amazon.com. The Cristeros app is available on the Apple app and Google Play Store. More information on the Cristeros can be found at dCristeros.org.