The Victory of Love

We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You,
for by Your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

The world can seem a very dark place sometimes.  Sin and sorrow and suffering weigh down each one of us.  But from the midst of these trials, there is hope beyond hope, because the love and mercy of Jesus have triumphed.

Since the time of Adam and Eve's sin long ago, humanity has been under the control of sin and death.  On its own, humanity was powerless against it.  In our experience these forces seemed to have the last word.

In His infinite mercy and love, God sent His Son into our world to be our Redeemer.  He took on our human nature, and took on the consequences of our sin.  In His Passion and Death, Jesus took upon Himself all those forces of darkness that overwhelm us, in all of their crushing weight.  And the Love that took on the Cross was stronger than all the world's miseries that were piled on it that Good Friday.

In the Old Testament Song of Songs, it says "Love is strong as death." (8:6)  But in the New Covenant, Jesus, who is Love Incarnate, is stronger than death, because He not only died for love us, He rose from the dead.  Here is One who embraced the consequences of our sin, yet was not conquered by them.  Suffering and death are no longer the most powerful, unrelenting force known to man.  Love is -- Love that was willing to suffer and die, and powerful enough to rise.

"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" (1 Corinthians 15:55)  Yes, we still have to suffer the consequences of original sin, but they no longer have dominion over us, provided that we unite ourselves more and more to Jesus and His infinite love.  Even when we suffer, even in times of pain and confusion and uncertainty, when everything is falling apart and nothing makes sense, the victory of Love on the Cross shows us that there is hope.  Even in the midst of darkness, God's love is stronger than anything that can be thrown at it.

This is the triumph of the Holy Cross.