September 14 – Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Below is found chapter sixteen of the Rule of St. Albert (of Jerusalem), given to the early founders of the Carmelite order.
[16] You are to fast every day, except Sunday, from the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross until Easter Day, unless bodily sickness or feebleness, or some other good reason, demand a dispensation from the fast; for necessity overrides every law.
Though Secular Discalced Carmelites do not practice this particular chapter of the rule, at the very least we may want to reflect upon the significance of the cross for our lives as Christians, especially as members of the Carmelite order.
Adoramus te, Christe, benedicimus tibi,
quia per crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,
because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Crucifixion with the Virgin and St. John (c. 1460)
Rogier van der Weyden, Escorial Palace, Madrid
Wikimedia Commons – Public Domain
Posted in Carmelite Spirituality