Third Sunday of the Great Lent: Adoration of the Cross.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to the Apostle and Evangelist Saint Mark (Mk 8:34–9:1).

“Calling the crowd together with his disciples, he said to them:

‘If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel will save it.

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?

For what can a man give in return for his soul?

Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.’

And he said to them:

‘Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Kingdom of God come with power.’”.

Homily.

Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, grace to you and peace from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

At the heart of the Great Lent, the Holy Church places before us the mystery of the Cross. On this third Sunday, known as the Sunday of the Adoration of the Cross, the precious wood is solemnly brought to the center of the assembly and venerated by the faithful. This is not merely a symbolic gesture: it is a profoundly theological and spiritual act. Just as the Tree of Life stood in the midst of Paradise, so the Cross is placed at the center of the Lenten journey, reminding us that the heart of our faith is not simply a moral teaching, but the saving work of Christ crucified and risen. It becomes refreshment for those wearied by fasting, consolation for those engaged in spiritual struggle, and light for those seeking the path toward Pascha.

The Apostle, in the Letter to the Hebrews (Heb 4:14–5:6), invites us to contemplate Christ as our great High Priest: “Since we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.” The priesthood of Christ is unique, because He does not offer something external to Himself—He offers Himself. He is not only the priest, but also the victim. His Cross is the true altar upon which the reconciliation between God and humanity is accomplished. The author of the epistle insists on a deeply consoling truth: Christ is not distant from our condition, but “has been tested in every respect as we are, yet without sin.” He knows the fatigue, the pain, the temptation, and the suffering of the human person. For this reason we may “approach the throne of grace with confidence.” That throne of grace is precisely the Cross, where divine mercy is revealed in its fullness.

The Fathers of the Church contemplated this mystery as the very heart of salvation. Saint Athanasius of Alexandria affirms: “The Word of God became man so that we might become participants in the divine life” (De Incarnatione, 54). In the Cross this wondrous exchange reaches its culmination: the Son of God takes upon Himself our death so that we may receive His life. In this sense, the Cross is not simply the place of Christ’s suffering, but the place of our deification, our healing, and our restoration.

It is precisely in the Gospel according to Mark (Mk 8:34–9:1) that we enter into the depths of this mystery. After announcing His Passion, the Lord calls the crowd and the disciples and pronounces decisive words for the Christian life: “If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” Here we understand that the Cross concerns not only Christ—it concerns every disciple. To follow Christ means to enter into His very path. The denial of self is not a rejection of the human person, but liberation from the selfishness that closes the heart to grace. It is the passage from the old man to the new.

The Lord then adds a word that completely overturns the logic of the world: “Whoever would save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel will save it.” In these words the profound truth of the Cross is revealed: life is found in the gift of oneself. The human person seeks to possess, to hold, to defend; Christ instead teaches us to give, to love, and to offer. Only in this way does life become full. As Saint John Chrysostom writes: “The Cross is the hope of Christians, the resurrection of the dead, the guide of the blind and the support of the weak” (Homily on the Cross and the Thief, 1). It is the place where weakness becomes strength and death becomes victory.

The Fathers also remind us that the Cross is not only a past event, but a daily path. Saint Isaac the Syrian teaches: “The way of God is a daily cross; no one has ascended to heaven by living comfortably” (Ascetical Homilies, II, 36). This means that every Christian carries his or her own cross in the trials of life: in family difficulties, in illness, in injustice, and in interior struggles. Yet when these sufferings are united with Christ, they do not become destruction but transformation.

On this Sunday the Church invites us not only to contemplate the Cross, but to adore the Cross. To adore means to recognize that through it God has accomplished the salvation of the world. Saint Cyril of Jerusalem exhorted the faithful saying: “Do not be ashamed of the Cross of the Savior; mark yourself with it confidently, for the Cross is glory for the faithful” (Catechesis, IV, 14). When we venerate the Cross, we confess that the love of God is stronger than death.

This adoration takes on an even deeper meaning today if we look at the reality of our time. We live in a world marked by numerous wars, by violence, and by deep wounds in the life of nations. Entire regions of the earth know the fear of bombings, the uprooting of families, and the loss of home and security. Sometimes these tragedies seem distant, yet in truth they speak of the fragility of the human condition and of the suffering that runs through history.

In this context I was deeply struck by an event that recently occurred in Sicily, in a small town called Niscemi, in the province of Caltanissetta. Niscemi is a town built on hilly terrain and, as happens in several areas of that region, the ground can be fragile and prone to landslides, especially after heavy rains or movements of the soil. On January 25, 2026, a serious landslide struck part of the town, causing collapses, damaging homes, and forcing many families to leave their houses.

In that place there was a marble cross that held deep significance for the inhabitants. It marked the site of the ancient Church of the Holy Crosses, which had already collapsed in 1997 during a previous landslide. Even though the church no longer existed, that cross had remained for years as a visible sign of the faith and memory of the community. After the landslide in January, that cross became even more a symbol of hope for the citizens, many of whom had lost their homes and the normal rhythm of their daily lives. But on February 15, 2026, because of the continuing movement of the earth, that cross also fell into the precipice together with other signs of the tragedy. Later it was recovered—almost as if the community wished to preserve not only a stone, but the meaning it represented: the faith that endures even when everything seems to collapse.

This image speaks deeply to our Christian conscience. Wars, natural disasters, violence, and injustices are part of human history and often seem to destroy everything they encounter. Yet even amid the ruins, the human being continues to seek the Cross, because he knows that precisely there is the hope that does not collapse.

At this point the wisdom of the Fathers of the Church helps us to understand even more deeply the meaning of the Cross. Saint Ephrem the Syrian, one of the great spiritual fathers of the Christian East, contemplating the mystery of redemption writes: “The Cross is the key of Paradise” (Hymns on the Cross, 1). This image is extraordinary: the Cross is not merely a sign of suffering, but the door through which humanity re-enters the life of God. If the Cross is the key of Paradise, then even in the tragedies of history hope is not lost. Even when cities fall, when peoples suffer, and when wars devastate the earth, the Cross continues to open the path to life.

For this reason Christians are called to carry the Cross not with resignation, but with hope. To venerate the Cross in a world marked by wars means to bear witness that love is stronger than hatred, that forgiveness is stronger than revenge, and that life is stronger than death.

Brothers and sisters, in the midst of the Lenten journey the Holy Church invites us to pause before the Cross of the Lord. Let us come to it with faith, repentance, and love. Let us entrust to Christ our labors, our fears, and our sufferings. He, our High Priest, knows our weakness and grants us His grace.

If we carry our cross together with Him, the Cross will no longer be only the sign of suffering, but will become the gateway to the Resurrection. And thus, strengthened by the power of the Crucified One, we may continue the journey of the Great Lent with renewed hope, until we reach the radiant joy of Holy Pascha, when we shall contemplate the definitive victory of Christ over death and sing with the whole Church:

Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.

Archpriest Michele Alberto Del Duca.