Given for the Office of Readings on Good Friday, 3 April 2026 at Westminster Cathedral.
Stat Crux dum volvitur orbis. The Cross stands while the world goes round. These words, which form the motto of the Carthusian Order, are helpful to us in the busy-ness of our lives and the instability and seeming chaos of the world in which we live. The cross is not a sign to be misappropriated, but a constant point of reference for our lives, constantly calling us back to the reality of all that the Saviour has done for us. The world may revolve at a seemingly increasing pace and with ever-greater ferocity, but the Cross remains – still, constant, firm, an ever-present sign for the world.
The crucifixes that adorn our churches – the great rood above us here in the Cathedral, the crucifix behind the High Altar and elsewhere in this church – the crucifixes on the walls of our homes, on the chains about our necks. These are not mere works of art, decorations and pieces of jewellery. Perhaps we become too used to making the Sign of the Cross, doing so without much care or attention – even in an almost off-hand way. Yet our crucifixes and the action of the Sign of the Cross provide a constant invitation to prayer, to reflection and to the silence that is, perhaps, the best response to the sight of Jesus’ death for us.
When we stand at the foot of the Cross, we are not alone. We stand with Mary, with John, with Mary the wife of Clopas and with Mary Magdalene. Later today, as the Passion of St. John is proclaimed, we shall hear the words of Jesus as he gives John to his Mother and his Mother to John. The recognition that John, in a sense, represents us all, we know that Mary our Mother is especially close to us as we stand with her at the foot of the Cross.
The foot of the Cross will never be a comfortable place to be, but the Christian must learn to be at home there. Indeed, as followers of Jesus our presence at the foot of the Cross is an example we offer to the world around us, witnessing to the salvation that the death of the Lord has won for us. Standing at the foot of the Cross, we also point to the Tomb in which the Lord was laid and from which He rose on that first Easter Day.
Image: Mazur/cbcew.org.uk