We should glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, for he is our salvation, our life and our resurrection; through him we are saved and made free. (Entrance Antiphon, The Triumph of the Cross).

In a century that has witnessed barbarity on a scale unknown to previous generations, death by crucifixion remains one of the most inhumane methods of death. The death process for the criminal condemned to be crucified frequently commenced with a scourging (traditionally 39 lashes with the whip). Having been "softened up", the criminal then had to carry the horizontal beam of the cross to the place of execution. Upon arrival, he endured the excruciating agony of having nails driven through his wrist bones, by which his body would have been suspended to the horizontal beam as it was raised up the main beam that was already in position. In the manoeuvres that would have taken place to affix the horizontal to the vertical beam, it is quite conceivable that many bones on the victim's body, particularly the spinal bones, would have been dislocated. The victim again endured the agony of nails being driven into bone as his feet were nailed onto the vertical beam or a piece of wood attached to it. The criminal then endured a slow death, suffering from hunger, thirst and blood loss. Naked or almost naked, he would have been exposed to the elements, possibly suffering sunstroke. Most victims lasted three days, dying of asphyxiation, as they were so weakened they could no longer raise their bodies to breathe in air.

Why would anyone in their right mind subject themselves to such a death? Central to Christianity is the death of Jesus on the cross. His suffering and death on the cross is integral to our salvation. Such was His love for human beings that He was prepared to endure the worst form of death imaginable for us. If there is one verse from the Bible that Christians know off by heart and that is John 3: 16, found in the Gospel for this feast:
God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.

Scripture speaks of Christ's death as a redemption. In the Ancient world, one could be sold into slavery to pay a debt. The slave could obtain his or her freedom, only if someone bought their freedom or redeemed them. According to this understanding of Christ's crucifixion, human beings were slaves to sin. By his death on the cross, Jesus redeemed, or bought their freedom.
Scripture also talks about Jesus' death as a sacrifice. From the dawn of civilisation, human beings have worshipped deities through sacrifice. To restore or cement their relationship with the deity, they give something of great value to the deity, usually by destroying it through fire, so that they may never re-use it again. Sacrifice was integral to the worship of the Old Covenant, large sections of the Law being devoted to explanations of how various sacrifices were to be performed. However, all these sacrifices were but a prefiguring of the sacrifice of Christ offered by Christ on the wood of the cross. So great and serious was the power of sin, such did it wound and damage human beings' relationship with God that the only sacrifice that could take away that sin was the sacrifice of God's only son. Viewed from another perspective, God the Father and Jesus loved human beings so much and were so concerned to save them from the misery, alienation and despair that is sin, that they were prepared to endure Jesus' death. Twice a year, on Anzac Day and Remembrance Day, we remember and give thanks to those Australians who died in wars so that we may enjoy the freedom that we so often take for granted. How much more should we be thankful to Him who through his death obtained for us eternal life and the freedom from sin.

Such is the significance of the cross in the mystery of salvation that the Church has venerated relics of the cross. This feast is linked with the recovery of the true cross from Persian invasion during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius in the seventh century. The cross is also integral to Christian worship. One of the most basic forms of prayer is the sign of the cross with the invocation of the persons of the Trinity and perhaps the most tangible symbol of Catholic Christianity is the crucifix, or cross with the image of Christ thereon. In one sense, Christ cannot be separated from the cross. Shocking though the thought of the death of the Son of God by crucifixion may be, without the cross, Jesus is merely a good teacher or wise sage, and not the saviour of human beings