Wisdom of the Saints about the Cross (part 4)

“The Cross, if you wish to define it, is the confirmation of victory, the way by which God descended to man, the trophy against material spirits, the repulsion of death, the foundation of the ascent to the true day, and the ladder for those who hurry to enjoy the light that is there.” St. Methodius of Olympus (3rd-4th centuries)

“By the Sign of the Cross all magic is stopped, and all witchcraft brought to nothing.” St. Athanasius (4th century, Doctor of the Church)

“If you would understand that the cross is Christ’s triumph, hear what He Himself also said: ‘When I am lifted up, then I will draw all men to myself.’ Now you can see that the cross is Christ’s glory and triumph.” St. Andrew of Crete (7th-8th centuries)

“Christ, Who is your life, is hanging on the cross before you, so that you may look at the cross as in a mirror. There, you will see how mortal your wounds were, which no medicine other than the blood of the Son of God could have healed. If you look well, you will also realize how great your human dignity and value are…In no other place can man better realize how much he is worth than by looking at himself in the mirror of the cross.” St. Anthony of Padua (12th-13th centuries, Doctor of the Church)

“What might is the power of the cross. Adam set at nought the commandment, taking the apple from the tree; but all Adam lost, Christ found upon the cross.” St. Thomas Aquinas (13th century, Doctor of the Church)

“The Cross possesses such power and strength that, whether they will or not, it attracts, draws, and ravishes those who carry it.” Bl. Henry Suso (14th century)

“Think upon this mystery of the holy cross, through the fruit of which is repaired the loss incurred by the fruit of the forbidden tree.” St. Peter of Alcantara (15th-16th centuries)

“All the saints have learned the art of loving God from the study of the crucifix.” St. Alphonsus Liguori (17th-18th century, Doctor of the Church)

“…while earthly monarchs bear the sceptre and crown as symbols of royalty, Jesus Christ bore the Cross, which was the throne which He mounted to rule over our love.” St. Alphonsus Liguori

“In the solitude of your room, take the crucifix in your arms, and with a great faith and love kiss His sacred wounds and tell Him of the benefits He has done for you.” St. Paul of the Cross (17th-18th centuries)

“Never let your home be without a crucifix upon its walls, to the end that all who enter it may know that you are a disciple of the Crucified Lord, and that you are not ashamed to own it.” St. John Vianney (18th-19th centuries)

“We can say that a Christian who makes the sign of the cross with genuine religious sentiments, that is to say, when fully aware of the action which he is performing, makes all hell tremble.” St. John Vianney

“In persecution the Church begins and ends. [Christ] left her in persecution, and He will [return to] find her in persecution. He recognizes her as His own – He framed, and He will claim her – as a persecuted Church, bearing His Cross. And that awful relic of Him which He gave her, and which she is found with at the end, she cannot have lost by the way.” St. John Henry Newman (19th century)

“We must gaze for a very long time at the God crucified by love.” St. Elizabeth of the Trinity (19th-20th centuries)