July 21, 2026
Pg. 184-185, An Invitation to Overcome Death
“As disciples of Christ, we are called to take up the visible and invisible cross. But we are also disciples of blessedness: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.’ Being poor in spirit, we suffer inwardly, but this means that we are also blessed of God. If we look carefully at the substance of the Beatitudes, we see that they begin with the invisible cross that is spiritual poverty, and conclude with the visible cross of persecution, or martyrdom.
Of course, the Lord Himself suffered both visibly and invisibly. His invisible Cross was heaviest in the garden of Gethsemane when He obediently drank the cup which was filled with the will of the Father, the bitterness of the betrayal of His disciple, the ingratitude of the multitude. Indeed, the Lord’s obedient love was complete, and He bore both crosses unto death. Through the perfection of His suffering, death was abolished and this prepared the way for the gifts of the Holy Spirit to flood the earth when the Spirit of God was poured out upon all flesh. In other words, the Holy Spirit was given through the visible and invisible Cross of Christ. And if we bear our personal cross, we will be granted the inheritance of the great Cross of Christ, for His Cross embraces all the crosses borne by all men at all times. So, our little personal cross is the key to the inheritance of His great Cross, which consists of those gifts poured out upon the earth as a result of His life-giving death, His decent into hell and His ascent into heaven.”
Source: From the book, “Remember Thy First Love,” written by Archimandrite Zacharias (zacharou), disciple of St. Sophrony of Essex.
