The Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross

JMJ+D

Adoramus te, christe, et benedicimus tibi, quia per crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee, for by thy cross thou hast redeemed the world.
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For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him may not perish, but have everlasting life.

Jesus dies upon the Cross: Meditation on the Twelfth Station by John Henry Cardinal Newman

"Consummatum est." It is completed -- it has come to a full end. The mystery of God's love toward us is acomplished. The price is paid, and we are redeemed. The Eternal Father determined not to pardon us without a price, in order to show us especial favor. He condescended to make us valuable to Him. What we buy we put a value on. He might have saved us without a price --- by the mere fiat of His will. But to show His love for us He took a price, which, if there was to be a price set upon us at all, if there was any ransom at all to be taken for the guilt of our sins, could be nothing short of the death of His Son in our nature. O my God and Father, Thou hast valued us so much as to pay the highest of all possible prices for our sinful souls -- and shall we not love and choose Thee above all things as the one necessary and one only good?

From here. Image from here.