our sins in His body on the cross

Thinking about the cross this morning. No surprise, given the Day He Loved Us Most approaches. I own several cross necklaces along with several rosaries -- all of which I have kissed at one point or another. It is not an uncommon action among Catholics, to kiss a cross. Strange practice when you consider it. If you were to lose a loved one in a jetski accident, would not your natural reaction towards jetskis afterwards be one of caution if not outright revulsion? I don't ever consume alcohol because a drunk driver killed a loved one. Our reaction to those things that are means of deaths are naturally negative.

And yet I still kiss my crosses.

The difference is that the cross -- while still the instrument by which my Beloved Savior perished -- is not just a means of death. It is, in fact, also the means of eternal life. It is the means of complete payment of debt. It is the means of grace, and the means of mercy. It is the means of redemption. It is the means of reconciled peace. And it is the means by which a separated God expressed a love deeper than the farthest reaches of the universe.

And I will kiss my crosses, I will kiss the cross, I will kiss the cross...