Divine Welcome Cross

Product Description

This Divine Welcome Cross depicts in the poignant embrace of two persons the transformative and healing power of reconciliation. The powerful biblical image of the patient, long-suffering father being reunited with his prodigal son comes to mind here (Luke 15:11-32). The leaf-filled background evokes the Tree of Life which figures prominently in the first and last books of the Bible (Genesis 2:9; 3:22-24; Revelation 2:7; 22:2,14,19) as a symbol of eternal life, the definitive and never-ending union with God.  At 3.5 inches high and 2.9 inches wide, this solid bronze cross has an eyelet which makes it suitable both for use as a personal devotional cross and for public worship as a pectoral cross worn by ministers and pastors. The Divine Welcome Cross was created and cast by a master bronzesmith in Germany. This cross is especially fitting as a gift for those persons in our lives who are experiencing alienation or separation from us, from others, or from themselves. This bronze cross communicates with symbolic depth and power the promise and possibility of forgiveness and mercy in our relationships with God and with each other.

The “God-shaped Hole” in each and every one of us

We all yearn for unconditional and definitive love, acceptance, validation and understanding in our lives from those whom we trust and respect without reservation.  (So much to want and hope for from other creatures so fragile and imperfect like ourselves! Especially from our own mothers and fathers!) This profound and inescapable aching and yearning for such love, acceptance, validation and understanding which we all experience in our hearts and souls and which we perhaps try to dull or medicate in so many ultimately counterproductive and self-defeating ways (status, power, possessions, drugs, alcohol, sex) is, in fact, an infinite “God-shaped hole” at the very center of our very being, of our identity, of our deepest and most authentic selves.  Saint Augustine of Hippo was right indeed when he wrote in his Confessions:  Quia fecisti nos ad te, et inquietum est cor nostrum, donec requiescat in te — “You have made us for yourself, and our heart is not at rest until it rests in thee.”

A Sign of Mercy, Reconciliation and Forgiveness

The Divine Welcome Cross, symbol of the transforming power and healing embrace of love expressed as mercy, reconciliation and forgiveness, depicts the powerful biblical image of the patient, all-loving father reunited with the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). The God of Christians and of the Christian faith is a God of mercy and forgiveness. As Pope Francis has reminded us: The Lord never tires of forgiving us. Never! We, we are the ones who tire of asking for forgiveness! This solid bronze wall cross constantly reminds us not to tire of asking for forgiveness, and never to tire of forgiving others when we are challenged to do so. In the Catholic church, the Divine Welcome Cross also makes a loving gift to remind Catholics of the beauty and power of the sacrament of Reconciliation as well as the welcoming back of estranged sisters and brothers.

The reverse side reads in German:  Durchdringe, Gott, Du, mein ganzes Wesen. Erfuelle, Du, mein ganzes Sein, dass man aus mir kann lesen die ganze Liebe. +Dein+

Translation: Permeate, O God, my entire essence. Fill my entire being that others can experience your great love through me. I am Yours.

Luke 15:11-32

Jesus told this parable: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

Genesis 2:9

The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 3:22-24

And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”  So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.  After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Revelation 2:7

Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

Revelation 22:2,14,19

On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of nations…  “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city”… And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.

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