One of the parts of today's Liturgy that we all can do from home is to venerate the Cross of Christ. This veneration often takes the form of a kiss. But why do we give such reverance to the crucifix that we kiss it? It is not like this is a piece of the true cross on which Jesus hung. When I pray the rosary and at the end kiss the cross, it may even be a small cheap plastic crucifix. So why do we kiss the cross? Because we as Christians are intimately tied to Christ's cross and we cannot be saved without it. We are not worshipping the material, but we are venerating the very idea that the cross is Christ's instrument of love. Jesus says, there is no greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends." He also tells us to "renounce yourself, take up your cross and follow me." It is not that we are more focused on His death than His Ressurrection, nor is it that we worship graven images; but rather that show our affection for the instrument that Christ used to show us that He loves us. The 11th Station of the cross is Jesus is Nailed to the Cross. In his description of this station, St. Alphonsus Liguori writes, "Consider Jesus , thrown down upon the cross, He stretched out his arms and offered to the Eternal Father the sacrifice of His life for our salvation." But even more important, in his prayer on the same station, St. Alphonsus says, "My despised Jesus, I nail my heart to the cross that it way always remain there to love You and never leave You again." This why we say in our liturgy today, "Behold the wood of the cross on which is hung our salvation of the world. Come let us adore." and then we kiss the cross as a form of venerating the very means of our salvation and showing love to Him who loves us perfectly.