Nicodemus' question to Jesus, how someone could be born again, is one that can help us understand the message of the cross. On the Sunday before the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, The Very Rev. Prot. Vincent Temirov offers this meditation on the cross, the sign of God's boundless love for humankind.

Amidst the increasing number of “Nones” (those who do not identify with any religion), and “Dones” (those who identify as “done” with religion), there are still plenty of seekers - what are they looking for? The inquirer is looking for the pearl of great price that they must have - the light of God, the Glory of God. The Very Rev. Dr Chad Hatfield exhorts Christians to take up our responsibility to cultivate the light of Christ within our lives so that it reflects upon those around us.

Meditating on a hymn from the Exaltation of the Cross, The Rev. Dr Bogdan Bucur asks us to investigate its words: "But the Tree of the Cross, which grants unto mankind the robe of life, has now been fixed in the midst of the earth, and the earth is now filled with boundless joy." How do we understand this "robe," what kind of "life" are we talking about, and how exactly is the world filled with "boundless joy" because of the cross—especially as we look around and see a world that doesn't seem so joyous?

Christ has his cross, and we have ours. All of us become crucified on either side of him, like the thieves on Golgotha. On the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, The Very Rev. Archimandrite Maximos Constas explains why life's many crosses and crucifixions are not merely valuable, they are essential for our salvation. When we endure these crosses, on which side of the Lord's cross will we find ourselves?

King Herod heard "gladly" the words spoken by John the Forerunner, he knew John was righteous, and he "kept him safe." So why, then, did Herod not refuse the request to take John's head? The Rev. Dr Bogdan Bucur, on the feast of the Baptist's beheading, speaks to us about Herod's choice and what the king's "exceeding sorrow" reveals about our own hearts and the choices we make throughout our lives.

"But how many times, Lord?" The Very Rev. Dr Chad Hatfield warns us that we, like the apostle St Peter, too often get caught up in distortions, details, and chasing after our own voice. In so doing, what Christ is actually saying to us is in danger of being lost completely.

Our reverence for the Theotokos is not merely about what happened through her, but also about what she did with what she had received. On the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Fr Bogdan Bucur tells us she is the exemplar of our Lord's words "Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it."

Following the baptism of a baby boy at Three Hierarchs Chapel, Fr Chad Hatfield opines that—while the baby is certainly cute—there's nothing "cute" about the beginning of the baptismal rite. Rather, that part of the service points us to a stark reality: "It's a fight!" for the child as well as all of us.