As I write these words, it is still several months until the print edition of this issue will be in our hands. Still, I eagerly await the opportunity to interact physically with the cover! The selection of Daniel Mitsui’s line drawing, titled simply Cross (danielmitsui.com), was a departure from the norm, but the chance to present readers with an image they could engage with, literally, was thrilling. I hope you will take time to color or trace the knots in the cover image this month as you meditate on the meaning of the Cross.
Like the knots in Mitsui’s illustration, the Cross of Christ is a mystery to be untangled. As we ponder the Exaltation of the Holy Cross this month, we reflect on this profound mystery. How can it be that this symbol of torture and death is also the emblem of our salvation? Tracing the filigree knots in Mitsui’s design, we might imagine St. Helena in Jerusalem as she and her team searched and dug to uncover the remains of the True Cross. Were they overjoyed when they finally discovered it, or perhaps filled with fear or profound wonder and awe? Each of us will have unique answers to these questions. For centuries, Christians have sought to understand the mystery of the Cross, which impacts us both as individual disciples and as members of the Body of Christ.
One of my favorite cover images in the history of Give Us This Day was October 2020, when we featured another of Daniel Mitsui’s images, Our Lady, Undoer of Knots.
Blessed Mary, Undoer of Knots, help us untangle the mystery of your son’s Cross in our lives, and guide us to say “yes” to God’s will in every circumstance.
