The Cross Remains Constant
Coloured Pencil with Acrylic
© 2021 Adelaine Nohara

STAT CRUX DUM VOLVITUR ORBIS
“The Cross remains constant as the world turns.”
-Motto of the Carthusians, quoted by Pope St. John Paul II in Crossing the Threshold of Hope
I was finishing up this picture on September 20, the day of a federal election in Canada. As a citizen belonging to two countries – my earthly home, and our Heavenly Home – such a day was also a day of prayer for my earthly country: a nation that needs to return to God, together with so much of the world.
In this image, Christ on the Cross overshadows the city of Toronto at daybreak, Canada’s largest metropolis. From His Heart emanate the rays of Divine Mercy, which symbolize the most Precious Blood and Living Waters by which souls are saved.
How many souls walk in darkness and in pain, trying to make sense of their broken lives and broken hearts – hearts yet unfilled by God? Yet the Father looks upon the world through the wounds of His beloved Son. As Christ said to St. Faustina, his apostle of Divine Mercy:
“In the Old Covenant I sent prophets wielding thunderbolts to My people. Today I am sending you with My mercy to the people of the whole world. I do not want to punish aching mankind, but I desire to heal it, pressing it to My Merciful Heart. I use punishment when they themselves force Me to do so; My hand is reluctant to take hold of the sword of justice. Before the Day of Justice I am sending the Day of Mercy” (Diary 1588).
Our day is this Day of Mercy.
God’s Mercy is more necessary for human life than the rising of the sun. With each new dawn, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered upon many altars to the Eternal Father, renewing the Sacrifice of Calvary and making intercession for the all the world. As the world spins on in chaos, straying from the Gospel, the Cross is one constant we can count on, look upon and turn to.
May we fix our gaze upon Christ crucified and spread devotion to His Mercy, that both we and our countrymen may come to discover the meaning of our lives, and find our stability and security in Jesus.
Jesus, we trust in You!
Credit: The crucifix in this image was largely referenced from an old masters-style painting I found online at the time, which I have not been able to relocate.