May Jesus Christ be
praised and may his holy Mother pray for us.
Almost seventeen
hundred years ago, Helena was on a search in Jerusalem. The mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine
had become a devout Christian, and she was on a search. Helena was looking through the rubble and
debris on Mount Calvary, searching for the Cross of the Savior of the
World. On a September day in 326, she
found three crosses. The sick people in
Jerusalem were brought to Calvary and were touched with each of the
crosses. The cross that brought healing
was recognized as the True Cross of Jesus Christ. In their encounter with the cross of Christ,
they found healing.
Almost thirteen years
ago, on another September morning, Frank Silecchia was on a search. Looking amidst the rubble and debris of the
World Trade Center in the middle of September 2001, he found two metal beams
that were bound together. On that
September day, he found the cross at Ground Zero. In the face of a most brutal and cowardly
terrorist attack, in the presence of the heroic deeds of firefighters and
police officers and port authority officers and priests and ordinary people who
did extraordinary things, the cross shined through. In their encounter with the cross of Christ,
they found hope.
Our lives have been
blessed by the sign of the cross of Christ.
We were claimed in baptism by the sign of the cross. We were confirmed with the Chrism in the sign
of the cross. We are absolved in the
sacrament of reconciliation with the sign of the cross. We are blessed with the sign of the cross at
each Mass and we will be commended to the house of the Father with the sign of
the Cross. The cross of Christ our
Savior surrounds us in the sacraments and in our worship.
But the cross of Christ
is present in the rest of our lives as well.
This encounter with the cross is often received with difficulty. Sometimes we are invited to come closer to
the cross of our Redeemer and share in his sufferings. There is the cross of physical illness. There is the cross of sadness in the earthly
loss of a loved one. There is the cross
of anguish in our hearts over our family members who no longer practice the
faith. There is the cross of mental
illness and addictions. There is the
cross of Christ in the sufferings of our lives.
And the cross shall be
our glory.
Today we celebrate the
Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Today we
celebrate that the cross which surrounds us, the cross which gives us healing
and hope, and the cross that we bear, is a sign of victory. The cross that lifted the Lord Jesus up from
the earth is the throne of triumph from which he draws all people to
himself. The cross is the place of his
victory over sin, death and the devil.
Beneath the shadow of a tree, our first parents ate the fruit of
disobedience. Beneath the shadow of the
tree of the cross we receive the blood and water of mercy flowing from the
pierced side of the Son of God. By his
death and glorious resurrection, Jesus Christ has claimed the cross as the
place of his triumph. By his death and
glorious resurrection, and by our participation in his death and glorious
resurrection, Jesus Christ has claimed our cross as the place of his
triumph. We have a share in his
cross. We have a share in his victory.
The Lord Jesus promised
that when he was lifted up from the earth, like the bronze serpent in the
desert was lifted up, that he would draw all people to himself. The Lord Jesus was lifted up on the cross on
Calvary, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, drawing all
people to himself. Every day in the
celebration of the Mass, the Lord Jesus is lifted up, and we hear, “Behold the
Lamb of God; Behold him who takes away the sins of the world; Blessed are those
called to the Supper of the Lamb.”
The Lord Jesus has
invited us to draw near. He has invited us to bring our crosses to his. Sharing in his cross, let us go to Him that
we might share in his victory forever.
Preached
at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Monroe, NC
