September 14 2022 - Exaltation of the Holy Cross - The sign of God's love for sinners

Today marks the celebration of what Saint John Paul II called THE symbol of Christianity. Most of us marked ourselves with it upon entering the Church today, we began mass with it, we’ll end Mass with it.  Essentially, every time we Catholics pray, we begin and end our prayer with it.  Many of our bedrooms and dining rooms have one.  All types of people where it around their necks, from bishops to baseball players to teenage rockstars.   The priest holds his arms in this shape during the Eucharistic prayer.  It is the central focal point of every Catholic church.  Of course, I’m speaking of the cross.

Worn around our necks, adorning our homes and churches, beginning and ending our prayers, the cross is not a good luck charm, it is a reminder that in baptism the Christian has been claimed by Christ, loved by God, that Christ has died for us. “God so loved the world” as we heard in our Gospel today, “that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” Christ was sent unto the cross, that we might be delivered unto heaven.

The cross is a sign of God’s love. When we make the sign of the cross, when we wear a cross, when we adorn our home with a cross, that cross is to be a reminder of God’s love; the willingness of Christ to go to the cross for you and for me and every sinner. Not because we were righteous, but because we were lost. Heaven was closed for us. Hell was our destiny.

The cross of suffering and death embraced by Christ is the key that opened the gates of heaven, it is the new tree of life from which flows the fruit of eternal life, so much so that the early Christians sang: O Crux ave, spes unica.  Hail O Cross, Our Only Hope. Piis adauge gratiam, reisque dele crimina, grant increase of grace to believers and remove the sins of the guilty.

And yet, today is not simply a reflection on the importance of the cross 2000 years ago, it is a called for Christians to make the cross known to the world. The feast is called the exaltation of the cross—the lifting high of the cross, the bringing the light of the cross to others.

St. Louis de Montfort says "The cross is a sure sign that God loves you... The greatest proof that we are loved by God is when we are despised by the world and burdened with crosses--when we are made to endure the privation of things we could rightly claim; when our holiest wishes meet with opposition; when we are afflicted with distressing and hurtful insults; when we are subjected to persecution, to have our actions misinterpreted by good people or by those who are our best friends... If Christians knew the value of the cross they would walk a hundred miles to obtain it, because enclosed in the beloved cross is true wisdom..."

The light of the Cross shows us the love God has for us, and by taking up our own crosses, embracing self-sacrifice, service, mortification, penance and ever persecution for the sake of the kingdom, we show that it is by the light of the cross, not the light of worldly values and pleasures, that we are made worthy of the kingdom of heaven.

May we exalt the cross in all we say and do, and by it ourselves be exalted, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the Church may lift high the Cross of Christ, proclaiming forgiveness and redemption in him alone, we pray to the Lord...

That world leaders may look upon the Son of God, believe in him, and take hold of the peace and justice that only he can bring, we pray to the Lord...

That all whose lives are marked by suffering may discover the saving power of the cross of Christ, and be victorious in all their trials, we pray to the Lord...

That those who embrace the cross as they work for justice for the poor, the oppressed, and the unborn, may find strength and success in their work, we pray to the Lord…

That the sick may be blessed with patience during the difficult parts of their journey in life, we pray to the Lord...

That all who have died may experience the eternal life won by the cross of Christ, especially the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for my dear friend Father Robert Wendelken on the anniversary of his death, and for N. for whom this Mass is offered, we pray to the Lord...

Almighty ever-living God, comfort of mourners, strength of all who toil, may the prayers of those who cry out in any tribulation come before you, that all may rejoice, because in their hour of need your mercy was at hand. Through Christ our Lord. (From Good Friday Petitions)