Homily for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
14 September 2009
St. Lawrence Center - KU
Year for Priests
The cross which we exalt on today's feast does not definitively answer the why of human suffering. The cross, which is the greatest sign ever of God's love for us, and is an object not of great shame, but of great devotion and hope for us, does not tell us why some kids get cancer, and others do not. The cross is not an explanation of why some people, though innocent, much more innocent than the Israelites in today's first reading, suffer tremendously in this life, while many others go along untroubled.
The cross does tell us however, that in our suffering, we are not alone. Suffering does not have to isolate us from God or from one another, especially those who do not suffer like we do. While the exact fruits and the specific meaning of our suffering is quite beyond us on this side of heaven, the cross does give us hope that our suffering is not in vain. Finally, as the grace that flows from the scandal of the cross is precisely the greatest grace imaginable, the grace of sharing in the very life of God, as we venerate and exalt the cross of Jesus we are saying that we too expect that our greatest happiness will be found not in escaping the clutches of evil and suffering, but by welcoming them and by bearing the fruit of transforming evil and suffering by the power of love that we experience through our Lord's holy cross. +m
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