This is important for us to understand our symbols and their power. I often relate the story of a family where the daughter was ashamed of her mother because her mother’s hands were disfigured. She always insisted her mother wear gloves. Only after the mother’s death did her father tell her that the mother’s scars were a result of a terrible fire in their house. The mother had risked her life and burnt her hands rescuing that very daughter. She never wanted the daughter to know so as not to make her feel guilty or responsible.

When the woman realized that those scars which had been a source of embarrassment were really badges of honor, wounds of self-sacrificing love, signs of heroism – her eyes were finally opened.

When we see the cross, what do we see? Two sticks? A religious symbol? Does the cross speak to us as it spoke to Francis? Or is it something we take for granted as part of the landscape? We can never look at the cross with indifference. We must not allow the cross to be simply a piece of jewelry, an amulet, or a decoration. The cross speaks to the believer.

The cross is the symbol of our Christian Faith. It is a bold symbol. At first, Christians were content with the fish as a symbol. The Greek word for fish is an acrostic spelling the word fish from the first letters of the words Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.

The cross as an instrument of capital punishment would seem a dark sign, like a gallows or a hangman’s noose. But very quickly all inhibitors were overcome and within a few years after the Crucifixion of Jesus –the cross became the sign of the Christian Community, with evidence of a wall cross in Pompeii at the time of the volcanic eruptions in the year 79 A.D. St. Justin Martyr, writing around 150 A.D. already refers to the cross as the standard Christian symbol. Tortullian in his treatise, De Corona, written in 211 A.D., says that Christians seldom do anything without making the sign of the cross.

Accordingly, we begin and end our Eucharist with the sign of the Cross and an invocation of the Trinity—the two most defining aspects of our Catholic Faith.

In the Order of the Holy Sepulcher we wear the Jerusalem Cross. It is also called the Crusaders’ Cross and represents the Great Commissionery, Christ, who commands the spread of the Gospel to the ends of the earth, the four corners represented by the small crosses, a mission that started in Jerusalem, the large cross. The four small crosses are seen as also representing the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John with Christ in the center, broadcast by missionaries carrying the Gospels to the ends of the earth. The five crosses are also a sign representing the five wounds of Christ, the small crosses for the hands and feet, the large cross for the pierced heart of Jesus.

For us believers, the cross is a powerful sign. St. Francis called the cross his book. There he read the greatest love story in history that God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son to be our Savior. Jesus empties Himself, takes on the form of a slave and dies on the cross for love of us.

The cross is a sign of transformation and redemption. It is a sign of love, and when Jesus invites us to take up the cross of discipleship, He is really asking us to live a life of sacrificial love.

When Jesus is arrested in the Garden, the disciples fled. Peter tries to follow Jesus at a safe distance—until he hears the rooster crow and repents of his cowardice. How often we try to follow Jesus at a safe distance, but the Lord is inviting us to follow Him up close, to invite His humility and love.

Here in the Holy Cross Cathedral we have a wonderful stain glass window, which depicts the Emperor Heraclius as he carries the cross toward Calvary. The relics of the True Cross found by St. Helena in the 300 hundreds were captured by the Persians who held the cross for 14 years until the Emperor Heraclius was able to recover the True Cross and return it to Jerusalem, to Mount Calvary. The event was made famous by a spectacular miracle that is depicted in this window.

Stain glass window, depicting the Emperor Heraclius as he carries the cross toward Calvary.


Closer view of the beautiful window.


An even closer look.

When the Emperor tried to carry the cross up the Via Dolorosa to Calvary, he was unable to advance. The more he tried, the more he seemed to be held back. Heraclius and those with him were dumbfounded at this.

Then Zacharias, shown in the window, who was the bishop of Jerusalem said: “Consider, O Emperor, how poorly you are imitating the poverty and humility of Jesus when you carry His cross in these triumphal robes.”

Then Heraclius removed his crown and his jewels, shoes and rich garments, which can be seen on the ground in the window. He was then able to go forward without difficulty and could place the cross on the same spot on Calvary from which it had been taken by the Persians.

To take up the Cross, we too must divest ourselves. In the second reading, St. Paul speaks of Christ’s kenosis, His self-emptying, quoting an ancient Christian hymn. Paul’s words which introduce the hymn are: “Have the same sentiments, the same attitude as Jesus had.” – “He who though He was in the form of God, emptied Himself.”

When we empty ourselves of selfishness, of fear, of noise, of vanity, then the cross is no longer crushing – and His yoke is sweet, and His burden is light because we have learned from Him who is meek and humble of heart.

I never tire of saying that: “For God nothing is improvised.” Pope Benedict in his writings underscored the connection between the Old and New Testaments. Today’s first lesson and Gospel are a wonderful example of this.

The story from the Old Testament is a great one. People are complaining about the food. (It was our favorite pastime in the seminary.) The punishment in the Old Testament times was dramatic: Snakes appeared and bit the complainers. Moses intercedes for God’s people who regret their callous ingratitude and God forgives them; but it happens in a way that is already pointing to an event that will take place 1400 years later on Calvary.

God has Moses make an image of a snake and place it on a pole. (For those fundamentalists who berate us for religious images, we are reminded that at times God had the Israelites make statues of angels and in this case animals.) When those who had been bitten looked upon the serpent on the pole, they were cured.

In the Gospel, Jesus deciphers the Old Testament symbolism indicating that He is to be lifted up on a pole like those images of the serpent in the days of Moses, so that those who believe in Jesus may not perish, but have eternal life.

Jesus places this in the context of God’s love. He says in today’s Gospel: “God so loved the world that He gave up His only begotten Son, so that those who believe in Him might not perish.”

Today, the Church invites us to raise our eyes to the seraph on the pole, to Jesus on the cross. Look at this spectacle with eyes of faith. See the transforming love, the self-sacrificing love, the life-giving love that is the basis of our Catholic Faith.

Let us ask for the grace to really see the cross, to penetrate its mystery, to be moved by the love it betokens. “Greater love has no one than He who lays down His life for His friends.” Jesus, the friend of sinners, has laid down His life for us. Whilst we were still in sin, He died for us. “Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim,” is the beautiful hymn that we sing so often. It is a challenge to lift the cross. To do that, we must divest ourselves.

But, Christ is counting on us to make His love known. Only when we truly embrace the cross and stop following Jesus at a safe distance can we truly proclaim the love of Christ as credible witnesses and mentors to new generations of believers.

To wear the cross is a privilege and a responsibility, to lift the cross on high so that all who look up and glimpse Christ’s love can be healed of the wounds of sin and live a new life in God’s love.

We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.