(Today, at our parishes, we will celebrate the theme of Catechetical Sunday and give our teachers and catechists a special blessing, since I will be out of town when Catechetical Sunday is officially observed in the Church on September 21).
Today’s feast of the exaltation of the holy cross was first observed in Rome in the 7th century. Today’s feast commemorates the recovery of the Holy Cross, which had been placed on Mt. Calvary by St. Helena and preserved in Jerusalem. However, it then had fell into the hands of the King of the Persians in the early 7th century. The cross was recovered and returned to Jerusalem by the Byzantine Emperor Heralius in 629.
Tradition passes down that Heraclius carried the cross back to Jerusalem on his shoulders, wearing extravagant garments with ornaments of precious stones. But, at the entrance to Mt. Calvary a strange incident occurred. No matter how hard he tried, the Emperor could not move forward. Bishop Zacharias of Jerusalem told him: "Consider, that with these triumphal ornaments you are wearing, you are far from resembling Jesus carrying his cross." The Emperor then put on a penitential garment and was able to continue his journey.
In the Roman empire, the cross represented the worst possible way a criminal could be put to death. It was a violent, painful, disrespectful death. However, our mass commemorating the exaltation of the holy cross is a triumphant liturgy. When Moses lifted up the bronze serpent over the people in the desert on their journey to the promised land, it foreshadowed the cross and the salvation we would receive through Christ’s death and resurrection. The message of our faith is that we must take up our own crosses in order to follow Jesus, our Lord and Savior. To follow Christ we must take up his cross, follow him, becoming obedient until death. We identify with Christ on the cross, sharing in His cross. Jesus carried his cross in obedience and servanthood. We are called to carry our crosses with the same obedience and servanthood.
For Catholics, the cross is an important symbol of faith. When we are baptized, we are sealed with the cross as our original sins are taken away, as we die with Christ in the waters of baptism and as we receive new life in him. We make the sign of the cross as we begin and end our prayers, consecrating ourselves to God. We make the sign of the cross at the beginning of mass to begin our celebration in the name of our Lord.
Pope Benedict XVI once stated, being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or following a lofty idea, but rather it centers upon an encounter with Christ. Our Gospel states that God so loved the world that he gave us his only begotten son. God wants to enter into a relationship of love with us. This love is offered through Christ, his son, lifted high on the cross.
We cannot remain neutral regarding the cross of Jesus. We cannot be neutral or complacent in the way we live out our faith. Either we are with Jesus or we are against Jesus. Either we accept our crosses in faith or we deny our crosses. A choice is made before every action, for the actions of a Christian are none other than the testimony of how God has love us so much that he gave His only Son, Jesus.
During our trials and sufferings, the cross is there to give us strength, protection, and hope. O cross of Christ, you are the glorious sign of victory. Through the power of the cross, may we all share in the triumph of Christ Jesus.
As we honor and recognize the cross of Christ at mass in a special way today, we celebrate Catechetical Sunday. We work very hard here at our program of religious education for children, youth, and adults. We are thankful for those who lead our program of religious education and for our catechists, teachers, and helpers. This year’s theme for Catechetical Sunday comes from the first letter of Peter: “Always be ready to give an explanation…for a reason for your hope.” (1 Peter 3:15). Like a lot of things we are celebrating this year, this theme directly connects us to the Jubilee year of hope. All of us Catholics are invited to be pilgrims and ambassadors of hope rooted in our faith during this special Jubilee year. We are to embrace love, justice, and service to others, not only in our words, but in the ways we live out our faith each day. We are to share our faith with others with respect and clarity. As we here in Mississippi and in Clinton in particular live in a very Protestant and Baptist culture, we need to be able to explain our faith and the hope and trust we place in our faith, so today’s theme is very relevant to our reality. Recently, I had some of the Protestant field ministers at the prison be very confrontational with me about what we Catholics believe about baptism, which is very different from the way they understand baptism. I had to be able to articulate what we believe and give an explanation to them. Being educated and formed in the faith should be an on-going process for us Catholics, and our program of religious education is a big part of that. We will give our catechists and teachers a blessing at the end of mass.
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