Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Today the Catholic Church celebrates a feast called "The Exaltation of the Holy Cross," one of the few occasions when, instead of honoring a particular saint, believers are called to focus their devotion and attention on a particular item with great significance in the Catholic faith. Most Jesuit schools in the United States are named after saints, Jesuits and otherwise, or the locales where they were established; as far as I know, Holy Cross is the lone exception. So why name the College, which in turn takes its name from the Catholic cathedral in Boston, after not a saint but an object?

  

The readings for Mass today, and the homily that was offered at midday by one of my fellow Jesuits, present the cross as a sign of God's love for humanity, Jesus' desire to reconcile human sinfulness with divine forgiveness, and the power of grace to turn any instrument or event– even one of intense suffering and cruel humiliation– into a means of healing and rebirth.

I've been thinking about this lately in the context of conversations with a good friend who is processing some past trauma, and the lingering effects of this on her self-image, relationships with others, and overall practical and spiritual worldview. In the course of these discussions, I'm quite aware of how reluctant I am to admit and face the sufferings in my own life; I prefer to ignore them, and struggle to believe that God can be present in them or bring any good out of them. Yet I've been blessed to see a gradual, sometimes halting, yet undeniably vigorous process of healing and recovery gathering momentum in my friend's life. I have deep faith in, and profound admiration for, the profound grace animating her rebirth, a power that inspires me to look upon my suffering and invite the power of God to lift me up, as I see it lifting her.

I can't help but think that this mysterious process is, in part, a key aspect of the existence, work, and legacy of the College. In offering an education that strives not only to develop some of the best and the brightest undergraduates, but also form them into "men and women for others," Holy Cross does more than merely show students what there is to know and learn about the world– it invites them to know and learn about themselves through God's eyes. And insofar as this enables all members of our community to become their fullest selves, share their gifts fruitfully with those around them, and lean on their companions through a variety of joys and sorrows, successes and sufferings, we all experience deeply the joy of being raised up. Lift high the Cross!

[Photo captions: Top: Jesuit Cemetery, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester MA; Middle: Jesuit Community Retreat, southern Chile; Bottom: Driftwood Cross, Mississippi River/White House Retreat, St. Louis MO]