Good Friday Homily

For some reason we have grown uncomfortable with the cross. We have a desire in our culture to look past it to the event that will come next while forgetting about its existence. If we remember back to Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ" we might remember that the Resurrection seemed like an afterthought to the cross. I heard many complaints because of this short scene attributed to the Resurrection, but I think this is the perfect example of our uncomfortableness with the cross. Instead of allowing ourselves to dwell with Christ crucified we want to rush to the joy of the Resurrection at the cost of the cross. Despite the uncomfortableness that may arise in our hearts we cannot allow ourselves to remove the cross from the life of our faith. In the first homily of our Holy Father he reminded us of our need to be reminded of the necessity of the cross in the life of our faith. Pope Francis stated: "When we walk without the cross, when we build without the cross and when we confess without the cross, we are not disciples of Christ."

These may seem to be harsh words to our ears, but how true has this become in our everyday life? We want the glamour that comes with the joy of the Resurrection of the body, but can often find a countless amount of excuses to why we should avoid the cross. The cross is a necessary bridge to the joys that will come, but before we get there we must embrace it. Through our embrace of the cross we must do so not partially, but totally, as Christ did on His way to Calvary. If we were to remove the various elements of the crucifixion from Calvary we would end up with empty lives that have never been redeemed. Through Christ's final breath offered upon the cross our redemption has taken place. From this breath comes our hope that we can conquer over sin and that meaning can be brought to our suffering. The pains and sorrow that we feel each day was conquered by Christ in His scourging and was nailed to the wood of the cross. From His sacrifice came our redemption over sin.

In a matter of moments we will behold the wood of the cross on which hung the salvation of the world. Once it has been revealed to us we will process forward as humble servants of the Lord to embrace the cross. In our procession forward we bring all our sinfulness and our sorrows and we will join them to the cross. Our procession forward is like the one that Christ made to the Place of the Skull because upon this procession we are weighed down by all the weight of these things that we drag with us. As we move forward to venerate the Holy Cross we do so with the hope that we can conquer over sin and sorrow for the sake of the Heavenly Kingdom. When we fall, as Christ did, under the weight of our sins may we continue to get up and move forward to the joys that will come if we can accept the cross into our lives. The cross does not leave us lost inside of our own sorrow, but gives us the great hope of the mercy of God. Through the sacrifice offered upon the cross by the Lamb of God are we given hope to journey towards our Lord as His disciples. It was upon this instrument that God made flesh would be sacrificed for our behalf may we always embrace the wood of the cross.