Various images come to mind. I recall this young woman coming up to me after Mass crying and saying. “Thank you for bringing the Cross here. Thank you for giving me the chance to embrace my God.” I also recall vividly a blind woman being led to the cross by her daughter. She struggled to locate where the Cross was. However as soon as she located the Cross, she simply hugged it and remained there for quite a while in silent and reverent prayer. I witnessed men crying and standing in very deep silence as they gazed on the Cross. One of the touching moments was when the Cross was being surfed by a group of student and the prep children could not reach out and touch it because it was too high for them. A few of the students who were close to them just lifted them up so that they too would be able to participate fully in what was going on. As all of this was going on I reflected and asked why is this Cross having such an effect on all those present?
I was immediately reminded of St Augustine. He had everything going for him. He had intelligence, was well to do. He had a stable lifestyle and was held in high respect by many. He had a bright future. Yet there was something missing in his life. His heart was not at peace because at that time he was living in a destructive relationship. He was a philosopher and he continued to search for peace for his heart and mind. In his book “The Confessions”, he made a very powerful statement that has influenced the lives of so many people. He wrote “You made us for yourself (Oh God), and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
This is what people feel as they look and embrace the Cross. They feel rest. They feel that the Cross represents someone who understands them very well because he has been through the very situations that they are going through at the moment. The Cross becomes a place where they feel at home because they are in the company of someone who not only understands where we are at but also in the presence of someone who can change my restlessness into joyful rest. In the Cross many people have found their nest and their home.
Moreover, the Cross and the Icon of Our Lady have been touched by millions around the world. That cross carries with it the hopes, the dreams, the anxieties and the fears of many of our brothers and sisters. It was taken to ground zero in New York shortly after the September 11 tragedy. It was the only religious symbol allowed in that place. It was taken to the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. It was taken to the holocaust museum in Rwanda after that country suffered a terrible and savage civil war and now we had the same symbol here at the Cathedral. It is as if Jesus is saying to us. “Yes, I have been all over the world. I have let so many touch me and embrace and they have been blessed with so much peace and tranquility. Now I am here with you and I want to do the same for you. Come, do not be afraid. Tell me what is troubling you. Rest with me. Let me take care of you.”
All of us need the healing touch of our God. In the gospel of John Chapter 14, we find Jesus saying, “There are many rooms in my Father’s house.” Where is the Father’s house? Yes we believe that there is a heaven. We also believe that the Church is also called the Father’s house. However, the Father’s house is our heart. In our heart there are many rooms. We feel very comfortable with some of these rooms. We are not afraid to open the doors, to switch on the lights, to turn up the blinds and to open the windows. However there are other rooms which are still very dark; where the doors are locked and where we keep walking by if we happen to be nearby. These are the rooms where we are afraid to open the door, switch on the lights, turn up the blinds and open the windows.
We cannot continue to live like this. As we shortly come up to venerate the cross and as you touch the cross make this prayer. “Lord Jesus take my hands and you help me put my hands on the door knob. Lord help me to turn the door knob so that I can open that door. Help me to switch on the lights, to put the blinds up and to open widely the windows. Lord make me comfortable in these rooms. Take any hurt. Take any fear. Lord heal me.”
This is the power of the cross. I finish with the words of St Paul written almost two thousand years ago but still very relevant today. “Here I am preaching a crucified Christ, to the Jews an obstacle that they cannot get over, to the pagans madness, but to these who have been called, whether they are Jews or Greeks, a Christ who is the power the wisdom of God.” (1 Cor 1:23-25)
