The Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

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Gospel: John 3: 13-17

Jesus said to Nicodemus:
“No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him. 

The Gospel of the Lord.

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On August 15, 2021, two-hundred children gathered with their families at their local church in Haiti. All of the children were dressed in white, preparing for their baptism.

Twenty minutes before the ceremony was set to begin, the ground beneath them started shaking. Suddenly the roof collapsed, crushing twenty-three people, including a two-year-old child in her mother’s arms.

Somehow the mother survived.

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When we hear these things, it can leave us disgusted, feeling helpless. I literally cried out in anger, “Why God? How could you let this happen?”

After the quake in Haiti struck, I shared my troubled heart with a fellow priest, who said to me simply:

“At 3 pm on a Friday afternoon, an innocent man was murdered. We believe that man was also the Son of God. Three days later, he was raised from the dead.”

That is the heart of our faith.

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The death of Jesus does not explain why there is evil in the world; nor does it make it okay. 

But Christ’s death and resurrection teach us that, in the end, God is victorious. As Saint Paul says, “Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?”

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On this Feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross, may we humbly carry whatever cross we’ve been given in life – even if we don’t understand why it’s there – trusting that God is with us, leading us to a life without evil, suffering, or pain.

Certainly, for those twenty-three Haitians who died on their way to church.

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Image credits: (1) St. Catherine of Siena Academy (2) Reuters.com (3) The Gospel Coalition