The Cross of Love

Dear Friend,

Some years ago, two of my Franciscan brothers - one a composer, and the other a gifted communicator and community activist - created a song called “The Cross of Love.”  The song is in the form of a blessing and often sung at the end of funerals. It weaves together themes of the Franciscan tradition and points them all toward that central image which underlies our scripture texts this Sunday: the Cross. 

At a key turning point in his life, St. Francis of Assisi heard the Lord’s voice coming to him from the Cross, and some years later it was the vision of the Cross that sustained him during a time of deep prayer and sorrow on the mountaintop of La Verna. It was the same voice and vision we hear from Isaiah: “The Lord God opens my ear that I may hear; and I have not rebelled, have not turned back…” In Mark’s gospel, Jesus begins to reveal to his disciples the hard truth of his vocation and theirs: the path to life means embracing suffering and death. The way to fullness of life - salvation - is the path of our solidarity with Jesus Christ in his suffering and with that of the poor. My brothers’ song puts it this way: “May the lowly and forgotten show our Savior’s hidden face, found with love…”

This week we will observe three significant dates on our liturgical calendar, each echoing this Sunday’s readings: on Tuesday, the Exaltation of the Holy Cross; Wednesday, the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows; and on Friday the Stigmata of Our Holy Father Saint Francis. Let’s let the blessing of these celebrations stir within us a deeper commitment to unity and to communion with all those who suffer, in the knowledge that Jesus Christ walks with us in love.  

Gratefully,

Fr. Dan ofm, Pastor