Should I be proud of the Cross?
The leaders in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago couldn’t debate Christ, so they killed Him. But here’s the thing: The truth cannot be killed. Therein lies our hope. And so, we Christians wear the Cross, an emblem of torture and violent death, around our necks and hang it on our walls. The emblem is the cross, representative of the most hideous, barbaric form of execution there ever was—crucifixion—invented by the Persians and perfected by the Romans.
Saint Paul said we boast in the Cross. Why? Is it because it’s the weapon we use to kill people? Do we tell people to submit to Christ and then hang them on a cross if they refuse? No. We don’t hang people on crosses. Instead, we crucify ourselves by dying to ourselves and the world. We follow St. Paul’s urging to make our bodies living sacrifices; to become obedient to death, even death on a cross.
Becoming obedient to death, however, does not make us cowards. Fortitude (courage) is a cardinal virtue. And we are called to be virtuous, which includes being courageous.
A writer wrote the other day that, in the Letter to the Romans, Paul taught that rulers were God’s ministers and therefore were to punish evil doers and protect the good. Citing Thomas Aquinas, he wrote that the common good requires rulers to suppress injustice and preserve order. He quoted Pope Leo XIII, who warned that when authority neglects its divinely ordained duty, bloodshed follows.
Christ told us to be merciful as our Father is merciful. And so we try. He told us to love our enemies. But as I’ve instructed before, loving our enemies does not mean pretending they are our friends. And note that Christ never said “Blessed are the pacifists.” Rather, He said, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” It implies establishing the Truth, not yielding to error.
My friends, we are not Quakers. When our homes, families, or churches are attacked, we have a duty to defend them. It is not mercy to stand by and watch good things be destroyed; it is cowardice. A Christian must put a stop to mindless evil destruction. Then he forgives. For he desires that all men, friend and foe alike, attain eternal life.
Christ told us to conquer the world by baptizing it. Christ did so first, conquering Satan with the same weapon Satan used to trap our first parents—a tree. So, we glory in that tree. We glory in the Cross of Jesus Christ and embrace it. We glory in the sweet wood and the sweet nails that deliver us and set us free.
Excerpts from Fr. Kevin Drew
Oct 31 Fri