Church of the Cross

 

 

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On the morning after Pope Leo XIV was elected, I awoke with a “now word” on my heart that was not only words but a deep impression:

We must become a Church of the Cross again. 

A Church ready to give its life for the Gospel, to pour itself out as Jesus did in both a “white” or “red” martyrdom.^[1]A “white” martyrdom is the death to self that every disciple of Jesus is called to (see Matt 16:24) as where “red” martyrdom is the literal giving of one’s life for the sake of the Gospel. This was not a glum word that day but one of joy, of following in the footsteps of Jesus:

For the sake of the joy that lay before Him He endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God. Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners, in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart. (Heb 12:2-3)

Later that morning, I read Pope Leo’s first homily:^[2]A little irony… Pope Leo’s birth date was on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, September 14, 1955

…we are called to bear witness to our joyful faith in Jesus the Savior. Therefore, it is essential that we too repeat, with Peter: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt 16:16). It is essential to do this, first of all, in our personal relationship with the Lord, in our commitment to a daily journey of conversion. Then, to do so as a Church, experiencing together our fidelity to the Lord and bringing the Good News to all.

Then these words jumped from the page:

Saint Ignatius, who was led in chains to this city, the place of his impending sacrifice, wrote to the Christians there: “Then I will truly be a disciple of Jesus Christ, when the world no longer sees my body” (Letter to the Romans, IV, 1). Ignatius was speaking about being devoured by wild beasts in the arena – and so it happened — but his words apply more generally to an indispensable commitment for all those in the Church who exercise a ministry of authority. It is to move aside so that Christ may remain, to make oneself small so that he may be known and glorified (cf. Jn 3:30), to spend oneself to the utmost so that all may have the opportunity to know and love him. —May 9, 2025, Rome; Catholic News Agency

 

How is it Possible?

This kind of spending of oneself is impossible without God’s grace. How do we love our enemies? How do we forgive the unforgivable? How do we serve the ungrateful? How do we witness to our persecutors? How do we love those who hate us? As Pope Leo asserts, we will find this grace foremost in a “personal relationship with the Lord” — which was the theme of Day 6 of Jesus Week. How everything changes when Jesus is no longer an abstract, a philosophy, a theological concept, but a face and a real friend. 

Here, is a call ultimately to renewed prayer. How tired I have been of late, deflated and discouraged by the advance of evil in the world and the division and infighting within the Church herself. Moreover, I feel nothing but my own poverty and helplessness to change anything, and how “all things [of this world] are vanity!” (Eccl 1:2) — and that includes many of our church programmes and clubs that, without holiness of life, become little more than a “resounding gong and a clashing cymbal!”^[3]1 Cor 13:1

In that tiredness of the soul, I am tempted to skip prayer, to fill the void with noise, to hasten the passing of yet another day with distractions. But when I resist this temptation and give my small but crucial fiat to God once more, how often have I suddenly discovered that morsel of “daily bread” that Jesus told us to pray for, that hidden manna only found by those who ask, who seek, who knock.^[4]cf. Matt 7:7 Jesus would never have included that petition in the Our Father to “give us this day our daily bread” unless the Father intends to give us our daily bread!^[5]Matt 6:11 As the Lord instructed the Israelites:

I am going to rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion; thus will I test them, to see whether they follow My instructions or not. (Ex 16:4)

You could say, then, that every day presents a white martyrdom in my choice to either pray — or not — a little test of my love for God: “And your Father who sees in secret will repay you” (Matt 6:6). Daily conversion happens precisely in prayer, especially when it is driest and most difficult. “Indeed,” writes St. Paul, “only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die. But God proves His love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:7-8) Am I willing to love God and spend time with Him in prayer only when I’m “feelin’ it”, only when there are consolations, or will I love him when all I have to give is the “sacrifice of praise”?^[6]Heb 13:15 This is what it means to be a Church of the Cross: to love as Christ loved us, ^[7]cf. Eph 5:2, 1 Jn 3:16 to spend myself to the utmost when I would rather not. 

Second, the Pope calls us to bear witness “as a Church.” The divisions among Catholics today are not few and are amplified and multiplied through social media. The papacy of Francis bitterly divided Catholics into little tribes: the progressives over here, the so-called “traditionalists” over there, etc., each claiming to be gatekeepers of the truth. The answer to this religious chest-bumping is rather simple: humility — humility before two thousand years of Sacred Tradition; humility before the authentic Magisterium; humility before the Scriptures; and above all, humility before the other, who is made in the image of God, just like you and me. Being a Church of the Cross means accepting the limitations and weaknesses of the other, of our shepherds, and that includes our popes. How can we witness to the world the transforming power of the Gospel when it has not even transformed my speech, my actions, my life, much less my parish?

It seems to me that a great sacrifice is going to be demanded of faithful Christians every where not long from now; it’s already begun for Christians in the Middle East who are being martryed as we speak. I have written of these things for 20 years. Still, the most important question is: Am I ready to spend myself to the utmost with everyone with whom I will encounter, starting today? Will I become part of that Church of the Cross?

 

So grateful for your prayers and support.
Thank you!

 

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