The one-two punch of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and Our Lady of Sorrows always hits home for me. This year is the twentieth anniversary of the death of my classmates Matty Molnar and Jared Cheek – every year me and my classmates remember them in a particular way. I offered Mass for them this morning, as well as for their families & loved ones.

There has been a great many things to grieve recently. These last several weeks I’ve spent a lot of time at Olympic Medical Center – our local hospital – ministering to folks facing the end of their lives, or the end of the life of someone dear to them. The stories are legion and heartbreaking, but suffice to say that there are a lot of folks needing prayers right here in our backyard.

National news has been overwhelming too. Shootings of children, random stabbings, and assassination have dominated the feeds of networks and social media. The larger world has no shortage of dreadful suffering – terrible oppression, torture, and killing of Christians in many countries and senseless violence in, against, and across whole nations.

My second-favorite sin is wrath (the first is, as always, pride). It is trivial to convince myself of the righteousness of my rage and the evil of those I name as enemy. Social media allows for instant communities – if online mobs can be called that – of likeminded people, all of us ginning each other up into greater and greater fervor. If the world is going to hell in a handbasket, we might as well fight fire with fire….right?!?

Of course it never works out – it just means everyone gets burned, badly. And in the meantime, we don’t know how many hearts will be broken, how many lives shattered, how much blood will be spilled until everybody does what they were always going to have to do from the very beginning: sit down and talk. And to do that, we will need to be full of the very thing that is the hardest to give – or receive: forgiveness. Forgiveness for those who have let down, hurt, and betrayed us….. and ourselves, for our part in perpetuating the cycle of sorrow – in the world, and in our hearts.

Jesus Himself speaks to the fire that He does desire: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing” (Luke 12:49). And while we often (rightly!) focus on what He says next about divisions that come with discipleship, it is easy to overlook how that chapter ends: with His exhortation to settle with and befriend our opponents, lest we all be judged strictly – and severely.

Before we rush to conclusions or action, let us take time – lots of time – to sit at the foot of the cross, with Mary. May we cling to the Precious Body of Christ – perhaps making special effort to receive Him sacramentally a little more than usual, recognizing our own brokenness in His broken Body. And let us call upon Him to send us His Spirit, that we may be transformed such that our words and actions may echo the forgiveness He offered even on the cross.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in them the fire of your love.

Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created,
and you shall renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray.

O God, who have taught the hearts of the faithful
by the light of the Holy Spirit,
grant that in the same Spirit we may be truly wise
and ever rejoice in his consolation.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

September 14 – The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross holds a special place in the liturgical year. Our first hint of the specialness of this celebration is that even though it is a feast, it trumps even the solemnity of a Sunday Mass. Just as every Christian holds dear the cross and every church has an image of Christ crucified at its center, so we put the cross of Jesus above all else. Though sinless Himself, Jesus took on the penalty of all sin, dying a death like ours. By His willing and sinless sacrifice, He opened to all the gates of heaven, that if we but place our faith in him, we might have eternal life. Though this day only comes once a year, we would do well to meditate on the cross – and the One Who embraced in out of love for us! – every day. If you’re looking for a beautiful meditation, you may well enjoy & appreciate the chant Crux Fidelis (Faithful Cross), with English translation, sung by Caitlin Foster, Emma Nwobilor, Tim Sauser, and Michael Foster courtesy Neumes and Tunes.

September 15 – As I have written on this blog in the past (2023, 2024), the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows holds a particular poignancy for me. Today marks the 20th anniversary of the car accident that claimed the lives of two of my classmates – Matty Molnar & Jared Cheek. The lives of the driver – by God’s gracious mercy now Father Rob Spaulding – and the owner of the car (Mark Rowlands) were changed forever. What started as four friends having a night out ended in a tragedy that still weighs heavy on the hearts of many.

That this memorial – liturgically and personally speaking – should come after the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross has long been a special reminder of God’s providence & victory. Sin & death do not hold the final word! We who still labor in this valley of tears, are called to follow Mary’s example – though our hearts like hers are pierced in sorrow, we know that the resurrection of Christ offers salvation to all and promises an end to sadness. In your kindness, please pray for the repose of the souls of Matty & Jared, for the consolation of all those who love them (especially their families), and for the healing of his friends – especially Father Rob & Mark. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.

September 16 – Today is the memorial of Saints Cornelius and Cyprian. So honored are these two martyrs that their names are included in the Roman Canon (Eucharistic Prayer I) at Mass. Originally, Saint Cyprian’s feast day was on the day of his martyrdom (September 14, 258) but it was moved to September 16 when the Exaltation of the Cross was introduced. Saint Cyprian and Saint Cornelius both opposed a herectical sect called the Novatianists, which held that those who apostacized (as many did during a terrible persecution under Emperor Decius) could not be admitted back into the Church. They each did in their own way – Cornelius opposing the rigid refusal to re-admit apostate Christians, Cyprian opposing the laxity of clergy who admit them without any penance at all. Eventually they were both martyred themselves, faithful witnesses to Christ – and His great mercy – to the end. Read more at the Vatican City State website (I also recommend JD Flynn’s excellent reflection on them in his Tuesday Pillar Post today)

September 20 – Wrapping this week of liturgical heavy-weights is the memorial of Saint Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and their companions. A comparatively contemporary memorial, we honor on this day just over a hundred martyrs – most of them lay faithful – who were put to death in Korea for the faith. Today that faith continues to grow, in no small part thanks to the witness of so many who willingly gave their lives to share it. Read more about them at Notre Dame’s FaithND.