Last week I visited Holy Cross Academy, one of our Catholic schools in the city of Edmonton. Given the name, I used the occasion to ask the students what they understood by the Cross. The answers, I must say, were very moving. They understood well that it was the perfect sign of the extent to which they are loved by Jesus Christ. They also appreciated that the act at the heart of the Cross - self-sacrifice - was one that called them to do the same. I explored with them what that would look like in their own lives, and the responses were spontaneous, even from the younger grades: doing my chores at home, cleaning up my room (some found that especially challenging!), helping friends at school and giving to others. We spoke together about how the Cross teaches us that we are most fully ourselves when we give ourselves away.
Through self-sacrifice we make visible our appropriation of the truth of the Cross. This week our country remembers those who lived out the meaning of the Cross in a particularly dramatic way by the sacrifice of their own lives for the sake of the life and liberty of others. We stand in awe before the bravery, courage and concern for others that led men and women to "stand in harm's way" in defence of their country and fellow citizens. As we reflect upon this particular living out of the meaning of the Cross, we realize that we are each called to make of our lives a sacrifice for others in our particular circumstances.
We think, too, of the families of our war heroes. Their sacrifice also is great and deserving of our thanks. I find it always very moving to see pictures of spouses and children taking leave of their loved ones as they depart for dangerous missions. This, too, is a living out of the meaning of the Cross. On Remembrance Day we also embrace them with our respect and esteem.
We might be tempted to think of remembering as an act of looking backward. In fact, it is actually an act by which we bring the past to the present so that we might learn from it for the sake of a better future. When we apply such remembrance to the Cross of Christ, the lesson is hope. Christ's death from his self-sacrifice led to the Resurrection; it led to life. By living the meaning of the Cross of Christ, our fallen heroes gave their lives moved by the hope that Jesus has shown to be real. May this same hope inspire us to give of ourselves for others.
