We It might seem very strange to take an instrument of death and thrust it into a position of glory.

We would hardly do that to a guillotine or a gas chamber. Not even a burning at the stake let alone the electric chair.

But we do honor the Cross of Christ because this instrument of death has become the source of our salvation.

And it has to be coupled with His Resurrection; the two go together, for had not Christ risen and come back from the dead, then His crucifixion would have been utter defeat.

But no, He did rise from the dead! So we exalt the Holy Cross because on it, Jesus defeats the power of evil.

On that Cross, for which He did nothing to deserve, He takes upon Himself all our crosses, all the bad things that happen to us and for which we did little if anything to deserve, all the illnesses, all the discouragements and disappointments, and He lifts them up to the Father with the promise that one day we too shall rise above that which would otherwise defeat us.

The Cross, representing all the bad and evil in the world, with Jesus, God’s Son, hanging upon it, reconciles sinful humanity to the Father and wins for us the forgiveness of our sins.

So, the Cross and Resurrection are very central to our faith and belief about living life on this earth, life after life on this earth, and passing between the two.

The Cross and the Resurrection are also fundamentals to the faith formation we give to our children in St. Luke School and in our Sunday School of religious education.

And since today’s second collection is for Catholic Education, I now call upon Mr. Jeremy Hewitt, the Director of Advancement for our school, for some additional thoughts about supporting this most important apostolate.

       Thank you.