Learning to be Quick to Listen

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross invites us to look upon what the world once saw as an instrument of utter defeat and recognize it instead for what it truly is: a banner of tender, unfathomable victory. When Jesus stretched out His arms on the cross, He didn’t stay distant from our pain; He stepped right into the mess, the suffering, and the heartbreak of our human story. He took the ugliest symbol of human cruelty and transformed it into the ultimate throne of divine mercy, whispering to every heavy heart that no darkness in our lives is ever too deep for His love to reach. The story of how that sacred wood was brought back into the light is a beautiful reminder of a mother's persistent love and faith. In the fourth century, St. Helena traveled all the way to Jerusalem, driven by a deep longing to find the physical footprints of her Lord. Through her patience and devotion, she uncovered the True Cross buried beneath the dust and debris of history, offering the world a...