The Cross, Our Only Hope
In this Jubilee Year, as the Church invites us to be pilgrims of hope, we can take up the surprising words from a 6th-century hymn: “Hail, O Cross, our only hope.” This text invites us to look upon the mystery of Easter, recognizing that Christ’s death on the cross was the prelude to the Resurrection—the ultimate sign of hope.
In Jesus’ time, dying as a criminal on the cross, a brutal instrument of torture, was a mark of disgrace. Yet, Christ’s death on the cross was already a sign of hope, as it expressed the victory of love over hatred. “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
To say that the cross is our only hope is also to affirm that love, nonviolence, and forgiveness are our only hope.
All the martyrs who gave their lives while remaining faithful to this call to self-giving, Saint Brother André among them, like so many other saints, remind us that the ultimate act of love is our only hope.
In a world so often marked by violence, it may seem difficult to speak of hope. And yet, even amid violence and war, we witness moving examples of men and women who give their lives to alleviate the suffering of their brothers and sisters.
To be pilgrims of hope is to walk in the footsteps of the One who gave His life on the cross and who calls us to follow in His path.
