Homily Sept 7: Beyond Lukewarm Faith - The Call to Complete Surrender

Every religion has a symbol at its center of worship. Christianity's symbol is the cross - not glory or triumph, but sacrifice. The resurrection means nothing unless we first pass through the cross; Christianity doesn't escape suffering, it transforms it.

• Jesus makes the breathtaking claim that nothing can come before him - not family, wealth, power, or even life itself
• Lukewarm Christianity admires Jesus from afar but never really follows him to the cross
• St. Maximilian Kolbe exemplifies carrying the cross by sacrificing his life for another prisoner at Auschwitz
• Everyone has a cross to carry - whether through illness, forgiveness, or other daily struggles
• The cross is not about despising life but about ordering our loves properly, with Christ first
• The world needs witnesses who burn with Christ's love, not "secret service Catholics" with lukewarm faith
• The cross is not a symbol of defeat but of victory, not despair but hope, the doorway to eternal life