Book Review: The Power of the Cross by Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa

The Power of the Cross by Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa

Raniero Cantalamessa has been the Preacher to the Papal Household since 1980. He's still doing the job (at 88 years old in 2023!), which certainly seems like both a high honor and a special burden. This book collects all of his Good Friday sermons from 1980 to 2022, forty-three in all, making it a fitting devotional during the forty days of Lent (which is what I did in 2023).

One would think that sermons based on one event in Sacred Scripture would become repetitive and dull after forty years, especially when they are all brought together at one time. The one event here, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, is not just any event. It is the central event in salvation history. Cantalamessa finds many different themes and perspectives, looking from the gaze of people at the crucifixion and from the various gazes through history, even to our own time. He connects contemporary events like Covid-19, The DaVinci Code, the Jubilee Year, etc., to this ancient event, showing how much God loves us and the ways we appreciate it and fail to appreciate it. He talks in some sermons about Pilate, the apostles, the women of Jerusalem, and Mary, the mother of Jesus. His writing is rich and insightful. The most touching moment for me is his description of the centurion's reaction to Jesus's death cry on the cross. The centurion recognized it for what it was because he had heard it on the battlefield before--the battle cry of victory! 

There are so many great insights throughout the book, I found it very inspiring. Each sermon is fewer than ten pages, so they are easy to read as a short devotionals. This book will surely be regular reading for me in future Lents.

Highly recommended.

Sample quote from Cardinal Cantalamessa's Good Friday sermon in 1994: 

If from the outside, you look at the stained-glass windows of an old cathedral, you will only see pieces of dark glass held together by strips of black lead. But if you enter in and view it from inside, against the light, you will see a breathtaking spectacle of colors and shapes. It is the same with the Church. Whoever sees it from the outside, with the eyes of the world, will only see its dark and gloomy side. But from the inside, with the eyes of faith and a sense of belonging, you will see what St. Paul saw, a wonderful building in whom the whole structure is joined together, a spotless spouse, a great mystery!

And another from the 2009 sermon:

Christ did not come to increase human suffering or to preach resignation to suffering. He came to give meaning to suffering and to proclaim its end and defeat. The slogan on public display in London and other cities is in full view of parents of sick children, the lonely, the unemployed, refugees from war zones, people who have suffered grave injustices in their life. I try to imagine their reaction to reading the words [of the slogan]: "There's probably no god. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life!" Really, and how? Suffering is a mystery for everyone, especially the suffering of the innocent, but without faith in God, suffering becomes overwhelmingly absurd. Even one's last hope of relief is taken away. Atheism is a luxury that only those who lead privileged lives can afford, those who have everything at their disposal, including the time and possibility to dedicate themselves to study and research.