Christ Before Us

Russian author Alexander Solzhenitsyn, exiled for years in a Soviet gulag, had finally reached the limits of his endurance. Bitter cold and brutal treatment had taken their toll. He put down his shovel and sat down, resigning himself to a swift, violent death at the hands of the guards. A gaunt, old prisoner scurried over and knelt before him. He said nothing but traced the sign of the cross in the dirt. As Solzhenitsyn stared at this symbol, a ray of light pierced his soul. He did not have to face the evil of the gulag alone. Christ had gone before him. Today is the feast of the True Cross, the one that makes sense of our sufferings and gives us the strength to endure whatever life hands us.