Cardinal Cupich delivered the following homily at Holy Name Cathedral on Nov. 24 on the occasion of the 175th anniversary of Holy Name Parish: Jesus accepts the title “king,” but he makes clear his kingdom is not of this world. How does he rule? Not by power, possessions or position, but by witnessing to the truth. Like Pilate, we find ourselves asking, “What is truth?” It is two things. First, the truth is that God has sent his son into the world because we cannot save ourselves. This truth is hard to accept because it disrupts the lie the world offers us, the lie that we can save ourselves through accumulation of possessions, through the creation of a public image and reputation such that we become obsessed by how others perceive us, and through the pursuit of power, dominion over others by our position or status. Pilate is unable to recognize this truth because he has organized his whole life around the lie that he can save himself, by accumulating possessions, protecting his reputation and dominating others. Pilate’s impulse to save himself in these ways is so strong that he cannot even fathom the truth Jesus offers, the truth that he cannot save himself, and so he is left with only one response to Jesus, asking, “What is truth?” But Jesus also witnesses on the cross to the truth that God, dare we say it, loves us even more than the life of his own son. This truth also is hard to believe, but when we do, everything in our life changes. All of our worries, anxieties and discouragement becomes relative. The worst thing in the world has happened; we killed the Son of God, and yet God still loved us and sent his son back to us from the dead. It is the truth that liberates us from the pursuit of greed, power over others and jealous comparisons that so often lead to cruelty. It is the truth also that frees us of false pride and the irresponsible pursuits of pleasure. And it is a truth that prompts us to generously care for and love others with no expectation of return because God has first loved us. Whenever these many temptations come our way, the remedy is to open our hearts to the voice of Jesus, who testifies to the truth that we cannot save ourselves and we don’t have to because God loves us more than the life of his son. The cross hanging in this cathedral is quite unique. The wood of the cross, an instrument of torture, does not hold Jesus back from the freedom to love us. This cross encircles Jesus but does not bind him. It is as if he is free-floating. It reveals that even though he suffers the pain, agony, shame and cruelty of being crucified, it has no hold on him and his attention. He is literally detached from all of that, given his overriding concern to witness to the truth that he has come to save us because we cannot save ourselves and to reveal the incomparable love of God the Father for us. Every time we celebrate the Eucharist, then, Jesus testifies to this twofold truth, that we cannot save ourselves and that God loves us more than the life of his son. There is no better way to celebrate this historic anniversary of Holy Name than to look to this cross, and let Jesus speak to us that while he is surrounded by this instrument of torture, he is not enslaved by it; he does not allow it to define the parameters of his life and action or the extent of his love. He is detached from all that would hold him back from loving us and revealing God’s love for us. We need this reminder lest the world seduce us with its lies and illusions that we can save ourselves, closing us off to hearing the truth of God’s love for us. And so let us take the next step in our journey together, keeping our eyes fixed on Christ crucified, who strengthens us to be those who belong to the truth, because we hear his voice.