Why should we meditate on the cross? Because through the cross of Christ, we can begin to comprehend God's all-consuming love for us. The short reflections in this book are taken from homilies presented by renounced evangelist Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa on Good Friday in St. Peter's Basilica. Fr. Cantalamessa, who has been the preacher of the Papal Household since 1980, unfolds for us the mystery and the power of the cross. By willingly embracing the cross for our sake and then rising from the dead, Jesus has brought us salvation, healing, mercy, and the hope of eternal life. As Fr. Cantalamessa contemplates the intensity and reality of Christ's love for us, he also shows us how to respond wholeheartedly with that same fire in our hearts.