The film "The Passion of the Christ" raised anew the question why did Jesus suffer such an excruciatingly painful death. For centuries, those afflicted with suffering have been counseled by the church to unite their sufferings to those of Jesus. This book asks the question how the cross of Jesus can be reimagined in such a way as to offer a path of hope rather than resignation. Drawing upon resources as diverse as Simone Weil, William Lynch, Dorothee Soelle, Karl Rahner, and Jon Sobrino, as well as the author's personal experience of deep loss, the book explores the terrain of suffering, from the universal loss of loved ones to the imprisonment of mental illness and the global catastrophe of AIDS. The book also questions the extra burden of suffering put upon gay Catholics by the church's teaching of life-long celibacy for homosexuals.