WE ADORE YOU, O CHRIST AND WE PRAISE YOU, BECAUSE BY YOUR HOLY CROSS YOU HAVE REDEEMED THE WORLD(Numbers 21:4-9/psalm 78:1-2,34-38/Phil.2:6-11/John 3:13-17)

WE ADORE YOU O CHRIST BECAUSE BY YOUR CROSS, YOU HAVE REDEEMED THE WORLD

(SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2019
THE FEAST OF THE EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS)

The Feast of today is called the Exaltation of the Cross or Elevation of the Cross, a Holy Cross Day. The liturgy of the Cross is a triumphant liturgy
In the Gospel of today, Jesus recalls the desert experience of Moses and the Israelites he was leading to the promised land. Many Israelites, due to the hardships they were experiencing while journeying, spoke against the Lord.

The Lord got angry at them and sent fiery serpents which killed many Israelites. The Lord relented when they begged and asked forgiveness. Moses was instructed to make a symbolic serpent attached at the end of the pole and declared that whoever is bitten need only to look at the serpent and they will be healed.
In the same way, Jesus, the Son of Man, will be raised on the cross and will be the source of life eternal for those who will believe.

The cross has so many meanings both to Christians and non-Christians. For Christians alone, it is a sign of inhumanity by man, the humanity of God, love, sacrifice, justice, and obedience. This feast may refer to the triumph of the Christian Faith, symbolized by the cross. It is not the cross itself which is exalted but the saving action of Jesus through the cross. That which was a symbol of absurdity, scandal, pain, and death, had become the central symbol of the Christian Faith because of the meaning Jesus gave to it. Jesus changed the meaning of the cross.

The cross has become life for every Christian. When Jesus chose to die on the cross, He put an end to death and let eternal life enter. Salvation, through the cross, became the greatest irony in human history. That which was the place of death to many had become a source of new life to many. When Moses lifted the bronze serpent over the people, it was a foreshadowing of the salvation through Jesus when He was lifted up on the Cross.
The Holy Mother Church sings of the triumph of the Cross, the instrument of our redemption. To follow Christ, we must take up His cross, follow Him and become obedient until death.

We made the Sign of the Cross before prayer which helps to fix our minds and hearts to God. After prayer, we make the Sign of the Cross to keep close to God. During trials and temptations, our strength and protection is the Sign of the Cross. At Baptism, we are sealed with the Sign of the Cross, signifying the fullness of redemption and that we belong to Christ.
Today’s feast is not a mere remembering or reenactment of how Jesus gave meaning to the cross. This feast is a reminder that we have our own crosses to carry as Jesus said “anyone who wants to be a follower of mine must carry his/her cross and follow me.

Our crosses have different sizes in the same way that we have a different magnitude of challenges in life. Nevertheless, we accept our crosses and endure them in faith. We know that, like Jesus, our cross will not be the source of our end but the beginning of new life. Our cross reminds us that life is not a bed of roses. Nevertheless, it will lead us to life eternal.
Let us look to the cross frequently, and realize that when we make the Sign of the Cross we give our entire self to God — mind, soul, heart, body, will, thoughts.
O cross, you are the glorious sign of victory. Through your power may we share in the triumph of Christ Jesus.

Let Us Pray: Lord Jesus, give me grace to follow you and serve you and carry my cross everyday. May the sacrifices I make for the good of others bring me good in the end. Amen.