everyone who believes in him may have eternal life

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Collect

O God, who willed that your Only Begotten Son should undergo the Cross to save the human race, grant, we pray, that we, who have known his mystery on earth, may merit the grace of his redemption in heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Numbers 21:4b-9

With their patience worn out by the journey,
the people complained against God and Moses,
"Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert,
where there is no food or water?
We are disgusted with this wretched food!"

In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents,
which bit the people so that many of them died.
Then the people came to Moses and said,
"We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you.
Pray the LORD to take the serpents from us."
So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses,
"Make a saraph and mount it on a pole,
and if any who have been bitten look at it, they will live."
Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole,
and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent
looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

The word of the Lord.

Psalm 78:1bc-2, 34-35, 36-37, 38

R. :

R. (see 7b) Do not forget the works of the Lord!
Hearken, my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable,
I will utter mysteries from of old.

R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!

While he slew them they sought him
and inquired after God again,
Remembering that God was their rock
and the Most High God, their redeemer.

R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!

But they flattered him with their mouths
and lied to him with their tongues,
Though their hearts were not steadfast toward him,
nor were they faithful to his covenant.

R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!

But he, being merciful, forgave their sin
and destroyed them not;
Often he turned back his anger
and let none of his wrath be roused.

R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!

Philippians 2:6-11

Brothers and sisters:
Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.


The word of the Lord.

Acclamation before the Gospel

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,
because by your Cross you have redeemed the world.


℟. Alleluia, alleluia.


John 3:13-17

Jesus said to Nicodemus:
"No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.

The Gospel of the Lord.

All reply:

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Reflection
For the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the Church presents us with a passage from John’s Gospel which speaks about God’s love for the whole world. Indeed, the Cross is a symbol of suffering. Yet, for us Christians, the Cross is a symbol of God’s love: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (v.16). With these words, the Evangelist emphasises that the reason for the incarnation and death of our Lord Jesus Christ is love. This is precisely what we are celebrating today: the testimony of love that Jesus showed us when he gave his life for us on the Holy Cross.

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross reminds us of the humility, lowliness, and obedience that led Jesus to the throne of the Cross. The Lord Jesus did not choose the Cross as an end in itself, but to fulfil the will of the Father, he “was obedient unto death—even death on a cross” (Phil 2:8). From the Cross, our Lord Jesus Christ gave his life to obtain for us hope and new life. From that same Cross, our Lord Jesus Christ was lifted up into the glory of the Father.

And how do we look at the Cross, which, whether we like it or not, is present in our lives? Truly, the Cross often casts us into darkness, and at times we may feel abandoned. However, the Cross can become for us a grace, a means through which we are purified from self-love, so that the image of God within us may shine forth. We do this when we accept the Cross with faith and patience, and when we recognise how to unite our sufferings with those of Christ.

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross encourages us to adore and keep our gaze fixed on Christ, lifted up, “that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (v.15). As Saint Paul tells us: “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor 1:18).

Prayer

I will extol thee, my God and King,

and bless thy name for ever and ever.

Every day I will bless thee,

and praise thy name for ever and ever.

My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,

and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever. (Psalm 145:1-2, 21)

 

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