Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross

Dear Friends,

Today the Church takes an unusual break from our typical Sunday liturgical calendar. Of the three levels of liturgical celebrations (Solemnities, Feasts, and Memorials), generally only Solemnities could supersede the proper prayers and readings of the ordinary Sunday liturgy. But today is one of those rare days that the Church allows a “Feast” to outrank the ordinary Sunday celebration. We do so for a special reason—to commemorate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross! Because of this, we take a break from reading the Gospel of Luke to reflect on part of this beautiful encounter between our Lord and the seeker, Nicodemus.

Jesus tells Nicodemus something that must have puzzled him greatly: “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."

He would have connected what Jesus said right away to what we heard in the first reading—when Moses lifted up the bronze serpent on a pole in order to heal anyone who looked upon it. But what would Jesus have been talking about!? How would Jesus, the Son of Man, be lifted up? How would that bring about healing? Nicodemus couldn’t have known exactly, until Christ’s story played out.

And this is where today’s celebration comes into play—why we crazy Catholics “exalt” one of the most infamous of all torture devices--the cross. It was understandably “a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles”, but we embrace and celebrate it. Why? Because as one of our great saints said, “Had there been no cross, Christ could not have been crucified, and if Christ was not crucified, death would not have been trodden underfoot, nor hell despoiled.” We celebrate the Holy Cross because it was through the Cross that Jesus manifested the greatest act of love humanity has ever witnessed, the act that brought about our hope of salvation.

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

Michael Gokie, Assistant Newman Director