Exaltation of the Holy Cross
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'For God so loved the world …'
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Today we celebrate how Christ Jesus, the source of our life and salvation, transformed all human suffering, by willingly accepting death on the cross.
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In the First Reading, the people of Israel bring suffering upon themselves by losing faith on their long journey to deliverance from slavery. Moses is commanded to lift up a fiery serpent on a stick: all who turn to this symbol of salvation will be healed.
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In John’s Gospel, Jesus understands the suffering that he is being called to embrace. He foretells how he will be lifted up, just like the serpent in the wilderness, so that whoever turns towards him will have eternal life. He reminds us that he was not sent to condemn the world, but to save it.
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The Psalm encourages us to never forget the deeds of the Lord. The Lord is full of compassion and forgiveness – truly the source of our salvation.
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The Second Reading provides a poetic teaching of our salvation story. God’s love took human form in the person of Jesus. By accepting a shameful, humiliating death, God not only powerfully demonstrated solidarity with all who suffer cruelty and injustice at the hands of others, but overcame the finality of death, offering us all a path to eternal life.
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As Pilgrims of Hope in this Jubilee year, we pray for all those who are persecuted or caught up in the injustice and horrors of war. May theirs and all suffering be transformed by the saving love of Christ.
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A reflection if you only have a minute....
For you placed the salvation of the human race on the wood of the cross, so that, where death arose, life might again spring forth. Preface
Never forget the deeds of the Lord! Psalm
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Gospel
Further Reflection
​Gospel John 3: 13–17
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Nicodemus meets Jesus Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews and a teacher, is mentioned only in St John’s Gospel. He appears three times, and always at night. This is his only recorded meeting with Jesus, and their liaison under cover of darkness could be indicative of the heavy opposition encountered by Jesus in Jerusalem at the time.
‘As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness’ From verse 11 onwards, the conversation changes from dialogue to monologue, as Jesus addresses not only Nicodemus but the ‘world’. Jesus is alluding to the Old Testament story told in the book of Numbers (21: 49).
‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’ John relates the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus as a parable of Jesus’s life and a prediction of his death. The Greek verb ‘to lift up’ is hupsoun, and is used of Jesus in the Scriptures in two senses. It can mean a literal or physical lifting, or an ‘exaltation’ – being raised up or glorified. In John 8: 28 and 12: 32 the word is used of Jesus being physically lifted up on the cross. In Acts2: 33, 5: 31 and Philippians 2: 9 (today’s Second Reading) it is used with reference to Jesus’s ascension into glory.
‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son …’ These words can be seen as the very essence of the Gospel. Very important to St John’s theology is the conviction that God’s love is the dynamic principle for salvation. John prepares Christ’s Passion and death by outlining God’s divine plan of salvation for the world, whereas the writers of the synoptic gospels prepare us for Jesus’s death in a different way, speaking of what will happen in Jerusalem.
Contrasts and symbols Light and darkness As noted above, Nicodemus comes to see Jesus at night. In him we can see all seekers, at first in darkness but then emerging into the light (19: 39). This contrast is a favourite theme of St John, first set out in the Prologue to his Gospel (1: 4–5). People who do not know God’s love are in darkness; but in Jesus, they find light, faithfulness and love.
To condemn and to save Salvation is offered to us through Jesus because of God’s love for us. Condemnation is not the purpose of the Incarnation. We condemn ourselves by turning away from God, choosing to do our own thing, being self-reliant – as, for example, Adam did – and by rejecting his Son.
To aid our reflection on the Sunday readings each week we are reproducing, with permission, content from St. Bueno's Outreach. If you would like to know more about them or access their guided prayer resources, 'Prego', you can contact them via their website.​​​
Father in heaven, may the faith you have given us in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother, and the flame of charity enkindled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit ,reawaken in us the blessed hope for the coming of your Kingdom.
May your grace transform us into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel. May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos in the sure expectation of a new heaven and a new earth, when, with the powers of Evil vanquished, your glory will shine eternally.
May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope, a yearning for the treasures of heaven.
May that same grace spread the joy and peace of our Redeemer throughout the earth. To you our God, eternally blessed, be glory and praise for ever. Amen
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Pope Francis, Jubilee Prayer
Prayer for the People of Gaza
O God of all, of Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Isaac, and Ishmael: Our hearts are broken in pieces at the suffering and murder of your people. Our voices cry for peace and for justice. Comfort those who grieve; Console and heal the injured, Be close to those in fear; Restrain with your mighty hand those who perpetrate violence. Send us your wisdom in all that we say and do, That our voice may always seek justice, peace and security for all. Amen.
(Rev Peter Colwell, Dep Gen Sec, Churches Together CTBI)
Saints for our time
Carlo Acutis, 3/5/1991 - 12/10/2006
On September 7th Pope Leo canonised Blessed Carlo Acutis and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati.
The canonisation of the two young saints – Pier Giorgio, from the early twentieth century, and Carlo Acutis, the first millennial saint, were to have taken place at high points in this Jubilee Year: Pier Giorgio at the end of the Jubilee of Youth in August and Carlo Acutis on the the Jubilee of Teenagers in April, but the death of Pope Francis earlier this year meant these had to be postponed.
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More information, articles and resources, about Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati can be found here.
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Carlo Acutis was a British-born Italian student celebrated for his devotion to the Eucharist and his use of digital media to promote Catholic devotion. Born in London and raised in Milan, he created a website documenting Eucharistic miracles and Marian apparitions. Diagnosed with leukemia, he died at age fifteen.
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Pier Giorgio Frassati was dedicated to works of social action that would unite people together in fellowship as a means of combating inequalities. He was an opponent of fascism and did not support the regime of Benito Mussolini. He was once arrested in Rome while protesting alongside the 1921 Young Catholic Workers Congress.
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Pier Giorgio Frassati 6/4/1901 – 4/7/1925