“Lift high the Cross, the love of Christ proclaim…”
That’s a song we all know, but what does it mean? Why do we lift high the Cross? September 14 is the feast of the Triumph of the Cross, also called the Exaltation of the Cross. Did you know that we celebrate this feast tomorrow?
Have you ever heard of St. Helena? She was the mother of Constantine. Remember that St. Constantine was the emperor who made Christianity the official religion of the whole Roman Empire in the 4th century. According to legend, St. Helena goes to Jerusalem and finds the true Cross – the actual cross on which Jesus died. Constantine had a church built over the site of the crucifixion; that’s where the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is today in the Old City of Jerusalem. The church was dedicated today, on September 13th in the year 335. The following day, September 14th, was decreed as the day when “all should celebrate the finding and exaltation of the Cross.”
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My homily for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary time, year C. The readings are Isaiah 66:18-21; Psalm 117; Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13 and Luke 13:22-30.
I can picture the Pentecostal pastor or the Baptist preacher, leaning over the pulpit and asking, “Are you saved, brothah? Are you saved, sistah?” Are you saved? That’s a question that seems to be more important to non-Catholic Christians than it is for Catholics. I mean, whenever an Evangelical has asked me if I’m saved, my response is (shrugging), “It depends.” Do you mean, do I believe in God, or do I believe in Christ? Or has Christ already saved me or do I accept the fact that He has saved me? Or do you mean, am I going to Heaven? Because I don’t know. I’d like to go to Heaven, but I don’t want to presume.
Are you going to Heaven? Now that’s a question that’s important for everyone; probably the most important question. Who wants to go to Heaven? I want to go to Heaven. The Catholic Church’s response to the “are you saved?” question is the Universal Call to Holiness. I’ve written about this before. We are all called to be holy. We are all called to be Saints. That means we are all called to go to Heaven. We are all called to salvation. That’s what it’s all about. That’s the most important thing we’ll ever do: get to Heaven!
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Este fue mi sermón en la Parroquia de Santa Marta en la Ciudad de Panamá, el domingo 4 de agosto, 2013 con el P. Rómulo Aguilar una semana después de la JMJ en Rio 2013. Las lecturas ese 19º domingo de tiempo ordinario eran Eclesiastés 1:2; 2, 21-23; Colosenses 3:1-5, 9-11 y Lucas 12:13-21.
Que quiere ser rico ante Dios? San Pablo nos lo dice en la segunda lectura: “Aspiren a los bienes de arriba, no a los de la tierra.” Busquen primero el Reino de los Cielos. Ese es el mensaje de hoy. Pero mucha gente, cuando escucha este mensaje, piensan que tienen que estar metidos en la iglesia o tienen que estar rezando el Rosario todo el tiempo o estar frente al Santísimo – y todo eso es bueno e importante, pero no es suficiente y esas cosas no son el fin de la expresión Cristiana. Y creo que para todos Uds. no es necesariamente la mejor forma de buscar el Reino de los Cielos. Para explicar esto mejor, les tengo una palabra: MISION.
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I don’t want to run to the Cross. I want to run from the Cross. And today, the Monday after WYD the Cross beckons me. Today, exhausted, after a week of 16-hour days, I complained to Jesus that I had to do all the work by myself. Actually, I didn’t complain to Jesus; I just complained. But Jesus answered right away: “Today is the feast of Martha and Mary. ”
I’ve always liked Martha: She is the example of the service that Pope Francis keeps reminding us of. She reminds me of diaconal service. Her service is diakonia. And this is what this papacy seems to be about. When Francis was elected I said that the Church would become a more diaconal Church. I think that it’s fair to say that it already has. And here in Rio de Janeiro, we have just spent a week of Pope Francis reminding us of this call to service, but he didn’t call it service; he called it love. How do we build the Church? We love.I’ll never forget the three words that he gave us on Thursday night when telling us that we need to be athletes of Christ. How do we train? We train through prayer, the Sacraments and love of the other. They’re all important, yet so often the story of Martha and Mary is interpreted to mean that prayer is the most important part. Read more…
deacon pedro 