TRIUMPH OF THE CROSS

Tuesday September 14

TWENTY-FOURTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

TRIUMPH OF THE CROSS

The Cross Brings Life

Greeting

Praise to God our Father,

who loved us so much

that he gave us his only Son,

so that all who believe in him may have eternal life.

May Jesus fill us with his life

and be always with you. R/And also with you.

Introduction by the Celebrant

Jesus keeps reminding us in the gospels that being his disciple is something not to be taken lightly, for to be a disciple means to be one who follows the master. So the disciple has to face the cross, just as Jesus had to face it and take it up. To him it brought the victory of life over death, of grace over sin, of final resurrection and happiness. Jesus was willing to pay the price for it. He asks us, his disciples: Can you take up your cross after me? What answer do we give him in this eucharist?

Penitential Act

Too often we want a painless Christianity
in which there is no place for the cross.
Let us ask the Lord to forgive us
such a distortion of our faith.
                        (pause)
Lord Jesus, when you were lifted up on the cross
your death brought us forgiveness and life:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

Jesus Christ, when you were lifted up on the cross
your open arms reached out to all people:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.

Lord Jesus, when you were lifted up on the cross,
from your pierced heart there flowed
treasures of grace and love:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord,
and wash away all our sins.
Lift us up, restore us
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.

Opening Prayer

Let us pray to God that we may learn
to bear our cross with his Son
                        (pause)
Lord, God of loyalty,
we are constantly under the threat
of contesting our dependence on you
and of blaming you for the evil in the world.
Lord God, make us see
the redeeming value of suffering.
Give us the mentality of Jesus Christ:
make us ready to be totally Christian,
totally committed to you and to people,
even at the cost of suffering.
Give us the strength to follow all the way
your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.

First Reading: Saved by Faith in the Sign of Salvatio 

Tired and discouraged from their long journey and stay in the desert, the Hebrews lost faith in God and began to revolt. God punished them, but saved those who looked up in faith to a sign of salvation.

Reading 1: NM 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. 

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 78:1BC-2, 34-35, 36-37, 38

(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!

Second Reading: The Humiliated Christ is Glorified

Jesus, God’s Son, humbled himself by becoming someone like us and even more so by dying for us on the cross. This is why he is now our glorious Lord.

Reading 2: PHIL 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.

Alleluia

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

Gospel: Jesus’ Saving Death Gives Life

Because he loved us, God sent his Son into the world as man. By his death, Jesus brought us forgiveness and life.

Gospel: JN 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. 

Intercessions

God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son to save us and bring us life by his death and resurrection. Let us pray to Jesus for all who suffer and let us say:

R/ Lord, save us by your cross.

–   For those whose life lacks direction, that they may discover Christ the way, let us pray:

     R/ Lord, save us by your cross.

–   For those whose ideals have faded, that they may see and accept the lasting novelty of life and constantly renew themselves, let us pray:

     R/ Lord, save us by your cross.

–   For the perennial losers of their personal struggles against the forces of evil, that they may trust in Christ, whose grace is mightier than sin and death, let us pray:

     R/ Lord, save us by your cross.

–   For those who are lonely, deserted, or shut up within themselves, that they may accept the companionship of Christ and through him open themselves to others, let us pray:

     R/ Lord, save us by your cross.

–   For all of us, that we may learn from our Lord himself to bear our crosses in patience and humility, that in some way they may bring life to us and to whoever is tired and discouraged, let us pray:

     R/ Lord, save us by your cross.

–   For this community, that with Jesus our Savior it may be poor and serving and open to all people and all needs, let us pray:

     R/ Lord, save us by your cross.

Lord Jesus Christ, your cross remains a mystery to us, as does all pain and want. Yet we rely on your word and example that the cross is a way to joy and freedom. Turn our crosses into bearers of happiness and life, now and for ever. R/ Amen.

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord God, with this bread and this wine
we celebrate the saving death of your Son.
In moments when suffering strikes
and when we find it hard to bear,
give us the strength, Lord God,
not to murmur and to contest
but to accept that it is your way to glory,
even if we do not understand fully.
We ask you for this courage
through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.

Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer

Remember that in this and every eucharist we celebrate the sacrifice of the cross by which Jesus brought us forgiveness and life. Let us thank the Father for it and offer ourselves with Jesus our Lord, that we may overcome evil with him.

Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer

Grateful for his saving love,
we pray to our Father in heaven
in the words of Jesus, our Savior: R/ Our Father...

Deliver Us

Deliver us, Lord, from every evil
and forgive us the sins
that caused your Son’s death on the cross.
Help us to join our crosses to his;
give us courage and patience in life,
as we wait in joyful hope for the coming in glory

of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom…

Invitation to Communion

This is the Lamb of God
who died on the cross
to take our sins away.
Happy are we to be invited
to eat his bread of strength. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...

Prayer after Communion

God, our Lord and Father,
we know that you have made us
for joy and happiness,
yet humiliation and death was the price
that your Son had to pay.
Let us never be ashamed of his cross
or proclaim a painless Christianity,
for we trust you when you call us
to bear witness to you the way you want us to,
through Jesus Christ, your Son and Lord. R/ Amen.

Blessing

We ourselves have been marked
with the sign of the cross
as people saved by a serving Lord.
On account of the cross,
we have to learn to forgive,
to bear one another’s burdens
and to accept the realities of life
as people of hope and trust,
with the blessing of almighty God,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.

Let us go in the peace of Christ. R Thanks be to God.

Commentary

Fix our eyes on the Cross

The Cross is the sacred symbol of our faith. Yet, for the first three centuries after the death of Jesus on the cross, the Christians intentionally did not use the cross as a symbol of their faith. They were recognized in other symbols—the anchor, the fish, the loaves, the dove, the shepherd—but they were reluctant to depict the cross. It evoked the infamous death of their Master, death reserved for slaves and brigands, and that was one of the reasons they were ridiculed by the non-believers.

“We proclaim a crucified Messiah. For the Jews, what a great scandal! And for the Greeks, what nonsense!”—wrote Paul (1 Cor 1:23). But the Christians were reluctant to translate this truth into a symbol.

On 14 September, 335 a huge crowd of pilgrims flocked from all over the world in Jerusalem. They celebrated the feast of the dedication of the basilica built by Constantine on the site of the holy sepulchre. On the rock of Calvary, the emperor placed a wonderful jewelled cross to mark the place of Christ’s sacrifice. That day marked the transition to the worship of the cross. They started to manufacture it with the most precious metals, was embedded with pearls, appeared everywhere, on churches, on banners, on the crown of the prince, on the coins....

Today’s gospel speaks about the discourse of Jesus to Nicodemus calls on us to look to Jesus who is “lifted up” on the Wood of the Cross; We are called to keep your eyes fixed on the love that God has revealed on Calvary.

The cross is the antidote to the poison of the serpent – the devil, that can induce to kill the innocent. At every moment, we come across snakes that can poison our existence. They are the craving for possessions, the frenzy of power, the desire for recognition. Only an eye directed to him who was lifted up on the Cross can cure us of this poison. The Cross is the reference point of each gaze of the believer who sees the total proposal made to him by the Master of life.
Today's feast also reveals how God expresses his judgment: According to the criteria of this world, the cross is the sign of defeat and failure of a lifetime. According to the judgment of God, it is the supreme proof of love. The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross invites everyone to evaluate one’s life, based on the life, lifted on the Cross.