Posted on 09/14/2004 6:56:25 AM PDT by Salvation
September 14, 2004
Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Psalm: Tuesday 40 Reading I Responsorial Psalm Reading II Gospel
Reading I
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
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!
Reading II
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.
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..
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From: Numbers 21:4b-9
The Bronze Serpent
From: Philippians 2:6-11
Hymn in Praise of Christ's Self-Emptying
From: John 3:13-17
The Visit of Nicodemus (Continuation)
FEAST OF THE DAY
The feast of the Holy Cross, also known as the Triumph of the Cross,
celebrates two separate events on this day. The first is the
celebration of the discovery of the Lord's Cross by Empress St.
Helena in the year 320. The second event celebrated this day is the
dedication of the basilicas at the sites of the Holy Sepulcher and at
Mt. Calvary in 335.
During the fourth century Empress St. Helena, mother of
Constantine, was inspired to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in
search of the Cross of the Savior. When she arrived in Jerusalem,
she had the Temple of Aphrodite razed, which thought to be built
over the tomb of the Lord and began excavation in search of the
means of his execution. The excavation found three crosses and the
True Cross of the Lord was recognized by the curing of a dying
woman when she touched it.
After the excavation was finished, the Emperor Constantine built the
basilica of the Holy Sepulcher on the site. The Cross almost
immediately began an object of veneration by the faithful. In
Jerusalem, a tradition was begun of reverencing the Cross of the
Lord each year on the celebration of Good Friday, the day we
remember the death of the Lord.
Today's feast has a long tradition in the East, but its celebration in
the West began during the seventh century. In the year 614, the
Cross was carried off by Persians. Fifteen years later, it was
recovered and the emperor decided to carry it back to the basilica in
Jerusalem. Legend has it that he was physically unable to begin his
journey until he removed his imperial garb and became a humble,
barefoot pilgrim.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
This is the wood of the Cross on which hung the Savior of the world.
R. Come let us adore
-From the Good Friday Liturgy
TODAY IN HISTORY
258 Martryrdom of St. Cyprian
891 Death of Pope Stephen VI
1523 Death of Pope Adrian VI
TODAY'S TIDBIT
Before the Liturgy was reformed by the Second Vatican Council, the
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday following the feast of the Holy
Cross were considered Ember Days and used to give thanks to God
for the first fruits of the harvest. This tradition is often recognized in
rural areas by the celebrating the Order for a Blessing on the
Occasion of Thanksgiving for the Harvest.
INTENTION FOR THE DAY
Please pray for all who depend on the land for their economic welfare.
Wednesday, September 15, 2004 Our Lady of Sorrows (Memorial) |
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Early in the fourth century St. Helena, mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, went to Jerusalem in search of the holy places of Christ's life. She razed the Temple of Aphrodite, which tradition held was built over the Savior's tomb, and her son built the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher over the tomb. During the excavation, workers found three crosses. Legend has it that the one on which Jesus died was identified when its touch healed a dying woman.
The cross immediately became an object of veneration. At a Good Friday celebration in Jerusalem toward the end of the fourth century, according to an eyewitness, the wood was taken out of its silver container and placed on a table together with the inscription Pilate ordered placed above Jesus' head: Then "all the people pass through one by one; all of them bow down, touching the cross and the inscription, first with their foreheads, then with their eyes; and, after kissing the cross, they move on."
To this day the Eastern Churches, Catholic and Orthodox alike, celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on the September anniversary of the basilica's dedication. The feast entered the Western calendar in the seventh century after Emperor Heraclius recovered the cross from the Persians, who had carried it off in 614, 15 years earlier. According to the story, the emperor intended to carry the cross back into Jerusalem himself, but was unable to move forward until he took off his imperial garb and became a barefoot pilgrim.
Comment:
Quote:The cross is today the universal image of Christian belief. Countless generations of artists have turned it into a thing of beauty to be carried in procession or worn as jewelry. To the eyes of the first Christians, it had no beauty. It stood outside too many city walls, decorated only with decaying corpses, as a threat to anyone who defied Rome's authorityincluding the heretic sect which refused sacrifice to Roman gods. Although believers spoke of the cross as the instrument of salvation, it seldom appeared in Christian art unless disguised as an anchor or the Chi-Rho until after Constantine's edict of toleration.
"How splendid the cross of Christ! It brings life, not death; light, not darkness; Paradise, not its loss. It is the wood on which the Lord, like a great warrior, was wounded in hands and feet and side, but healed thereby our wounds. A tree has destroyed us, a tree now brought us life" (Theodore of Studios).
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Meditation
Philippians 2:6-11
The Triumph of the Cross
Todays feast has a long history in the church. St. Helenas discovery of the true cross was first celebrated on September 14 in a.d. 365. It was held in the church that Helenas son, the Roman emperor Constantine, built over the site of Golgotha and the tomb of Jesus. The observance of this event spread quickly among Christians throughout the world, and in the seventh century this feastcoupled with another commemorating the restoration of the relic of the cross which had been seized by the Persianswas named the Feast of the Triumph, or Exaltation, of the Cross in the Roman calendar.
Though the ancient world shuddered at the thought of death by crucifixiona horrific and shameful form of executionChristians honor the cross as both the sign of Jesus suffering and the trophy of his victory over Satan, sin, and death. We revere the cross because through it we have come to know Jesus great love for us, and through the wounds that it inflicted, we have been saved and healed. As Rupert of Deutz, a twelfth-century Benedictine abbot, movingly proclaimed: We venerate the cross as a safeguard of faith, as the strengthening of hope, and the throne of love. It is the sign of mercy, the proof of forgiveness, the vehicle of grace, and the banner of peace. We venerate the cross because it has broken down our pride, shattered our envy, redeemed our sin, and atoned for our punishment.
The cross of Christ is the door to heaven, the key to paradise, the downfall of the devil, the uplifting of mankind, the consolation of our imprisonment, the prize for our freedom. . . . Tyrants are convicted by the cross and the mighty ones defeated. It lifts up the miserable and honors the poor. The cross is the end of darkness, the spreading of light, the flight of death, the ship of life and the kingdom of salvation.
Whatever we accomplish for God, whatever we succeed and hope for, is the fruit of our veneration of the cross. By the cross Christ draws everything to him. It is the kingdom of the Father, the scepter of the Son, and the seal of the Holy Spirit, a witness to the total Trinity.
We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you, because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Homily of the Day
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All Issues > Volume 20, Number 5
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The Exultation of the Glorious Cross
"In the four corners of the world, the Church worships and exalts the cross: through it she was saved from error; by it she has inherited the heavenly kingdom. May Your cross, O Lord, be a tower of protection for the holy and faithful Church from one end of the earth to the other. Remove from her disputes, harmful divisions and scandals. Make peace and tranquillity reign in her midst for ever and ever. May all her children be shielded under the wings of the cross." (Qolo) A68
Wow! Salvation, thanks for posting this!
Exaltation of the Cross
Jesus, Who because of Your burning love for us willed to be crucified and to shed Your Most Precious Blood for the redemption and salvation of our souls, look down upon us and grant the petition we ask for ....
We trust completely in Your Mercy. Cleanse us from sin by Your Grace, sanctify our work, give us and all those who are dear to us our daily bread, lighten the burden of our sufferings, bless our families, and grant to the nations, so sorely afflicted, Your Peace, which is the only true peace, so that by obeying Your Commandments we may come at last to the glory of Heaven.
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