LOOK UPON THE CROSS OF CHRIST

FEAST OF EXULTATION OF THE CROSS 14TH SEPTEMBER 2022

24TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR C

LOOK UPON THE CROSS OF CHRIST

Today God invites us to cast and sustain our gaze on the cross, for from there comes our salvation. Our help comes from the Lord who made Heaven and Earth.

As the Israelites of old in the First Reading of today were encouraged to look on the bronze serpent and live to survive the scorching bite of the brazen serpents (cf. Num 21: 4-9) in the wilderness, so Christians today are encouraged to look upon the Cross if Christ and draw the strength and Grace to survive the scorching bites of our lives troubles. 

Our Lord Jesus Christ who we serve is the God that went on the Cross and conquered the whole world. Who are we not to bear our Cross? According to the Gospel pericope of today, Jesus Christ must be exulted in our lives  so we can have eternal life (cf. Jn 3:14) and whenever we carry our Cross, we lift up Jesus whose reward to us is eternal life.

*Our Cross is our bridge on which we shall walk to cross over the wide yawning chasm between this life and the afterlife*.

* Story of the man who Christ gave a Cross to bear. He wanted 

The victory and Exultation of the Cross is a deep mystery but yet a powerful reality. Little wonder it has been celebrated since time immemorial

HISTORY OF EXULTATION OF THE CROSS

Today's feast is celebrated by both Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches, the Church of England, the Episcopal Church in the United States and the Evangelical Church in America.

The Cross on which Christ died was thrown into a ditch /well and covered over with stones and earth so that the followers of the crucified redeemer might not find it. 300 years later, Emperor Constantine prayed and a cross was shown him : 'In this sign thou wilt conquer'. He later triumphed in victory over Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge on October 28, 312.

Then came the finding of the True Cross at Jerusalem by St Helena (the Emperor's mother) in 326 AD. She discovered 3 crosses on Calvary. A special miracle worked by touching a cripple to each of the 3 crosses in turn, helped identify the true Cross. In the year 614 AD, Chosroes II, King of Persia invaded Jerusalem carrying off the great relic of the True Cross. God helped the Emperor Heraclius of Constantinople with a large army who fought and rescued and restored the Sacred Cross back to Jerusalem in 629 AD to its place in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This event is commemorated by the Church on September 14 every year in the Feast of the Holy Cross.

QUESTION FOR SELF-EXAMINATION:

Where do you look in times of trouble?

God wants us to look steadily upon the Cross of Christ for form there comes our salvation.

PEACE BE WITH YOU

Homily by:

Rev. Fr. Kingsley No so Ogbu,SMMm