Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross

09-14-2025Weekly ReflectionFr. Bing Colasito

A cross could be a blessing. Every time the priest blesses us, he blesses us with a sign of the cross. Every cross that we carry is a blessing, and every blessing we receive there is a cross.

Jesus proclaimed in the Gospel: So must the Son of Man be lifted. To be lifted points to Jesus' sacrifice on the cross as an offering for the expiation of our sins, our reconciliation, and our redemption. It alludes to the events in the desert when the people of Israel again tested their God. And God sent serpents, as many were bitten, so also died. Realizing they offended God, they came to Moses and said We have sinned in complaining against the Lord and you. In response, the Lord said to Moses to make a seraph and mount it on a pole; those who looked upon it after they had been bitten were healed. (Num. 21:9)

In the commemoration of the Paschal event, the lifting up of Jesus on the cross also recalls the blood of the Paschal lamb sprinkled on the doorpost of the Jewish homes because of which the firstborn of the Jews were spared from the wrath of God, brought by the angel of death. (Ex. 12:23) It is also a reminiscent of the covenant ritual of the blood of the lamb offered for the atonement of sins and the sharing in the life of God. However, in the New Testament, the real lifting up is the resurrection of Jesus Christ, when He rose from the dead and brought eternal life for all humanity.

At the crucifixion, standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing His mother, Jesus entrusted her to the disciple John: Woman, behold your Son. Son, behold your mother. From that time on, the disciple (John) took her into his home. At the foot of the cross, the Blessed Mother embraced the cross. When we embrace the cross, our trials, we will be okay. Mary embraced her cross with total devotion and humility. For me, the Blessed Mother is the model of embracing the cross and suffering.

Let us share our cross. And don’t be a cross to other people. A person approached a priest, saying, Father, you know, I have no cross. The priest reminded him that, before he could celebrate, it is more important to make sure that he is not a cross to others, and reminded us to carry our crosses and not be a cross to others.