Gospel: John 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.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
After the death of
Jesus there was an intense persecution of Christians. But during the year 312
AD the church entered a new era and that was when Constantine I, adopted the
christian faith and became the first Christian Emperor of Rome. One of his
first edict was to stop the persecution of Christians.
It was said that
Constantine I, deputized his mother Helena to gather Christian relics. So she
travelled to the Holy Land, while there she discovered three different crosses
used during the crucifixion of Jesus and the two thieves (Dismas and Gestas).
Since there were
three crosses her dilemma was to find the real cross of Jesus. So she called on
the sick people of the community and let them touch each of the three crosses.
Among the three there was one that stood out, since it instantly healed those
who touched it. Helena declared it to be the true cross of Jesus.
Today we celebrate
the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, unlike other Christians whose
cross is without Jesus. Our cross is never complete without Jesus on it.
Often times, our
cross symbolizes the burdens that we carry. A young mother who was asked, who
is your cross and she instantaneously replied it’s my irresponsible husband
because he is always with his friends indulging in drinking sprees and whenever
he arrives he subjects me to physical and emotional abuse.
Each and everyone of
us has our own cross that makes life difficult for us. Sometimes we may even
say: why is it that the more that I go near Jesus the heavier the cross that I
carry? The cross that we carry is a test of our faith, we would not be able to
fully comprehend the presence of Jesus in our life without silently carrying
and enduring our own cross.
What is important is
whenever we carry our cross we invite Jesus to help us carry it and implore Him
to journey with us with our cross. Let us not question why we have our cross
because the cross that burdens us right now is nothing compared to the cross of
Jesus.
The paradox of it
all is this: the cross that has given Jesus tons of sufferings became the
catalyst in the completion of His mission. This cross is also the symbol of our
salvation so long as we believe and look up to Jesus who died for us on the
cross. There is no exaltation of the cross without the salvific sacrifice of
Jesus,
Are you carrying
your own cross or do you have a cross right now, a cross that makes life so difficult
for you? Look up to Jesus then close your eyes and humbly ask Him to help you
carry it. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
No comments:
Post a Comment