Monday 9/14/2020 Live Stream Mass at St. Monica Catholic Church

Thank you for joining the St. Monica’s Live Stream Mass for Monday 9/14/2020, Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Readings for Monday 9/14/2020

Reading 1

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.

Alleluia

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

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.

The Glorious Cross of Our Lord!

“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.” John 3:14-15

What a glorious feast we celebrate today! It’s the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross!

Does the Cross truly make sense? If we could separate ourselves from all we have learned about the Cross of Christ and just look at it from a secular and historical perspective, the Cross is a sign of great tragedy. It’s connected to the story of a man who became quite popular with many, yet was vehemently hated by others. In the end, those who hated this man arranged for His brutal crucifixion. So, from a purely secular point of view, the Cross is an awful thing.

But Christians do not see the Cross from a secular point of view. We see it from the divine perspective. We see Jesus lifted up on the Cross for all to see. We see Him using horrible suffering to eliminate suffering forever. We see Him using death to destroy death itself. Ultimately, we see Jesus become victorious on that Cross and, therefore, forever we see the Cross as an exalted and glorious throne!

Moses’ actions in the desert prefigured the Cross. Many people were dying from snake bites. Therefore, God told Moses to lift up the image of a snake on a pole so that all who looked upon it would be healed. And that’s exactly what happened. Ironically, the snake brought life instead of death!

Suffering occurs throughout our lives in various ways. Perhaps for some it’s daily aches and pains from ill health, and for others it may be on a much deeper level, such as an emotional, personal, relational or spiritual one. Sin, in fact, is the cause of the greatest suffering, so those who struggle deeply with sin in their lives suffer deeply from that sin.

So what is Jesus’ answer? His answer is to turn our gaze to His Cross. We are to look at Him in His misery and suffering and, in that gaze, we are called to see victory with faith. We are called to know that God brings good out of all things, even our suffering. The Father transformed the world eternally through the suffering and death of His only Son. He also wants to transform us in our crosses.

Reflect, today, upon the Cross of Christ. Spend some time gazing upon the crucifix. See in that crucifix the answer to your own daily struggles. Jesus is close to those who suffer, and His strength is available to all those who believe in Him.

Lord, help me to gaze upon the Cross. Help me to experience in Your own sufferings a taste of Your final victory. May I be strengthened and healed as I look upon You. Jesus, I trust in You.

Source of content: mycatholic.life