The Exaltation of the Holy Cross AD 2025

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus,” writes Saint Paul in the Epistle of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, and continues with the proclamation of how Christ humbled Himself, gave up everything that rightfully belonged to Him as the Son of God, and became obedient to the point of death on the cross in order to redeem us by giving Himself for us.

According to Saint Paul, we must be ready to do the same: to give ourselves for the sake of truth, for the sake of love, for the salvation of souls. There is no greater or nobler calling, and this applies to the whole Church as well as to each individual Christian. That is why Jesus says: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me,” and: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

Last week we remembered those who died in the terrorist attacks of September 11th twenty-four years ago. We also remembered those who gave their lives or sacrificed their health trying to save others. But last week we were also once again shocked to our core by a political murder that resulted in the death of a young man, a loving husband and father of two young children, who had dedicated his life to bearing witness to the truth and his faith in Jesus Christ.

The fact that the Evil One is raging shows that his days are numbered. Jesus says in the Gospel of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross that “now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out,” and promises to those who believe in Christ and follow Him: “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”