Saints + Scripture

Better Late than Never | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

'Tis the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross: Holy Cross-link ūnus, Holy Cross-link duo, Wikipedia-link True Cross, & Wikipedia-link Feast.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

The feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross celebrates two historical events: the discovery of the True cross by Saint Helena [18 August], the mother of the Emperor Constantine, in 320 under the temple of Venus in Jerusalem, & the dedication in 335 of the basilica & shrine built on Calvary by Constantine, which marks the site of the Crucifixion. However the feast, more than anything else, is a celebration & commemoration of God's greatest work: his salvific death on the Cross & His Resurrection, through which death was defeated & the doors to Heaven opened.

Quoth Minute Meditations from the Popes:

O Lord, grant me the courage to take up my cross & follow You. Make me understand that it is through the Cross that I learn how to die with You, so that I may also rise with You.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
The Book of Numbers, chapter twenty-one, verses four(b) thru nine;
Psalm Seventy-eight, verses one(b/c) & two, thirty-four & thirty-five, thirty-six & thirty-seven, & thirty-eight;
The Letter to the Philippians, chapter two, verses six thru eleven;
The Gospel according to John, chapter three, verses thirteen thru seventeen.

Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):

Friends, today we celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. How strange this feast would have sounded to someone in the ancient world! The triumph of the cross! It would have been analogous to someone speaking today of the triumph of the electric chair or the exaltation of the noose.

The cross terrified people in Greco-Roman times, and that was the point. The cross was state-sponsored terrorism, a form of capital punishment reserved for those who had in the most egregious ways undermined the authority of the Roman state.

So why are we celebrating the triumph of the cross? There is only one possible explanation, and that is the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. All the attempts to soft-pedal and explain away the Resurrection are ruled out by this feast. If Jesus was a victim of that terrible cross tout court, then we should all go home.

Once they had taken in the experience of the Resurrection, the first Christians turned with rapt attention to the cross, convinced that in it they would find something decisive. Somehow, in the strange providence of God, that cross was ingredient in the very process by which God would save the world.

Video reflection by Jem Sullivan, Ph.D.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Cormac of Cashel, Bishop (836-908, A.K.A. Cormac mac Cuilennáin): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Pierre of Tarentaise, Bishop & Abbot, O.Cist. (1102-1174), Bishop of Tarentaise, inaugural (I) abbot of Tamié Abbey: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Tamié & Wikipedia-link Tarentaise.

Commentary: Not to be confused with Pope Bl. Innocent V (22 June, A.K.A. Pierre of Tarentaise).

'Tis also the festival of Saint Notburga of Rattenburg (circa 1265-1313, A.K.A. of Tyrol, of Eben): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Louis Gabriel Taurin Dufresse, Bishop & Martyr, M.E.P. (1750-1815, A.K.A. Jean-Gabriel-Taurin Dufresse), martyred in the reign of the Jiaqing Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, one of the one hundred twenty Martyr Saints of China: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link China.

Papal Quote o' the Day

"On this day when Catholics around the world celebrate the Triumph of the Cross, the Church invites us to look once again at the meaning of Christian discipleship. She invites us to understand the sacrifices it involves & place all our hope in our Crucified & Risen Savior."
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"In spite of all our defects, God is in love with us & keeps using us to light the light of love & compassion in the world."
—St. Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997, feast day: 5 September)