RENUNGAN – 14 SEPT 2025

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Sunday, September 14

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We usually turn away from what causes us pain. It’s human. And yet, today the Church invites us to do the opposite. To look directly at the Cross, not merely at the wood and nails, but at the greatest sign of God’s love for the world.

On this Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, we are reminded the instrument of death has become the symbol of life. What was once meant defeat now stands for victory and what was once shame now reveals glory.

In the Old Testament, God commanded Moses to lift up a bronze serpent, and those who looked upon it were healed. In the Gospel, Jesus says: “So must the Son of Man be lifted up…” (John 3:14)

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son…” (John 3:16). God did not merely say He loves us. He proved it. He gave His only Son to die for us while we were still sinners. Our worth is not in what we have done, but in what Jesus has done for us.

Each of us carries a cross. Whether it’s suffering, anxiety, illness or forgiveness. But we do not carry it alone, Christ walks with us. “If anyone wants to follow Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23)

As St. Rose of Lima once said: “The crosses we bear are the only ladder to Heaven.”

And when we carry them with faith, they do not crush us. They transform us. The Cross is not a celebration of suffering. It is a triumph of love.

To exalt the Cross is to live its message. Choosing love over hate, forgiveness over revenge and hope over despair.

“Look at the Cross, and you will know what one soul means to Jesus.” – St. John Vianney

Let us lift the Cross high. Not just on Sundays or in our churches, but also in our families, struggles and in the ordinary moments of life. The Cross tells us, we were not made for comfort, but we were made for courage.

If you are going through a dark or difficult season, please do not give up or lose heart. The Cross is not the end of the story. Christ has already won the victory.

Let us carry our crosses with faith, knowing they lead us to resurrection. Amen.

Catechist Apollonius Sitiol