The Daily Gospel for Monday, 14 September 2015

The Daily Readings for Monday, 14 September 2015
"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."[John 6:68]The Exaltation of the Holy Cross - Feast
Feast of the Church:
The exaltation of the Holy Cross, feast

THE EXALTATION
OF THE HOLY CROSS
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
Feast

Constantine was still wavering between Christianity and idolatry when a luminous cross appeared to him in the heavens, bearing the inscription, "In this sign shalt thou conquer." He became a Christian, and triumphed over his enemies, who were at the same time the enemies of the Faith.
A few years later, his saintly mother having found the cross on which our Saviour suffered, the feast of the " Exaltation" was established in the Church; but it was only at a later period still, namely, after the Emperor Heraclius had achieved three great and wondrous victories over Chosroes, King of Persia, who had possessed himself of the holy and precious relic, that this festival took a more general extension, and was invested with a higher character of solemnity.
The feast of the "Finding" was thereupon instituted, in memory of the discovery made by St. Helena; and that of the "Exaltation" was reserved to celebrate the triumphs of Heraclius. The greatest power of the Catholic world was at that time centred in the Empire of the East, and was verging toward its ruin, when God put forth His hand to save it: the re-establishment of the great cross at Jerusalem was the sure pledge thereof. This great event occurred in 629.

Herein is found the accomplishment of the Saviour's word:
"If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all things to Myself."

Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]
Saints of the day:
St. Maternus, Bishop of Cologne († c. 325)



SAINT MATERNUS
Bishop of Cologne
(† c. 325)

First known bishop of Cologne whose name has come down to us, St. Maternus was involved in the effort against the Donatist heretics and in 313 Emperor Constantine the Great summoned him to a synod in Rome. He took part in the Synod of Arles in 314.
Saint Peter Canisius defended the medieval identification of Saint Maternus with the son of the widow of Naim who was raised from the dead by Jesus. he was said to have been a disciple of Saint Peter.
Maternus died at Trier, Germany, where it is believed he also served as a bishop at one time.
In art, Saint Maternus is a bishop holding a large key. He may also be shown holding three churches combined as one or with a crozier and pilgrim's staff or hermit's crutchThe Exaltation of the Holy Cross - Feast
The Book of Numbers 21:4 Then they traveled from Mount Hor on the road toward the Sea of Suf in order to go around the land of Edom; but the people’s tempers grew short because of the detour. 5 The people spoke against God and against Moshe: “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt? To die in the desert? There’s no real food, there’s no water, and we’re sick of this miserable stuff we’re eating!”
(LY: vi) 6 In response, Adonai sent poisonous snakes among the people; they bit the people, and many of Isra’el’s people died. 7 The people came to Moshe and said, “We sinned by speaking against Adonai and against you. Pray to Adonai that he rid us of these snakes.” Moshe prayed for the people, 8 and Adonai answered Moshe: “Make a poisonous snake and put it on a pole. When anyone who has been bitten sees it, he will live.” 9 Moshe made a bronze snake and put it on the pole; if a snake had bitten someone, then, when he looked toward the bronze snake, he stayed alive.Psalm 78:(0) A maskil of Asaf:
(1) Listen, my people, to my teaching;
turn your ears to the words from my mouth.
2 I will speak to you in parables
and explain mysteries from days of old.34 When he brought death among them, they would seek him;
they would repent and seek God eagerly,
35 remembering that God was their Rock,
El ‘Elyon their Redeemer.
36 But they tried to deceive him with their words,
they lied to him with their tongues;
37 for their hearts were not right with him,
and they were unfaithful to his covenant.
38 Yet he, because he is full of compassion,
forgave their sin and did not destroy;
many times he turned away his anger
and didn’t rouse all his wrath.Philippians 2:6 Though he was in the form of God,
he did not regard equality with God
something to be possessed by force.
7 On the contrary, he emptied himself,
in that he took the form of a slave
by becoming like human beings are.
And when he appeared as a human being,
8 he humbled himself still more
by becoming obedient even to death —
death on a stake as a criminal!
9 Therefore God raised him to the highest place
and gave him the name above every name;
10 that in honor of the name given Yeshua,
every knee will bow —
in heaven, on earth and under the earth —
11 and every tongue will acknowledge[Philippians 2:11 Isaiah 45:23]
that Yeshua the Messiah is Adonai —
to the glory of God the Father.
The Holy Gospel of Yeshua the Messiah accoording to Saint John 3:13 No one has gone up into heaven; there is only the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moshe lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life.
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only and unique Son, so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life, instead of being utterly destroyed. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but rather so that through him, the world might be saved.
The Exaltation of the Holy Cross - Feast
Commentary of the day:
Saint John Chrysostom (c.345-407), priest at Antioch then Bishop of Constantinople, Doctor of the Church
Homily 1 on the Cross and the Thief, 1 ; PG 49, 399-401

"So must the Son of Man be lifted up... so that everyone who believes in him might not perish"

Our Lord Jesus Christ is on the Cross today and we are celebrating this so that you might realize that the cross is indeed a spiritual celebration. In former times the cross represented a sentence, now it has become an object of honor. Formerly a symbol of punishment, it is now the principle of our salvation. For it is the source of innumerable blessings for us: it has freed us from error so as to be illumined in the darkness and reconciled with God. We had become his enemies and foreigners from far away and it has given us his friendship and brought us close to him. It is for us the destruction of enmity, the promise of peace, the treasure house of a thousand blessings.
Thanks to the Cross we will no longer go astray in the desert for we know the right path. We will no longer live outside the royal palace for we have found the door. We do not fear the flaming darts of the devil for we have found the spring. Thanks to it we are no longer living in widowhood since we have found our Spouse again. We have no fear of the wolf for we have the good shepherd. Thanks to the Cross we do not dread the usurper since we sit at the King’s side.
This is why we rejoice as we celebrate the memory of the Cross. Saint Paul himself invites us to the feast in honor of the Cross: "let us celebrate the feast, then, he says, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1Cor 5,8). And he gave us the reason for this when he said: "For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed" (1Cor 5,7). 
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