Monthly Reflections
As summer draws to its close and our children begin new school terms, we welcome parishioners back from their holidays. This Jubilee Year of Hope encourages us to renew our trust in God's creation, deepen our spiritual journeys and work for peace and reconciliation. The church's celebrations in September, which include the important feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, encourage us to find new joy and purpose in our pilgrim journey.
In a sense, the Walk for Peace was timely. It underscored how special the month is in this Jubilee Year. As the month opened, the church celebrated the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. All through summer Pope Leo has regularly referred to "seeds of peace and hope" in his speeches, clearly referring to the late Pope Francis' encyclical, Laudato Si, calling for action to heal the Earth and to find reconciliation in conflict zones such as Yemen, Myanmar, Gaza, and Ukraine.
On September 15th, the church will celebrate the Jubilee of Consolation, honouring those who suffer and those who serve them. Whether caring for the sick, consoling and helping prisoners, providing medical care in war zones, or supporting friends in sickness or poverty, this is hallowed work, that serves God and reveres his creation. This is followed by the celebration of the Jubilee of Justice on September 20th, which encourages prayer for the common good and courage in public life.
These celebrations help us understand that being a Catholic doesn't just involve going to church once a week. Or that God joins us in liturgy only when we go to church. God's creation, with all its joys, sufferings, challenges, and opportunities is imbued in every fibre of the fabric of our lives. The church's celebrations this month invite us to meditate on the significance of the various elements of our lives and to commit ourselves anew to our devotion to Christ and his teachings; to love God and our fellow man as we love and treat ourselves.
The church's celebrations in September, which also include the important feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, encourage us to find new joy and purpose in our pilgrim journey. If then, there is a theme to carry with us through the month, it is one of love.
The church also calls it at times, the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross. While the feast day signifies a wealth of theological meaning, on a secular level it also commemorates some key moments in Church history. It celebrates the discovery of the True Cross, by St Helena in 320 CE; its exaltation for public veneration in 335 CE during the consecration of the Constantinian Basilica over the site of the crucifixion and burial of Christ; and the recovery of the Cross from the Persians in 628 CE by the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius.
One of the theological themes of this special day is the transformation of the cross, which is associated with a cruel death, to the means by which Christ's sacrifice elevated it to a symbol of hope and new life. The cross proclaims that Jesus conquered death and evil through His crucifixion; a message underscored by the forgiveness of the thief crucified with him and the promise given to him of Heaven. The cross then became the means by which God revealed his boundless love for humanity, offering us hope for eternal life and salvation.
Christ's carrying of the cross paved the way for new beginnings and spiritual growth, not just for believers but for all creation, as Pope Francis underscored in his seminal encyclical Laudato Si. The promise of salvation then is not a personal gift, given only to the holy and the saints. It is given to the entirety of creation. Christ's sacrifice then is universal. In celebrating and praying in honour of the Triumph of the Cross, we recognise that Christ's promise of the redemption of our sins, and the hope of salvation is for all people. This theme is also emphasised by the common name given today to the feastday, the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
Exaltation means lifting. It means lifting the Holy Cross high enough that it is visible to all peoples. Gazing upon the cross and seeing Christ, who is lifted on the cross, draws all peoples to his church and Himself. As parishioners of St Saviour's we recognise the power and the hope of this exaltation every time we come near our church and see the statue of the Christ held high above the belltower dominating the High Street. It calls us to worship and to love Him.
"Most glorious and triumphant Lord, You gave Your life for my soul's salvation, using the most horrific act of cruelty as the means of Your redeeming grace. I open myself to that grace, asking You to bestow it superabundantly. May I have the courage and wisdom to embrace my crosses every day, uniting them to Your Cross, and trusting that You will use my sacrifices to further bestow Your love on the world. Saving Cross of Christ, have mercy on me. Jesus, I trust in You."
The Sacred Heart of Our Lady, often referred to as the Immaculate Heart of Mary, celebrates the interior life of the Blessed Virgin. This devotion encompasses her purity, her particular love for God and for Jesus, and her compassion for humanity, interceding for all who seek her help and guidance.
July 3rd was the feast day of St Thomas the Apostle. As July opens and the Feast of the Sacred Heart brought June to a close, we look at the nature and constancy of our faith. St Thomas's natural disbelief that Christ had risen from the tomb is an example of the inner turmoil in our hearts as and when we face challenging times.
When Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6), it emphasises Jesus' unique role as the mediator between God and humanity, and that belief in and relationship with Jesus is the only way to experience a relationship with God.
