Reading of the day A reading from the Book of Numbers 21:4b-9
With their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained against God and Moses, "Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food!"
In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents, which bit the people so that many of them died. Then the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you. Pray the LORD to take the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses, "Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and if any who have been bitten look at it, they will live." Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
Responsorial Psalm
From Psalm 77 (78)
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
Hear, my people, my law; incline your ear to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth with a parable; I will recall the riddles of old. R.
When he killed them, they sought him and turned back to him; they remembered that God was their rock and God, the Most High, their redeemer. R.
They flattered him with their mouths, but lied to him with their tongues; their hearts were not steadfast toward him, and they were not faithful to his covenant. R.
But he, in his mercy, forgave their iniquity, instead of destroying. Many times he restrained his anger and did not unleash his fury. R.
A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians 2:6-11
Brothers and sisters: Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Gospel of the day From the Gospel according to John 3:13-17
Jesus said to Nicodemus: "No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.
The words of the Popes “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (Jn 3:14-15). This is the decisive shift: the serpent that saves has now come among us. Jesus, lifted up on the pole of the cross, does not allow the poisonous serpents that attack us to cause our death. Confronting our misery, God gives us a new horizon: if we keep our gaze fixed on Jesus, the sting of evil can no longer prevail over us, for on the cross he took upon himself the venom of sin and death, and crushed their destructive power. That was the Father’s response to the spread of evil in the world: he gave us Jesus, who drew near to us in a way we could never have imagined. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin” (2 Cor 5:21). Such is the infinite grandeur of divine mercy: Jesus “became sin” for our sake. Jesus, we could say, on the cross “became a serpent”, so that by gazing upon him we might resist the poisonous bites of the evil serpents that assail us.
Brothers and sisters, this is the path, the path to our salvation, our rebirth and our resurrection: to behold the crucified Jesus. From the heights of the cross, we can view our life and the history of our peoples in a new way. For from the cross of Christ we learn love, not hatred; compassion, not indifference; forgiveness, not vengeance. The outstretched arms of Jesus are the embrace of tender love with which God wishes to embrace us. They show us the fraternal love that we are called to have for one another and for everyone. They show us the way, the Christian way. It is not the way of imposition and force, of power and status; it never brandishes the cross of Christ against our brothers and sisters for whom he gave his life! Jesus’ way, the way of salvation is different: it is the way of a humble gratuitous and universal love, with no “ifs”, “ands” or “buts”. (Pope Francis, Homily, Kazakhstan, 14 September 2022)
POPE FRANCIS ANGELUS 14 -9- 2014 Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!
On 14 September the Church celebrates the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Some non-Christian person might ask: why “exalt” the Cross? We can respond that we do not exalt any cross whatsoever or all crosses: we exalt the Cross of Jesus, because in it God’s love for humanity was fully revealed. That’s what the Gospel of John reminds us of in today’s liturgy: “God so loved the world that He gave his only Son” (3:16). The Father “gave” the Son to save us, and this resulted in the death of Jesus, and his death on the Cross. Why? Why was the Cross necessary? Because of the gravity of the evil which enslaved us. The Cross of Jesus expresses both things: all the negative forces of evil, and all of the gentle omnipotence of God’s mercy. The Cross would seem to decree Christ’s failure, but in reality it signals His victory. On Calvary, those who mocked him said to him, “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross” (cf. Mt 27:40). But the opposite was true: it was precisely because Jesus was the Son of God, that He was there, on the Cross, faithful to the end to the loving plan of the Father. And for this very reason God “exalted” Jesus (Phil 2:9), conferring universal kingship on Him.
When we look to the Cross where Jesus was nailed, we contemplate the sign of love, of the infinite love of God for each of us and the source of our salvation. The mercy of God, which embraces the whole world, springs from the Cross. Through the Cross of Christ the Evil One is overcome, death is defeated, life is given to us, hope is restored. This is important: through the Cross of Christ hope is restored to us. The Cross of Jesus is our one true hope! That is why the Church “exalts” the Holy Cross, and why we Christians bless ourselves with the sign of the cross. That is, we don’t exalt crosses, but the glorious Cross of Christ, the sign of God’s immense love, the sign of our salvation and path toward the Resurrection. This is our hope.
While we contemplate and celebrate the Holy Cross, we think with emotion of so many of our brothers and sisters who are being persecuted and killed because of their faith in Christ. This happens especially wherever religious freedom is still not guaranteed or fully realized. It happens, however, even in countries and areas which, in principle, protect freedom and human rights but where, in practice, believers, and especially Christians, encounter restrictions and discrimination. So today we remember them and pray for them in a special way.
On Calvary, there at the foot of the Cross, was the Virgin Mary (cf. Jn 19:25-27). She is Our Lady of Sorrows, whom we shall celebrate tomorrow in the liturgy. To her I entrust the present and the future of the Church, so that we may all always be able to discover and welcome the message of love and salvation of the Cross of Christ. In particular I entrust to her the newlywed couples whom I had the joy of joining in matrimony this morning, in St Peter’s Basilica.
After the Angelus:
Dear brothers and sisters, tomorrow the Mission of the United Nations Security Council will officially open in the Central African Republic in order to foster the peace-process of the country and protect the civilian population who are suffering acutely from the consequences of the ongoing conflict. While I assure the commitment and prayers of the Catholic Church, I encourage the efforts of the international community in coming to the aid of the Central Africans of good will. May the violence soon give way to dialogue; may the opposing factions set aside particular interests and strive to ensure that every citizen of whatever ethnic group or religion, may cooperate in building up the common good. May the Lord accompany this peace-process!
BENEDICT XVI - Jesus and the Church cannot be separated from each other any more than they can simply be identified. He always infinitely surpasses the Church. It was not only the Second Vatican Council that made it clear to us that He, as Lord of the Church, also constitutes its greatness and its standard of judgment. I have always experienced this as both a consolation and a challenge. As a consolation, because we have always known that the scrupulousness of rubricists and legalists has nothing to do with Him, with the infinite generosity that comes to us from the words of the Gospel like a refreshing breeze and knocks down every pedantic devotion like a house of cards. We have always known that closeness to Him is entirely independent of one's ecclesiastical dignity, nor of one's legal or historical erudition. This has always allowed me to look at external things with the right calm, always sensing a sense of liberating optimism radiating from the figure of Jesus. But on the other hand, we must never lose sight of the fact that Christ, in many respects, demands much more than the Church can demand. The radicalism of His Words finds true correspondence only in the radicalism of choices like those made by the hermit Anthony, the desert father, or by Francis of Assisi in accepting the Gospel message to the letter... I know that the Jesus of the Gospels is the real Jesus, I know that I can trust Him much more confidently than the most learned reconstructions, and that He will outlive them all. The entire breadth and diverse nuances of the Evangelical tradition inform me of who Jesus was and is. He makes Himself felt and seen ever anew in it...
To you, Almighty Father, origin of the cosmos and of humanity, through Christ, the Living One, Lord of time and history, in the Spirit who sanctifies the universe, be praise, honor, and glory, today and forever. Amen! St. John Paul II
FAUSTI - Nicodemus calls Jesus "Master". He is not a simple colleague: he knows that He came from God, like Moses, and, seeing the signs that He makes, he concludes that God is with Him. He recognizes Him as Master and Messiah, authenticated by God. Jesus leads Nicodemus beyond the law up to the very source of life: to the gift of the new heart and the new spirit of which the prophets speak, which the Pharisee also knows. Entering the Kingdom of God is not the work of man, but a gift of God. In this Kingdom of freedom they enter not those who try to win it , but who's willing to be a son, who becomes like a child, and the son in the Son. The Baptism of Jesus, as well as in water - which in John is the symbol of life - (4,14 - 7,37 - 19,34) - will be in the Spirit, which is the divine fire of Love. In fact, one exists as a person when he is loved. He is born from the wound of the heart of those who accept him and let him enter in heart, loving him as he is, distinct from themselves. One comes to the full light when he ,himself, loves. The words of Jesus to Nicodemus are intended to bring in us that passage to the new heart, required by the law and promised by the prophets we see well described (Philippians 3) by Paul who recounts his experience as a man of the law that meets the Lord. "What is generated by the flesh is flesh..." Flesh, in opposition to spirit, indicates what unites us to the earth: the weak, corruptible and mortal element. Spirit, on the other hand, is what binds us to God: the perennial force of the vital principle. From the beginning, man has been made up of clay and the divine breath (Gen 2:4), of earth and of heaven. The earth can only live on heaven. Jesus calls "earthly things" what He said about the birth of the flesh and the need for a birth from the Spirit. In fact, the law and the prophets speak of it, called earthlings, because they are witnesses of that light which has always been present in the creation and history of Israel. They give voice to the desire of the Spirit that is in every man. If one does not believe to this voice, one does not believe in the Word, which reveals heavenly things to us. The law in fact is not in heaven, but close to every man, but heavenly things are revealed by the Son, descended from heaven. Jesus wants to open Nicodemus, master of the law, to the gift of the Spirit, which the man of the earth does not understand. In Him we know the truth of God and ours. He loves us and we are the love He has for us. Looking to the One we have pierced (19:37) at the foot of the cross, we discover this truth that makes us free (8:32) and we are born from on high "We have recognized and believed in the lLove that God has for us. In fact, "God is Love" (1 Jn 4:16). "To give the Only Begotten Son" , God has given to us the Son, because only in Him, who loves as He is loved, so we see our identity as children of the Father: "Not to judge the world, but so that the world may be saved through Him". The Son has the same judgment as the Father. He comes with the scourge into the temple not to judge or condemn the sinful world. He came to save it precisely by "purifying" the Temple, by deceiving with His Cross the diabolical image that man has of God and of himself. In Him raised we have the true knowledge of Him and of ourselves, which the mouth of the serpent had taken away from us. To adhere to Him is true holiness and justice: it is to live of the Son and as sons, to share in the common Glory of the Father and the Son. For Nicodemus, as for all, the labor that brings to light is slow. To come to the truth is a path of progressive liberation, of small steps... And the Word itself does it.
Reading of the day
RispondiEliminaA reading from the Book of Numbers
21:4b-9
With their patience worn out by the journey,
the people complained against God and Moses,
"Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert,
where there is no food or water?
We are disgusted with this wretched food!"
In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents,
which bit the people so that many of them died.
Then the people came to Moses and said,
"We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you.
Pray the LORD to take the serpents from us."
So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses,
"Make a saraph and mount it on a pole,
and if any who have been bitten look at it, they will live."
Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole,
and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent
looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
Responsorial Psalm
From Psalm 77 (78)
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
Hear, my people, my law;
incline your ear to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth with a parable;
I will recall the riddles of old. R.
When he killed them, they sought him
and turned back to him;
they remembered that God was their rock
and God, the Most High, their redeemer. R.
They flattered him with their mouths,
but lied to him with their tongues;
their hearts were not steadfast toward him,
and they were not faithful to his covenant. R.
But he, in his mercy, forgave their iniquity,
instead of destroying.
Many times he restrained his anger
and did not unleash his fury. R.
A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians
2:6-11
Brothers and sisters:
Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Gospel of the day
From the Gospel according to John
3:13-17
Jesus said to Nicodemus:
"No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
The words of the Popes
RispondiElimina“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (Jn 3:14-15). This is the decisive shift: the serpent that saves has now come among us. Jesus, lifted up on the pole of the cross, does not allow the poisonous serpents that attack us to cause our death. Confronting our misery, God gives us a new horizon: if we keep our gaze fixed on Jesus, the sting of evil can no longer prevail over us, for on the cross he took upon himself the venom of sin and death, and crushed their destructive power. That was the Father’s response to the spread of evil in the world: he gave us Jesus, who drew near to us in a way we could never have imagined. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin” (2 Cor 5:21). Such is the infinite grandeur of divine mercy: Jesus “became sin” for our sake. Jesus, we could say, on the cross “became a serpent”, so that by gazing upon him we might resist the poisonous bites of the evil serpents that assail us.
Brothers and sisters, this is the path, the path to our salvation, our rebirth and our resurrection: to behold the crucified Jesus. From the heights of the cross, we can view our life and the history of our peoples in a new way. For from the cross of Christ we learn love, not hatred; compassion, not indifference; forgiveness, not vengeance. The outstretched arms of Jesus are the embrace of tender love with which God wishes to embrace us. They show us the fraternal love that we are called to have for one another and for everyone. They show us the way, the Christian way. It is not the way of imposition and force, of power and status; it never brandishes the cross of Christ against our brothers and sisters for whom he gave his life! Jesus’ way, the way of salvation is different: it is the way of a humble gratuitous and universal love, with no “ifs”, “ands” or “buts”. (Pope Francis, Homily, Kazakhstan, 14 September 2022)
POPE FRANCIS
EliminaANGELUS 14 -9- 2014
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!
On 14 September the Church celebrates the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Some non-Christian person might ask: why “exalt” the Cross? We can respond that we do not exalt any cross whatsoever or all crosses: we exalt the Cross of Jesus, because in it God’s love for humanity was fully revealed. That’s what the Gospel of John reminds us of in today’s liturgy: “God so loved the world that He gave his only Son” (3:16). The Father “gave” the Son to save us, and this resulted in the death of Jesus, and his death on the Cross. Why? Why was the Cross necessary? Because of the gravity of the evil which enslaved us. The Cross of Jesus expresses both things: all the negative forces of evil, and all of the gentle omnipotence of God’s mercy. The Cross would seem to decree Christ’s failure, but in reality it signals His victory. On Calvary, those who mocked him said to him, “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross” (cf. Mt 27:40). But the opposite was true: it was precisely because Jesus was the Son of God, that He was there, on the Cross, faithful to the end to the loving plan of the Father. And for this very reason God “exalted” Jesus (Phil 2:9), conferring universal kingship on Him.
When we look to the Cross where Jesus was nailed, we contemplate the sign of love, of the infinite love of God for each of us and the source of our salvation. The mercy of God, which embraces the whole world, springs from the Cross. Through the Cross of Christ the Evil One is overcome, death is defeated, life is given to us, hope is restored. This is important: through the Cross of Christ hope is restored to us. The Cross of Jesus is our one true hope! That is why the Church “exalts” the Holy Cross, and why we Christians bless ourselves with the sign of the cross. That is, we don’t exalt crosses, but the glorious Cross of Christ, the sign of God’s immense love, the sign of our salvation and path toward the Resurrection. This is our hope.
While we contemplate and celebrate the Holy Cross, we think with emotion of so many of our brothers and sisters who are being persecuted and killed because of their faith in Christ. This happens especially wherever religious freedom is still not guaranteed or fully realized. It happens, however, even in countries and areas which, in principle, protect freedom and human rights but where, in practice, believers, and especially Christians, encounter restrictions and discrimination. So today we remember them and pray for them in a special way.
On Calvary, there at the foot of the Cross, was the Virgin Mary (cf. Jn 19:25-27). She is Our Lady of Sorrows, whom we shall celebrate tomorrow in the liturgy. To her I entrust the present and the future of the Church, so that we may all always be able to discover and welcome the message of love and salvation of the Cross of Christ. In particular I entrust to her the newlywed couples whom I had the joy of joining in matrimony this morning, in St Peter’s Basilica.
After the Angelus:
Dear brothers and sisters, tomorrow the Mission of the United Nations Security Council will officially open in the Central African Republic in order to foster the peace-process of the country and protect the civilian population who are suffering acutely from the consequences of the ongoing conflict. While I assure the commitment and prayers of the Catholic Church, I encourage the efforts of the international community in coming to the aid of the Central Africans of good will. May the violence soon give way to dialogue; may the opposing factions set aside particular interests and strive to ensure that every citizen of whatever ethnic group or religion, may cooperate in building up the common good. May the Lord accompany this peace-process!
BENEDICT XVI - Jesus and the Church cannot be separated from each other any more than they can simply be identified. He always infinitely surpasses the Church. It was not only the Second Vatican Council that made it clear to us that He, as Lord of the Church, also constitutes its greatness and its standard of judgment. I have always experienced this as both a consolation and a challenge.
RispondiEliminaAs a consolation, because we have always known that the scrupulousness of rubricists and legalists has nothing to do with Him, with the infinite generosity that comes to us from the words of the Gospel like a refreshing breeze and knocks down every pedantic devotion like a house of cards.
We have always known that closeness to Him is entirely independent of one's ecclesiastical dignity, nor of one's legal or historical erudition. This has always allowed me to look at external things with the right calm, always sensing a sense of liberating optimism radiating from the figure of Jesus.
But on the other hand, we must never lose sight of the fact that Christ, in many respects, demands much more than the Church can demand.
The radicalism of His Words finds true correspondence only in the radicalism of choices like those made by the hermit Anthony, the desert father, or by Francis of Assisi in accepting the Gospel message to the letter... I know that the Jesus of the Gospels is the real Jesus, I know that I can trust Him much more confidently than the most learned reconstructions, and that He will outlive them all.
The entire breadth and diverse nuances of the Evangelical tradition inform me of who Jesus was and is. He makes Himself felt and seen ever anew in it...
To you, Almighty Father,
origin of the cosmos and of humanity,
through Christ, the Living One,
Lord of time and history,
in the Spirit who sanctifies the universe,
be praise, honor, and glory,
today and forever. Amen!
St. John Paul II
FAUSTI - Nicodemus calls Jesus "Master". He is not a simple colleague: he knows that He came from God, like Moses, and, seeing the signs that He makes, he concludes that God is with Him.
RispondiEliminaHe recognizes Him as Master and Messiah, authenticated by God.
Jesus leads Nicodemus beyond the law up to the very source of life: to the gift of the new heart and the new spirit of which the prophets speak, which the Pharisee also knows.
Entering the Kingdom of God is not the work of man, but a gift of God.
In this Kingdom of freedom
they enter not those who try to win it ,
but who's willing to be a son,
who becomes like a child,
and the son in the Son.
The Baptism of Jesus, as well as in water - which in John is the symbol of life - (4,14 - 7,37 - 19,34) - will be in the Spirit, which is the divine fire of Love.
In fact, one exists as a person when he is loved. He is born from the wound of the heart of those who accept him and let him enter in heart, loving him as he is, distinct from themselves.
One comes to the full light when he ,himself, loves. The words of Jesus to Nicodemus are intended to bring in us that passage to the new heart, required by the law and promised by the prophets we see well described (Philippians 3) by Paul who recounts his experience as a man of the law that meets the Lord.
"What is generated by the flesh is flesh..." Flesh, in opposition to spirit, indicates what unites us to the earth: the weak, corruptible and mortal element.
Spirit, on the other hand, is what binds us to God: the perennial force of the vital principle.
From the beginning, man has been made up of clay and the divine breath (Gen 2:4), of earth and of heaven.
The earth can only live on heaven.
Jesus calls "earthly things" what He said about the birth of the flesh and the need for a birth from the Spirit. In fact, the law and the prophets speak of it, called earthlings, because they are witnesses of that light which has always been present in the creation and history of Israel.
They give voice to the desire of the Spirit that is in every man. If one does not believe to this voice, one does not believe in the Word, which reveals heavenly things to us.
The law in fact is not in heaven, but close to every man, but heavenly things are revealed by the Son, descended from heaven. Jesus wants to open Nicodemus, master of the law, to the gift of the Spirit, which the man of the earth does not understand.
In Him we know the truth of God and ours. He loves us and we are the love He has for us.
Looking to the One we have pierced (19:37) at the foot of the cross, we discover this truth that makes us free (8:32) and we are born from on high
"We have recognized and believed in the lLove that God has for us.
In fact, "God is Love" (1 Jn 4:16).
"To give the Only Begotten Son" , God has given to us the Son, because only in Him, who loves as He is loved, so we see our identity as children of the Father: "Not to judge the world, but so that the world may be saved through Him". The Son has the same judgment as the Father.
He comes with the scourge into the temple not to judge or condemn the sinful world. He came to save it precisely by "purifying" the Temple, by deceiving with His Cross the diabolical image that man has of God and of himself. In Him raised we have the true knowledge of Him and of ourselves, which the mouth of the serpent had taken away from us. To adhere to Him is true holiness and justice: it is to live of the Son and as sons, to share in the common Glory of the Father and the Son.
For Nicodemus, as for all, the labor that brings to light is slow. To come to the truth is a path of progressive liberation, of small steps... And the Word itself does it.