Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Daily Oratory provides Scripture references and original reflections. It does not republish full copyrighted lectionary readings.

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Monday, September 14, 2026

The Cross: Where Our Wounds Meet God’s Love

The Israelites are weary, impatient, and discouraged. Their suffering turns into complaints against God, and poisonous serpents enter the camp. Yet God does not abandon them. He instructs Moses to raise a bronze serpent so that whoever looks upon it may live.

What caused fear and death becomes, when lifted up, an instrument of healing.

Jesus reveals that this event points toward His Cross. He will be lifted up—not to condemn the world, but to save it. On the Cross, Christ takes upon Himself the poison of sin, suffering, rejection, and death. He enters fully into the wounds of humanity so that no wound must remain separated from God.

The Cross does not mean that suffering is good. It proclaims that God can enter suffering and transform it. What appears to be defeat becomes victory. What looks like humiliation becomes exaltation. What seems to be the end becomes the doorway to eternal life.

Saint Paul shows us the path Jesus chose: although divine, Christ emptied Himself, became obedient, and accepted death on a cross. His exaltation came through self-giving love. This is also the pattern of Christian life: we do not find true life by protecting ourselves at all costs, but by surrendering ourselves faithfully to God.

Today, Jesus invites us to look upon the Cross. We do not look with despair, but with trust. We bring Him the parts of our lives that feel painful, shameful, confusing, or beyond repair. The Cross assures us that nothing surrendered to Christ is wasted.

The Cross is not evidence that God has forgotten us. It is the everlasting sign that God has entered our suffering and loves us to the very end.

For Prayer

What wound, fear, disappointment, or burden do I need to place beneath the Cross today?

Where am I being invited to surrender rather than resist?

Can I believe that Jesus desires to save and heal me—not condemn me?

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, You were lifted high upon the Cross so that all who look upon You with faith might live.

Draw the poison of sin, fear, resentment, and despair from the wounded places within me. When I cannot understand my suffering, help me trust that You have entered it before me.

Teach me the humility of Your self-emptying love. Give me the courage to carry my cross without losing hope in the Resurrection.

May Your Holy Cross be my strength in temptation, my refuge in suffering, and my assurance that I am loved beyond measure.

We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You, because by Your holy Cross You have redeemed the world. Amen.