Sunday after the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Lord, save your people, and bless your inheritance[1]

His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian spoke to the faithful in the Cathedral of Saint Hubert, on the meaning of the Cross, on faith and good deeds:

“This Sunday there are two important readings: from the Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Galatians and from the Gospel according to Saint Mark. In the Epistle we see how the Holy Apostle Paul, who was a righteous Hebrew, knew Christ. The Apostle Paul tells us that it is impossible to become righteous by Old Testament law. We cannot enter the Kingdom of God if Christ does not open the doors to us. The Church gives us the means in this direction. God's purpose was for mankind to know the Son of God, the One who will take the initiative for the salvation of man. God who loves men is the one who takes the initiative and extends his hand to man. Saint Paul says: ‘I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.’[2]

On the other hand, in the Gospel, we see that we need faith and good deeds. Real faith is concrete. How do we concretely see this faith that is in our heart? It is reflected in good deeds. It is not about always being rich or having material means but having good will and a generosity linked to time: to offer our time. True fasting is devoting some of our time to others, to improve the quality of our time, so that it is blessed. The Holy Cross shows us how our time should be. The time of the year should be directed towards heaven through prayer, and towards others by our actions. The Christian life cannot be deprived of one of these dimensions.”

At the end of the homily, the hierarch of Canada encouraged the faithful to meditate on the concrete role of the Cross at the start of the liturgical year:

“To lead an authentic Christian life we ​​must think every moment of the most suitable steps we can take in our life to have our gaze directed towards God and love for others. From a spiritual point of view, the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross has its rightful place at the start of the liturgical year. This holiday therefore shows us how to spend the time of the year from a spiritual point of view.

May God give us strength this Sunday and throughout the year to be able to meditate on the meaning of the Cross of Christ! This meditation should be done every year but we will continue it afterwards also in eternity.”

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[1] Troparion of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

[2] Galatians 2, 20