September 14, 2014: Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

September 14 is not only the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, but this year, it marks the 200th Anniversary of the composition of "The Star-Spangled Banner".  The song was written about a triumph of a symbol of the United States, the flag, after a battle.

On this Feast, we celebrate the exaltation of the Cross, the instrument of our salvation.

Prefiguring the Cross, the bronze serpent Moses constructed and lifted up provided healing to the Israelites who pleaded for forgiveness when poisonous snakes bit them in punishment for their quarreling.  It didn't take away the snakes per se, but provided healing for the Israelites.

Just so, in a world stricken by sin, Christ was raised up on the Cross, and we who look to Him by faith live.  And we continue turning to the Cross as the source of our life, dying to ourselves, so we may fully embrace the life it gives us.  And we honor and glorify Christ, whom God has exalted for His self-emptying and submission to death on the Cross that has brought us alive.