Humbly submit your will to God (Thy Will be done) and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Mary and Joseph.

Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross

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.  Phil 2:6-11

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. JN 3:13-17

Today is not the feast of the Exaltation of Greg Goertz.  It is not the feast of the Exaltation of our cell phone or the Internet. It is not the Feast of the Exaltation of wealth and power, honor, and pleasure (4 things St. Thomas Aquinas said Jesus nailed to the cross that we must stop seeking to enter the Kingdom).  It is not the feast of the Exaltation of the best looks and popularity. It is not the Feast of the Exaltation of video games.  It is not the feast of the Exaltation of work.  

My pride and stubbornness get in the way of allowing God to love me.  He has done everything He can by giving us His only Son through death on a cross and continues to sacrifice by staying hidden in bread and wine until He returns.  He is with us in prayer, ““For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” MT 18:20 Christ died not to condemn us but save us. Save us from what?  Our fallen human nature, the devil, pride, earthly possessions, envy, disordered passions so that we may have hope, peace, joy, love, grace and eternal life.  

When we do not give ourselves totally and completely to the One who created us and has given us EVERYTHING we do not exalt the cross.  When we do not offer our daily crosses and suffering up to Christ we do not exalt the cross. When we do not allow God to love us and forgive us, we do not exalt the cross.  When we give into our human desires and do not fight the temptations of the Devil, we do not exalt the cross. When we worship our cell phones, electronics, big homes, fancy cars, our looks, popularity, we do not exalt the cross.

When we get caught up in ourselves and fail to live our vocation (which is to die to self and be in service of the other), we fail to exalt the cross.  When we do not love God, others, and ourselves, we fail to exalt the cross.  When we fail to get down on our knees and look up at the crucifix each morning we rise and give thanks to God for what He has done for us, we fail to exalt the cross.  When we fail to pray and visit Jesus who is waiting patiently for us in the tabernacles of our Churches and Adoration chapels, we fail to exalt the cross.  This leads to misery and a lot of confusion. I know I’ve lived it. I have failed at each one of these.

I need a Savior because I don’t know what love is otherwise and I can’t be with the One who loves me the most.  ”Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord.”  Pray before a crucifix anywhere in silence and get to know your Savior.

Today’s challenge: Pray before a crucifix anywhere and get to know your Savior.  Share the love He gives you with others.

Be a servant, become a saint!
#Christian YOLO