Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection September 14, 2025
Sunday – The Exaltation of the Holy Cross
14th September 2025 (Sunday)
Psalter: Proper
Readings of the Day
First Reading: Numbers 21:4b-9
In those days: The people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.
Psalm 78:1bc-2, 34-35, 36-37, 38 R. (see 7b)
R/. Never forget the deeds of the Lord
Second Reading: Philippians 2:6-11
Christ Jesus: who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, 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 Acclamation
V/. Alleluia
R/. Alleluia
V/. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your Cross you have redeemed the world.
R/. Alleluia
Gospel: John 3:13-17
At that time: Jesus said to Nicodemus, “No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And 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. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Daily Gospel Reflection
Sunday – The Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Main Point: The Cross, once a symbol of shame, is transformed by Christ into the sign of God’s saving love and our path to eternal life.
1. In the desert, the Israelites grumbled and were bitten by serpents. God’s healing came not through their own power, but by looking at the bronze serpent lifted up by Moses. Healing begins not with human pride, but with humble trust.
2. This strange remedy foreshadowed Christ’s Cross. As the serpent was lifted up for healing, so Jesus is lifted up on the Cross—not as punishment, but as the source of salvation for all who look to Him with faith.
3. St. Paul tells us that Jesus emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, obedient even unto death. The Cross is not only redemption but also the perfect witness of humility and obedience.
4. The Cross teaches us that God’s way is not power or domination but surrender and love. What the world calls defeat, God turns into victory.
5. “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.” Love is the measure of the Cross. Every wound, every humiliation, every drop of blood speaks of love freely given.
6. The Cross stands as a contradiction: the place of death becomes the tree of life; the instrument of cruelty becomes the throne of mercy. Only faith can recognize this reversal.
7. When we embrace the Cross in our lives—our daily trials, sacrifices, and acts of fidelity—we are not crushed, but lifted up. The Cross becomes strength when carried with Christ.
8. The exaltation of the Cross is not about glorifying suffering for its own sake, but about glorifying the love that conquers through suffering. It is this love that heals, restores, and gives eternal life.
9. To “look upon the Cross” is not just to glance at it, but to let it pierce our hearts, reminding us that we are loved beyond measure and called to love in return.
My Practice: Let us not shy away from the Cross, but embrace it daily with faith and courage. By uniting our struggles with Christ’s sacrifice, we become living witnesses of God’s love and instruments of healing for our world.
