Fr Marco Lazzaron
“t that time, Jesus said to Nicodemus: No one has gone up to heaven except the one who came 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 may not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved through him”.
We are invited today to reflect on the meaning of the Cross, and why we celebrate, we “exalt” the Cross. Some people may find Christ in moments of joy, others in the depths of sorrow, doubt, or even at the final hour of their life. Christ is present everywhere—in hidden suffering and in public tragedies, in places of injustice and in the silent cries of the oppressed. The image of the cross transcends time and place; it is not confined to believers alone but is a universal symbol of suffering, violence, but also is our way to salvation and redemption.
Faith without the cross becomes hollow. True Christian life is not merely about joy, friendship, or utopian dreams but about entering into Christ’s suffering—His Gethsemane, His Calvary—and recognizing that liberation and salvation pass through the mystery of the cross. This mystery does not glorify suffering itself—evil remains evil—but, through the love that marked it, the cross becomes a sign and means of salvation.
Salvation, is not, therefore, a passive gift; it calls us to carry our own crosses and to share in the burdens of others, especially the poor, the excluded, the victims of war and injustice. God does not save without our participation. St. Augustine once said: “He who created you without you cannot save you without you” (Sermo 169, 13). To remain with Christ in His suffering—present today in the oppressed, the migrants, the forgotten—is to walk with Him toward His kingdom, where salvation is shared by all.
Questions for reflection
– Do we know how to recognize and accept our own cross, the one we are given to bear each day?
– Do we recognize the crosses of the world, the sins inflicted daily upon the poor and the excluded? How can we and what can we concretely do to take them on and to help carry the crosses of those who live beside us?