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Working with the
Word
Exaltation of the Holy Cross
September 14, 2014
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Focusing
the Gospel
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Key
words and phrases: up to heaven, down from heaven, believes in him, perish, eternal life |
To
the point: "Up" and "down" are words that capture seeming contradic- tions in this gospel and on this feast. The space between up and down, heaven and earth, divinity and humanity is closed by the obedience, self-emptying, and fidelity of the Son. This feast day celebrates that on the cross the Son overcomes these contradictions. We ourselves are drawn into the mystery of the cross as exaltation by our belief in the Son. Our believing bridges the space between God and us, between Life and death, between being saved or perish- ing. How much do we believe?
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Connecting
the Gospel...
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...to
the first reading: The Son, by coming "down from heaven" (gospel), "emptied himself" and immersed himself totally in the human condition (sec- ond reading). By his unwavering obedience, all of us are raised up with him through the cross to exaltation. |
...to experience: The words "up" and "down" in the gospel point to heaven and earth, which we tend to think of as places. The mystery of this feast and this gospel move us beyond the notion of place to relationship, choice, belief, salvation.
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Copyright © 2014 by The Order
of St. Benedict, Inc., Collegeville, Minnesota.
All rights
reserved.
Used
by permission from Liturgical Press,
St. John’s Abbey, P.O. Box 7500 Collegeville, Minnesota 56321-7500 |
Living Liturgy: Spirituality, Celebration, and Catechesis
for Sundays and Solemnities Year A - 2014, pp. 211.
Joyce Ann Zimmerman, CPPS;
Kathleen Harmon, SND de N;
and Christopher W. Conlon, SM
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Thank
you to Liturgical Press who makes this page possible
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For more information about Living Liturgy 2014 click picture above. |
Art by Martin Erspamer, O.S.B.
from Religious
Clip Art for the Liturgical Year (A, B, and C).
Used by permission of Liturgy Training Publications. This art may be reproduced only by parishes who purchase the collection
in book or CD-ROM form. For more information go to:
http://www.ltp.org/ |
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