14 September 2025

The exaltation of the Holy Cross

Collect prayer: O God, who willed that your Only Begotten Son should undergo the Cross to save the human race, grant, we pray, that we, who have known his mystery on earth, may merit the grace of his redemption in heaven. Through…

Numbers 21:4b-9      Ps 78    Philippians 2:6-11      John 3:13-17 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 begotten 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.’

Saints of the Week

• Mon 15 – Our Lady of Sorrows.
• Tue 16 – Sts. Cyprian and Cornelius, martyrs.
• Wed 17 – St. Robert Belarmine, bishop and doctor of the Church.
• Fri 19 – St. Januarius, bishop and martyr.
• Sat 20 – Sts. Andrew Kim Taegon and companions, martyrs.

Readings Next Sunday (25th in Ordinary Time – C)

Amos 8:4-7      Ps 113    Timothy 2:1-8      Luke 16:1-13

Proclaim with joy that Christ was crucified for us!

Not only do we not have to be ashamed of the death of our Lord God, but we should draw from it the greatest confidence and pride. By accepting from us the death he found in us, he most faithfully promised to give us in him the life we could not have on our own. And if he who is without sin loved us so much that he suffered for us sinners what we deserved by our sin, how will he not, who justifies us, give us what is righteousness? How will he not, who is faithful to his promises and who bore the penalty for the guilty, give the righteous their reward?

Let us acknowledge without trembling, my brothers, and proclaim that Christ was crucified for us. Let us say this without fear and with joy, without shame and with pride. The Apostle Paul saw this, he who made it a title of glory. After recalling the many great graces he received from Christ, he does not say that he glories in these marvels, but he says: “As for me, God forbid that I should boast anywhere but in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal 6:14).

St. Augustine, bishop and doctor of the Church

(Source: dailygospel.org)

A love without equal, after that of Christ! (Our Lady of sorrows)

The martyrdom of the Virgin is suggested both by the prophecy of Simeon and by the very narrative of the passion of the Lord. “This one,” said the old man speaking of the child Jesus, “will be a sign of contradiction, and yourself,” he added to Mary, a sword will pierce her soul “(Lk 2, 34-35).

Yes, blessed mother, your soul, a sword pierced her, and besides, it was only by penetrating her that he entered the flesh of your son. In fact, when your Jesus – which is everyone’s, but especially yours – had returned His Spirit, the cruel lance did not reach its soul. If, not saving him – even dead – it opened the his side, it could no longer cause Him pain. But your soul, it pierced: at that moment, hers was no longer there, but yours could not turn away from him.

Maybe someone will say, “Didn’t she know in advance that she should die?” Yes, undoubtedly. “Wasn’t she hoping to see him resurrect immediately?” Yes, with confidence. “After that, she suffered when he was crucified?” Certainly, and with what violence! So who are you therefore, brother, and where does equivalent wisdom come from to surprise you more of the compassion of Mary, than from the passion of the son of Mary? He could die from the death of the body and she could not have died with him in heart? There, it is the work of a love that no one surpasses; Here, it is the result of a love that after the first has never had its equal.

Excerpt from a sermon of St. Bernard, monk and doctor of the Church.

Parish Info
Phone: 26931308      PO Box 61120, 8131 Kato Paphos
Email: paphosparish@yahoo.com
Webpage: www.stpauls-catholic-parish-paphos.com
Facebook: St. Paul’s Catholic Parish Paphos
Parish Priest: Fr. Ismael Quequesana, IVE
Parish Vicar: Fr. Fernando Flores, IVE
Website for the Patriarchate:  www.lpj.org