On Sunday, September 14, 2025, we will celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, which is also our parish’s patronal feast. This year, it falls on a Sunday, the Lord’s Day, the day of the Resurrection, a mini-Easter, which truly gives it the value of the solemnity. As the Holy Cross Parish, we would like to celebrate this feast as devoutly and solemnly as possible. In fact, all the liturgies of the churches of the West and the East celebrate this day solemnly.
The main Mass at 10:30 a.m. will, of course, be a solemn celebration led by our bishop Raimo Goyarrola. At the same time, during the Mass, seven adults will join the Catholic Church in full communion. There is no better way to praise God than to gather once again around the altar table and celebrate the Holy Eucharist, that is, to give thanks and at the same time pray for these new members.
On the occasion of this solemnity, we are grateful to God and to all the members of our parish. We would like to pray especially for all the members of our community, both living and deceased, that we who are alive may always strive to follow the example and teaching of Jesus Christ, and that God may grant eternal rest in heaven to our deceased members.
The cross, a shameful and painful instrument of execution, has become a sign of victory for us Christians, for Christ has risen. The cross has become a sign of God’s love, atonement, and redemption: “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” (John 3:16). The cross has forever remained a sign of Christ’s great love for both his heavenly Father and for humanity: “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
Love is not genuine without sacrifice and suffering. Thus, Jesus’ cross is never mere empty and senseless suffering, but love that brings salvation to people. The cross represents both humiliating suffering and the infinity of forgiving love. The cross is the culmination of God’s sacrificial love for humanity. It shows how far God was willing to go out of love for fallen humanity. In fact, God “did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all” (Rom. 8:32). But if God allowed his beloved Son to suffer so much at the hands of cruel people, then suffering cannot be an absolute and final evil. The resurrection shows that even the most painful suffering and the worst injustice, when patiently endured, can be a pledge of redemption and lead to glory. Seen in the right light, suffering serves love and produces great peace and deep joy.
The cross reminds us of whom we should follow in our lives. We must take up our cross and be obedient to Christ, who was obedient even to death on the cross (Phil. 2:8). We should identify with Christ, who died on the cross. Sharing in the victory also requires participating in the battle. That is why the cross follows us throughout our lives. Only through the mystery of the cross can we enter the glorious heavenly homeland: per crucem ad lucem.
Thus, the cross of Christ and the cross of the Christian belong together. At the same time, the cross and the resurrection are inseparably linked. They cannot be understood separately from each other. The mystery of Christ’s Passover – his suffering, death, and resurrection – is a single whole, which we celebrate together especially in the Eucharist, the sacrament of love.
Let us pray that we may build our community in love and unity and support one another on our journey toward the home of our heavenly Father, that our Lord Christ may bless and strengthen our entire parish.
Welcome to celebrate our parish’s patronal feast, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, with Bishop Raimo!
Practical arrangements for church coffee after the celebration of the High Mass:
I would like to ask that each family please brings something to eat and drink on that Sunday, September 14, 2025. It would be good to bring both sweet and savoury nutrition for church coffee with the Bishop after the High Mass! Both sweet and salty food is needed!
Thank you so much for your help! God bless you all!
Fr Tri Nguyen
Parish priest
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The feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Prayer
Merciful Father God, who willed that Christ, your 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.
Lord Jesus, deliver us from sin with the power of Your cross and help us carry our own cross with You every day. Ignite in us a longing for communion and a willingness to serve one another. Help us, to the best of our ability, to take responsibility for the needs of our parish. Bless all who help our parish grow and strengthen in the Christian spirit and support its well-being.
We pray to You, O Holy Spirit, for all those who suffer from the illness of body or soul, from pain or depression, loneliness, or loss of a loved one. We pray that they will find healing and comfort in the grace of the cross of Christ. Amen.
The blessing of the Cross or Crucifixion
Heavenly Father, you sent your Son to us because you love us, and want to save us. By the power of his cross, free us from sin and let us live each day for you. Bless + this sign of glory, and let it remind us
that Jesus died and rose for all. Help us to carry our cross with him every day, and to follow him in serving others. We ask this grace through Christ our Lord. Amen.