Month: September 2025

The Paradox of the Cross

(Num.21:4-9; Phil.2:6-11; Jn.3:13-17)

Life is full of paradoxes, of things that seem self-contradictory or absurd but still remain true. Like in social media, where the more connected you are, the less connected you become.

Or the truism that if you want to succeed, then expect to fail.

Today we celebrate the greatest paradox of all – the Cross of Christ. It’s the most brutal instrument of torture and death, and yet it’s also the tree of life.

It’s a symbol of utter human weakness and failure, but also the ultimate proof of God’s power and love.

On this feast day, we are all invited to reflect on the mystery of the Cross. Not with sorrow, but with a strong sense of awe and joy because God has used that Cross to transform death into life. He has given hope to our troubled world.

Why do we celebrate the Cross today? It’s because on September 14 every year the Church commemorates its discovery by St. Helena, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine. She became a Christian later in life and in 326 AD journeyed to Jerusalem, searching for the holy places in Jesus’ life.

Helena had heard that the pagan Temple of Aphrodite had been built on Calvary, so she had it demolished and underneath she found three crosses. Constantine then had the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre erected on that spot.

For St Helena, the Cross wasn’t a souvenir or a relic; it was the source of all salvation and a bridge to eternal life. By making it visible to everyone, she transformed what was once a sign of shame into a symbol of victory, and people have been venerating the Cross ever since.

Someone else who was fascinated by the Cross was St Thérèse of Lisieux, who lived a mostly hidden life in a Carmelite convent in France. She suffered considerably in her short life and eventually died a painful death from tuberculosis.

Thérèse often reflected on Jesus’ Cross and what it meant, and came to realise that the Cross isn’t just to be found on Calvary, for it’s embedded in every suffering we endure, including our illness, sadness, discomforts and frustrations.

She learnt that every sacrifice, every cross, can be transformed when it’s accepted with love, for even the smallest suffering can bring us closer to Jesus.

She came to welcome every trial as a gift from God, and called this her Little Way.

In her autobiography, The Story of a Soul, Thérèse explains how every day she tried to embrace little crosses, like enduring an insult, accepting the annoying faults of others, and saying nothing when she was misunderstood. She saw all these little sacrifices as acts of love for Jesus.

She once wrote: ‘I choose all! I don’t want to be a saint by halves. I’m not afraid to suffer for you, Jesus!’

She also said, ‘To pick up a pin for love can convert a soul.’

St Thérèse teaches us that experiencing the Cross doesn’t have to be something dramatic or momentous, for the Cross is also there when we do ordinary things with great love.

In this way, she has made Jesus’ Cross accessible to us all in our daily lives.

On 19 October 1997, Pope St John Paul II declared St Thérèse of Lisieux a Doctor of the Church. This formally recognises her for making a major contribution to our understanding of the Christian faith.

John Paul II understood what St Therese was trying to say. He himself had suffered mightily, losing his family early in life and enduring the cruelty of both Nazi and Communist regimes. He was also shot and nearly died in 1981, and in his later years he suffered from Parkinson’s disease, but didn’t try to hide it.

He embraced his sufferings publicly, proclaiming that they are not meaningless when they are offered with love and united to Christ. ‘Don’t be afraid,’ he said, for Jesus has already conquered death.

The Cross of Christ is a true paradox. It’s an awful instrument of torture and death, but Jesus and the saints teach us not to fear it because it’s also the source of new life.

St. Helena encourages us to search for the Cross, for it’s hidden inside the rubble of our messy lives.

St. Thérèse teaches us to hold the Cross up high as we quietly accept life’s challenges in a spirit of love.

And St. John Paul II shows us that you don’t have to be strong to be holy; you just need to be faithful in your weakness.

The Flower of Lucca

(Wis.9:13-18; Phlm.9-10, 12-17; Lk.14:25-33)

Jesus says it himself: it’s not always easy being his disciple.

Talking to a crowd in today’s Gospel, Jesus says that if you want to follow him, be prepared to give up everything. Not just your possessions or relationships, but perhaps even your lives.

You cannot be my disciple without carrying a Cross, Jesus says.

Some people are alarmed by this and walk away. But not all, because others go on to become saints. Like St. Gemma Galgani, a young Italian woman who shows us what Christian discipleship can be like.

Gemma was born in Tuscany, in 1878, the fifth of eight children. She was a clever girl, and her mother, who she adored, taught her all about the faith and the value of the Cross.

At her Confirmation, Jesus spoke to Gemma’s heart, asking if she would give him her mother. Gemma said yes, as long as he took her as well. But Jesus said she would have to wait. Soon afterwards her mother died. Gemma was only 7.

Two of her siblings also died young, and her beloved brother Gino died from tuberculosis while studying for the priesthood. At 16, Gemma herself caught spinal meningitis and had to leave school. Then her father died, leaving her to care for her siblings.

All this suffering brought Gemma very close to Jesus. She knew how Jesus had suffered and died for her, and secretly she decided to link any suffering she might have with his.

During her illness Gemma disliked being a burden to others and prayed to the Venerable Passionist, Gabriel Possenti, for help. Through his intercession, she was cured. This miracle contributed to Gabriel’s own canonisation in 1920.

When Gemma started receiving marriage proposals, she refused them because she only wanted Jesus. In May 1899 she tried to join the Visitation Convent in Lucca, but they declined because of her poor health.

The next month, on the eve of the Feast of the Sacred Heart, she received the stigmata, the five wounds of Jesus, on her hands, feet and side. For the rest of her short life they appeared every week from 8.00pm Thursday until about 3.00pm Friday. She tried to hide these wounds and offered the intense pain for the salvation of souls, saying: ‘If only I could make everyone love Jesus as I do!’

Several people, including some relatives, accused Gemma of attention-seeking by faking her piety, stigmata and other mystical experiences. She found this unpleasant, but she was not discouraged.

‘An interior voice is telling me that we must stay at the foot of the Cross,’ she once said. ‘If Jesus is nailed to the Cross, we must not complain if we have to stay at his feet.’ 

Early in 1903, she was diagnosed with tuberculosis and shortly afterwards, on Holy Saturday, she died. She was only 25. Her parish priest said she had died smiling.

Gemma was beatified in 1933 and canonized in 1940.

Through our baptism we are all called to follow Christ. Jesus says this means we must carry our Cross, but it doesn’t mean we have to look for suffering. We simply have to accept whatever might come from loving him.

St. Gemma Galgani didn’t seek suffering, but she accepted it when it came. When she was forced to leave school, she offered it to Jesus. When people disbelieved her, she offered it to Jesus. And when pain wracked her body, she kissed the crucifix and said, ‘Jesus, I trust in you.’

In today’s Gospel, Jesus says that anyone planning something new must know the cost beforehand. In other words, feelings aren’t enough. We need to understand what discipleship means.

St Gemma Galgani understood the cost, but still said yes to Jesus. She also understood that love makes even the Cross beautiful. She once said: ‘It’s true, Jesus, that I am suffering, but I’m not afraid. Because I am suffering for you, I am happy.’

St Gemma saw her trials not as punishments, but as invitations to love.

In 1921, St Maximilian Kolbe wrote: ‘I read the Life of Gemma Galgani. It did me more good than a whole series of spiritual exercises.’

She is often called the Flower of Lucca.

Today Jesus wants us to choose him above all else, and to stay faithful to him, even when the going gets tough.

So, let St Gemma accompany you in your journey. Let her remind you that no price is too great for the love of Jesus, who sacrificed everything for us.

That’s why she was willing to give everything in return.