"We are loved with Eternal love": Bishop Paolo Martinelli

His Excellency Bishop Paolo Martinelli presided over the celebration of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross in Abu Dhabi yesterday (14 September 2022).

Below is the full text of his homily.

The exaltation of the cross is a very special celebration that seems to question the criteria with which we normally evaluate the events of our life.

We often speak of "cross" in a negative or unpleasant aspect that may have happened to us in life.
Today, however, the liturgy speaks to us of an exaltation of the cross, something not to be ashamed of because it is a sign of a limitless love that God has for us and manifested in the paschal mystery.
We heard it right in today's Gospel: Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life.

Jesus in the Gospel recalls an episode of the Old Testament that refers to Moses to make us understand the meaning of this elevation: the people in the desert, having distanced themselves from God, were exposed to death due to the bite of the venomous snakes. Moses uses the same image of the serpent, made of bronze, and shows it to the people. All those who look at it, are healed of their mortal wounds.

According to this background, Jesus presents the mystery of the cross. In fact, Jesus, on the cross, takes our sins upon himself and frees us from evil. There are two very simple words that make us understand what happened on the cross and why this cross is exalted.

These two words are "for us". Even when we make the profession of faith, we say, "Jesus became man for us and for our salvation, for us and for our sake he was crucified".

What do these two simple words mean? “for us”

"Jesus was crucified for us" means above all that on the cross, God manifested himself in our favour: God is not against us, he is always for us: he loved us so much that he gave his Son. God sent his Son so that we have life in abundance, so that the world may be saved. God never intends evil or death, but our good and life because he loves us. The exaltation of the cross is, therefore, the exaltation of God's love for all of us.

To love means to give life. Jesus gave his life for us. Therefore, God loves us with infinite love.
The expression "for us" in the Bible also has another meaning. It does not mean only in our favour but also "in our place". His love was manifested because Jesus took upon himself our evil, our sins, our death, or in simple words he took our place.

On the cross, Jesus took upon himself the death of the sinner. The innocent took the place of the guilty. In this way, he freed us from sin, freed us from death, and reopened for us the path of true joy.

The fathers of the Church said that Jesus on the cross made a wonderful exchange: he took our death and gave us his life in exchange. He took our sins upon himself and gave us the love of God. Jesus took our wounded humanity and gave us his divine life, which heals us from all evil. So, we can say that Jesus took our place so that he could raise us to his place. That is the extent of Jesus' love for us.

Now we can understand why the liturgy proclaims the exaltation of the cross. It is the exaltation of love that gives life to the point of taking our evil upon itself to give us its good.

The feast of the exaltation of the cross wants to remind us of the greatest love. This holy day wants to remind us that we are deeply loved in an irrevocable way. When we look at ourselves and at others and see ourselves with our limitations and our sins, we must never forget that each of us is someone for whom Jesus gave his life. I am loved. You are loved. The world is loved. The love of Jesus defines our life more than our sins. If I ask myself: who really am I? I should simply answer “I am one for whom Jesus gave his life”, and “I am the one who is deeply loved by God”. The Cross reminds us that we are loved with eternal love.

And if we are loved so deeply, then we, too, are called to love one another.

May our life in the world be a reflection of Christ's love to bring consolation and joy to everyone.