Daily Reflection for the Pontifical Mission Societies, September 14, 2025

Roger J. Landry
National Director, The Pontifical Mission Societies
Daily Reflection for September 14, 2025

Here is the video of today’s reflection.

The YouTube generated transcript for today’s reflection is:

I am Monsignor Roger Landry, national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies. I’m at the church of St. Raphael in St. Petersburg, Florida. Hiding behind me, you can see the crucifix. And today, the church celebrates the triumph or the exaltation of the cross. When the world looks at the cross, all we see is a sign of ignominious torture, suffering, pain, and death. But we Christians know that the cross is far more than that.

The cross is the greatest love sign of all time that made even what Jesus suffered on Good  Friday bearable because of the love he had for us for whom he was given his life. And that’s why in  today’s gospel, we ponder what Jesus said early in his public ministry to Nicodemus. Jesus said that just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up so that  everyone who believes in him might not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world,  St. John comments immediately after that he didn’t condemn the world but entered it so that we might  not be lost but that we might be saved.

Moses and the serpent in the desert. We remember that the  Israelites were sinning against God. So God the Father permitted that seraphine serpents come around  and bite them with poisonous venom. The only way that they were saved from death was when they  looked at a bronze serpent mounted on a staff that Moses was holding before them. It’s a strange  medicine that God prescribed. What was it dealing with? They were looking at the source of their sin. ultimately a serpent going straight back to the garden of Gethsemane that they were choosing.  They were looking at their sin and they were able to feel in their own body what their sin had  caused and cry out to God for mercy. When Jesus was lifted high on the cross, we see what our  sin has done. Crucified God himself incarnate, the most innocent of all time. And yet looking at  him, we cry out for mercy. Like that good thief, Jesus, remember me as you enter into your kingdom.  Today on the feast of the exaltation of the cross, we remember that hymn that we sing  throughout the world. Lift high the cross, the love of God proclaim until all the world  proclaim his holy name. Profess his holy name.

That’s what missionaries do. They go throughout  the world lifting high the cross of Jesus as that great sign of love. We remember the first and the  greatest missionary after Jesus, St. Paul when he went to Athens he spoke about the resurrection  he spoke about the unknown god and he received very few converts he went away crestfallen he  got on a boat cross the is mas down to Corinth and that’s when he resolved to know and preach  nothing but Christ and Christ crucified which is the power and the wisdom of God St. Paul became the great preacher of the cross of Christ in which he boasted and he said he would have no other  glory than Christ in his cross and he said it’s no longer even I who live but Christ crucified  who lives in me that he had been crucified in Christ and was now living by faith in the son  of God who loved him and gave his life for him.

Today on this Sunday in which the whole church  celebrates the exaltation of the cross we invoke the intercession of St. Paul, so that we too  might glory in the cross and lift it high until all the world proclaim Jesus on the cross’s holy  saving name. Yeshua, God saves. God bless you.

The Gospel reading on which the reflection was based was:

Gospel