NOTE: Christ in Our Neighborhood is a parish-based program consisting of small Christian communities that gather in the home weekly to prayerfully discuss the upcoming Sunday Mass readings. It’s easy to form a community and you can find out more at Christ in Our Neighborhood – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix (dphx.org)
This coming Sunday, we celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The question the Christ in Our Neighborhood reflection asks us is: How does the Cross challenge our understanding of love and sacrifice in daily life?
It’s easy to caught up in the ever-appealing dancing-in-meadows sort of love often portrayed in popular culture, where there’s always a tidy, suffering-free ending. Real life is a lot grittier than that because real love has a cost.
All we have to do is look at the Cross to see the price that was paid to redeem us. It was a price willingly paid by Jesus when He chose to die on the Cross to set us free.
The world tells us to run from suffering, but Jesus shows us how to endure it patiently. That is one reason why the Cross is so essential to the proclamation of our faith. When we look at the Cross, we recognize that God in His great mercy forgives us when we repent and turn to Him.
The Cross also reminds us that as God has forgiven us, we must forgive others for their trespasses against us.
In a world that abhors suffering and encourages vengeance, living in a way that embraces the suffering that comes our way (our cross) and forgiving those who have hurt us is truly countercultural.
If you haven’t joined a Christ in Our Neighborhood small group yet, perhaps you are being called to start one yourself. Check out our website today to find out more: dphx.org/Christ-in-our-neighborhood.
Watch the video of the weekly podcast segment featuring Christ in Our Neighborhood with Bishop Dolan by clicking HERE.
Be sure to attend our Sept. 6 Morning of Reflection for all CION participants and leaders at the Diocesan Pastoral Center, 8 a.m. to noon. You can RSVP for this free event HERE.
To sign up for our weekly Christ in Our Neighborhood newsletter that has everything you need for your next meeting, visit: https://phoenixdiocese.flocknote.com/CION
