Dear Parishioners,
​
This weekend we celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.  This is assigned to September 14, and when 
the date coincides with a Sunday, the feast day supersedes the usual liturgy of Ordinary Time. 
 
This feast has its roots early in the history of our Church (fourth century), commemorating the discovery of the cross by St. Helen and the dedication of churches at the sites of the crucifixion and the Lords tomb, the current site of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.  The feast is a powerful reminder of the centrality of the cross in our faith.   
 
The gospels make it clear that Jesus was crucified because his enemies insisted on that particular form of execution  a 
penalty which could only be inflicted by the Romans.  Why?  Because the cross was the most brutal form of execution,
reserved for the scum of the earth.  In that era, to be crucified was seen as being cursed by God.  The opponents of 
Jesus did not merely wish to be rid of him, but to completely discredit him.  Thus, after Jesus breathed his last on that 
ugly cross, they celebrated.  They had  so they mistakenly thought  won.  Jesus had been humiliated and disgraced.  
There was no doubt in their minds that his movement would quickly fade away.  God, of course, had other plans. 
 
This feast day reminds us that it was through the Cross (not in spite of the Cross) that Jesus triumphed.  As the ancient prayer proclaims so simply yet powerfully: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you, because by your holy 
cross, you have redeemed the world.  Yes, by means of the Cross, God manifested the awesomeness of divine love and 
mercy, a sacrificial love in which Jesus gave his all for you and for me and for every person who has ever lived.  Let me repeat that  Jesus sacrificed his life for every human being, whatever his or her race or tongue, whatever his or her faith or lack of faith, whatever his or her virtue or vice.  Whenever we denigrate people, whenever we allow prejudice to jaundice our treatment of people or our speech and attitudes about people, we desecrate a child of God, a person who Jesus loves dearly. 
 
Just as it was true that Jesus won his victory over sin and death through the Cross, just as it is true that that it was by his self-emptying that he was exalted, so for you and for me it is through the Cross (not in spite of it) that we find salvation.  When we encounter our own crosses, when we are immersed in suffering or when we share the agony of others who are suffering, this feast can renew our courage and bring us comfort.   
 
You might make it a point to take one of the crosses in your home and put it in an especially prominent place throughout this week as well as schedule a time of family prayer around the cross sometime during these days.  Or you might plan to drop by the church sometime this week to make the stations of the cross (either in the church or using our outdoor stations).   
 
Along with Ken Pulskamp and Alonso Rosado and the other members of our parish finance council, thank you for your gracious attention to last weekends presentation on parish finances. 
 
Don't forget our parish BBQ in two weeks (September 26-28).  Please join us and invite your family and friends.  This 
weekend after all of our Masses you can purchase raffle tickets and sign up to volunteer.   
 
Jesus, crucified and risen Savior, give us a share in your glory.  Holy Mary, Mother of Sorrows, whose heart was pierced as you shared in the Passion of your Son, assist us in our sorrows.   
 
Father Craig

Scriptures insist that we keep our priorities straight, to root our values in God’s wisdom and not to be deceived by the ways of our materialistic world. In today’s gospel, Jesus warns us to guard against the vice of greed, for “one’s life does not consist of possessions.”

​He then tells a parable about a man preoccupied with his wealth. Despite all he owns, all his comforts, this man is anxious and intent on piling up far more riches. While his storehouses were full and he mistakenly thought he needed bigger ones, Jesus makes it clear that at the core of his being was an emptiness. Jesus concludes by saying that what matters is not our earthly treasures, but to be “rich in what matters to God.” Qoheleth in the first reading shares the same wisdom in speaking of the ultimate vanity of earthly possessions. And St. Paul tells the Colossians, and tells us: “…seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.” 

What do we make of these unsettling challenges? Not all of us in the Church are called to evangelical poverty for the 
sake of the Kingdom of God. There are those among us in the Body of Christ who do take the vow of poverty – precisely as an expression of faith in God’s providence. Those who live this vow witness to us all of the values that matter most and of the passing nature of earthly possessions. We as individuals, as well as the world as a whole, need that witness. But while the vast majority of us are not called to renounce possessions for the sake of Christ, we are called to an evangelical simplicity of life. We are called to make sure that our possessions never begin to possess us. 

Christianity has always needed to be countercultural. It was so in the Roman Empire in the first generations of our 
Church and has been again and again down through history in different times and cultures. Yet, it is also true that all too often members of the Church, including leaders of the Church, have betrayed that mission. The ways of the world can so easily subvert our thinking and action. It is not that the things of the world are evil. Far from it, God created our world and wants us to be blessed by its bounty. But when the things of this world push God aside, when our values are rooted more in our culture than in the gospel, we have lost our way. 

The greed against which Jesus warned certainly includes greed for material possessions, but there are other kinds of 
greed. We can be greedy for control and so begin to manipulate and use others, greedy for attention and adulation and fall into jealousy, we can be greedy for comfort and be unwilling to make sacrifices or make excuses for our indifference. 

The refrain from today’s Responsorial Psalm reminds us, “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” This 
week let’s pause and open our hearts, let’s engage in profound reflection on our values and priorities. Do we seek first
the Kingdom of God? Do our lived priorities reflect the values of our Catholic faith? Are our attitudes and behavior 
pretty much the same as those of our contemporaries around us, or does our discipleship of Jesus inspire us to think and act differently? Jesus calls us to conversion of heart, mind and action. Jesus calls us to love God above all else and to love one another as he loved us. Let’s each ask ourselves: “Have the ways of our world diverted me from this path?”

If so, let’s take the challenge of Jesus to heart and begin the process of repentance and renewal. 
Jesus, may we treasure you and your ways and grow to be rich in the things of God. Holy Mary, who always sought and followed God’s will in your life, help us to do the same. 

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He went on to graduate from California State University Dominguez Hills and then moved to the major seminary of St. John’s in Camarillo. He completed four years of theological studies and year of pastoral internship at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Rowland Heights. He was ordained a priest on June 3, 2023, and assigned to Resurrection Parish in east Los Angeles.

Father Emmanuel is fully bilingual and has a particular love of the liturgy. He reflected that “Life as a parish priest has been a blast!” At Resurrection Church, under the guidance of Msgr. John Moretta, he strove to bring people closer to the love of Christ and experienced a wide scope of what priesthood means, noting that “each day is an adventure full of excitement, challenges, and blessings.”

​He is looking forward to serving here in Santa Clarita at OLPH!