Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

First Reading

Numbers 21:4b–9

Moses made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he or she was healed.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 78:1–2, 34–34, 36–37, 38

Do not forget the works of the Lord.

Second Reading

Philippians 2:6–11

Jesus Christ, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God as a thing to be grasped.

Gospel Reading

John 3:13–17

As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, so that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

Background on the Gospel

In John’s Gospel, Jesus’ death on the cross as well as his resurrection and return to the Father are one event. For him, the cross is a sign of exaltation. The serpent that Moses lifted up in the desert to offer healing to those injured by snake bites prefigures Jesus’ being lifted up on the cross, bringing salvation.

The eternal life God offers through Jesus is not life without end but life lived in the unending presence of God. That is why it can begin now in this life. The world to which God sends the Son is not a place but those people who are at odds with Jesus and God. Jesus is sent to this world as a gift. Only believers accept the gift.

Finally, God’s judgment on the world is not a future cosmic event but a present reality. God sent the Son out of love for the world. However, the world has to decide to accept him. Those who accept him have eternal life at the moment of the decision. Those who reject him don’t.

Family Mass-This Sunday

The next Family Mass will be this Sunday, September 14 at 9:00 am. Come and bring the whole family. 

Behold the Wood of the Cross



This haunting melody and beautiful scriptural message is so appropriate as we celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (September 14).

The Story of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Early in the fourth century, Saint Helena, mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, went to Jerusalem in search of the holy places of Christ’s life. She razed the second-century Temple of Aphrodite, which tradition held was built over the Savior’s tomb, and her son built the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher on that spot. During the excavation, workers found three crosses. Legend has it that the one on which Jesus died was identified when its touch healed a dying woman.

The cross immediately became an object of veneration. At a Good Friday celebration in Jerusalem toward the end of the fourth century, according to an eyewitness, the wood was taken out of its silver container and placed on a table together with the inscription Pilate ordered placed above Jesus’ head: Then “all the people pass through one by one; all of them bow down, touching the cross and the inscription, first with their foreheads, then with their eyes; and, after kissing the cross, they move on.”

To this day, the Eastern Churches, Catholic and Orthodox alike, celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on the September anniversary of the basilica’s dedication. The feast entered the Western calendar in the seventh century after Emperor Heraclius recovered the cross from the Persians, who had carried it off in 614, 15 years earlier. According to the story, the emperor intended to carry the cross back into Jerusalem himself but was unable to move forward until he took off his imperial garb and became a barefoot pilgrim.

Reflection

The cross is today the universal image of Christian belief. Countless generations of artists have turned it into a thing of beauty to be carried in procession or worn as jewelry. To the eyes of the first Christians, it had no beauty. It stood outside too many city walls, decorated only with decaying corpses, as a threat to anyone who defied Rome’s authority—including Christians who refused sacrifice to Roman gods. Although believers spoke of the cross as the instrument of salvation, it seldom appeared in Christian art unless disguised as an anchor or the Chi-Rho until after Constantine’s edict of toleration.

Pope Leo XIV on Our Relationship with All of Creation

This month, Pope Leo XIV invites us to pray "for our relationship with all of creation." Inspired by Saint Francis of Assis, he invites us to experience our interdependence with all creatures loved by God and worthy of respect and love. His prayer intention for September comes during the Season of Creation. This is a special time when Christians of various denominations join in prayer and action for the care of the earth. We are also celebrating two important anniversaries: the 800th anniversary of Saint Francis of Assisi's Canticle of Creation, and the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis' Encyclical Laudato Si'. Pope Leo XIV is encouraging us to discover God's presence in creation and to feel responsible for our common home. Let us together pray through the video produced by the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network, in collaboration with the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

Hear Pope Leo offer the prayer in English.

Religious Education Preschool to 8th Grade 

Registration Information for the 2025-2026 School Year

Classes Have Already Begun

We are here to support parents in forming their children in the Catholic Faith and engage in our parish community where we worship and grow together in faith. We offer weekly classes for preschool through 8th grade and preparation for the sacraments for children in grades 1 through 8.

The online registration is open for all our classes from Preschool through 8th grade. 

Please visit our Religious Education Preschool to 8th grade website at www.stpatrickcarlsbad.com

Contact the Office for Religious Education at 760-729-8442, or mdornisch@stpatrickcarlsbad.com with questions about faith formation or sacramental preparation.  

Blessings, 

Margit Dornisch,

Religious Education & Family Ministry 

Programa de Catequesis Bilingüe y Ministerio Familiar

Ya estamos registrando para la Catequesis 2025-2026

"Ya comenzaron las clases"

El programa bilingüe de Catequesis de esta parroquia ofrece a los padres de familia el apoyo necesario para la formación religiosa de sus hijos/as integrando aspectos culturales dentro del plan de estudio.

Si desea registrar a sus hijos para la Catequesis en un programa donde los acompañamos a crecer en su fe incorporando el aprendizaje con la vida de la comunidad a través de la Misa dominical, entonces los invitamos a ser parte de este proceso.

Para obtener más información sobre el programa y registrar en línea haga clic en el siguiente enlace; Si desea comunicarse a la Oficina de Catequesis por favor marque 760-434-9099 o envíe un correo a lramirez@stpatrickcarlsbad.com

Sea bendecido!

Lorena Ramirez

Bilingual Coordinator of Catechesis

& Family Ministry

760-434-9099

lramirez@stpatrickcarlsbad.com

Notas del Párroco –

Fiesta de la Exaltación de la Santa Cruz

P. George G. Pérez, CJM – Párroco

Querida comunidad,



al iniciar un nuevo año de formación en la fe, la Fiesta de la Exaltación de la Santa Cruz llega en el momento oportuno. Nos recuerda que nuestra fe no es solamente aprender información o seguir tradiciones, sino entrar en el misterio del amor de Dios revelado en Jesucristo en la Cruz.

En la primera lectura, el pueblo de Israel, cansado y desanimado en el desierto, murmuró contra Dios. Sin embargo, el Señor les dio sanación al mirar con fe la serpiente de bronce levantada por Moisés. No era el bronce el que curaba, sino la confianza en la promesa de Dios.

En el Evangelio, Jesús nos dice que Él mismo será levantado en la Cruz, para que todo el que lo mire con fe tenga vida eterna. La Cruz ya no es sólo un signo de sufrimiento; se convierte en el signo de la misericordia de Dios, el lugar donde la muerte se transforma en vida.

San Pablo nos recuerda en la carta a los Filipenses que Jesús se humilló hasta aceptar la muerte de cruz. Por esa entrega total de amor, Dios lo exaltó sobre todo y todos doblamos la rodilla ante Él.

Hoy, mientras empezamos nuestros programas de formación en la fe—para niños, jóvenes y adultos—esta fiesta nos invita a preguntarnos: ¿qué significa seguir a Cristo? Muchos dirían que el precio es demasiado alto: renunciar a la comodidad, perdonar cuando duele, amar cuando cuesta. Sin embargo, la Cruz nos muestra que el amor vale todo sacrificio.

La Cruz que hoy exaltamos no es un adorno. Es el recordatorio de que Jesús camina con nosotros en cada prueba, que ningún sufrimiento se pierde si lo unimos a Él, y que el amor más grande se encuentra en entregarnos por los demás.

Que al acompañar a nuestras familias parroquiales este año, mantengamos siempre la mirada fija en la Cruz. Allí aprendemos paciencia cuando la vida parece un desierto, humildad cuando nos tienta el orgullo, y fortaleza cuando la fe parece demasiado exigente.

La Cruz no es sólo el precio del discipulado: es la promesa de la vida eterna.

Con gratitud y paz en Cristo,

P. George G. Pérez, CJM

3821 Adams Street

Carlsbad, California 92008

760.729.2866