XVI Sunday after Pentecost. Sunday after the Universal Exaltation of the Cross.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to the Apostle and Evangelist Saint Mark (Mk 8:34–9:1).

8:34 Calling together the crowd with His disciples, He said to them: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.

8:35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake and for the Gospel’s sake will save it.

8:36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and yet forfeit his soul?

8:37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

8:38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

9:1 And He said to them: “Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God coming with power.”

Homily.

Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Readings of the Sunday after the Universal Exaltation place before us two verbs that change life: to believe and to follow. Saint Paul, in the Letter to the Galatians, proclaims with clarity that “a man is not justified by works of the Law but only through faith in Jesus Christ” and confesses his new existence, saying: “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:16,20). In the Gospel according to Mark, however, the Lord addresses His disciples with a radical invitation: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me” (Mk 8:34).

These two verbs — justified by faith and following through the cross — are not merely doctrinal concepts, but they describe baptismal life. In Baptism we die to our old self and are reborn to share in the new life of Christ. This sacramental mystery makes the depth of Paul’s teaching understandable: justification is not founded on the Law nor on human works, but on the redemptive work of Christ who grafts us into His life. In this way, the Apostle shatters every illusion of self-sufficiency, affirming that “the Law does not justify” and that salvation is a free gift of God. This is not an abstract concept but a mystical and ontological reality: “I have been crucified with Christ” (Gal 2:19).

Saint John Chrysostom helps us to understand that faith is not a mere opinion, but a power that radically transforms identity: “When Christ lives in us, the old man has no more power, for it is Christ who acts and governs” (Homilies on Galatians, XIII, PG 61, 676). In agreement, Saint Gregory of Nyssa interprets the Christian life as a true metanoia, capable of re-creating man in his deepest essence: “We become new creatures, transfigured in the splendor of the image of Christ” (Life of Moses, PG 44, 385). Saint Athanasius the Great, master of the doctrine of the Incarnation, reminds us that “the Word became man so that we might become god by participation” (On the Incarnation, 54, PG 25, 192), and Saint Basil the Great underlines that “Baptism is the death of sin, the life of the soul, participation in the resurrection of Christ” (On the Holy Spirit, XV, PG 32, 132).

Thus, justification does not remain a theoretical doctrine, but is manifested as a living relationship: being incorporated into Christ, living by His life, and allowing ourselves to be transformed by His presence. In this way, every believer, through the cross and the grace of Baptism, becomes a partaker of the death and resurrection of Christ, and his existence opens to a transfiguration that surpasses every human limit, entering into the eternal life bestowed by the Spirit.

It is precisely in this living communion with Christ that faith becomes a concrete journey, as the Gospel shows us: to deny oneself, to take up the cross, to follow. To deny does not mean to annul one’s identity, but to be freed from the selfishness that separates us from God. To take up the cross is not to seek pain, but to embrace with love the condition of the disciple, who lives by service and self-giving. Thus, the Christian life is revealed as a concrete experience of grace: every gesture, every sacrifice, and every act of love becomes participation in the cross and resurrection of the Lord, an opening to the transfiguration worked by the Spirit in our existence.

Beloved, in my ministry alongside fragile persons, afflicted by psychiatric illnesses, I have been able to experience this truth in a very concrete way. Some, despite the enormous weight of their suffering, continue to walk with a surprising strength, illumined by faith; others, closing themselves within their pain, remain crushed by the cross. It is not the cross itself that makes the difference, but the way in which it is borne. With Christ at our side, the cross becomes a place of presence, of hope, and of salvation: it becomes an occasion of new life, participation in the Paschal mystery of His sacrifice and resurrection.

This truth is manifested not only in the life of the faithful, but it has also been confirmed by the history of the Church. In the fourth century, the holy Empress Helena, mother of Constantine, journeyed to Jerusalem, guided by ardent faith. There she desired to find the Lord’s Cross, which had remained hidden for nearly three centuries because of Roman persecutions and the attempts of pagan emperors to erase every memory of Christ’s Passion.

According to Eastern tradition, Saint Helena received a particular vision: on Golgotha, where Christ had been crucified, there grew abundantly a plant of basil—basilikos in Greek, meaning “royal.” It was the sign that marked the place of the Cross of the King of kings, Jesus Christ.

Saint Helena ordered an excavation at that very spot. And so, from the depths of the earth, three wooden crosses were brought to light, together with the nails of the Crucifixion and the tablet inscribed, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.”

At that time, the Church of Jerusalem was shepherded by Saint Macarius, a wise and devout bishop. He was faced with the decisive question: which of the three crosses was the Lord’s?

The bishop, trusting in God, asked for a sign. Then a gravely ill woman was brought forward. Macarius took the first cross and placed it upon her: nothing happened. The same occurred with the second. But when he raised the third cross and traced it over her in blessing, the woman was immediately healed.

It is told that shortly thereafter, the same sign of the Cross restored life to a dead man. Thus the Christian community recognized without doubt the true wood of the Savior.

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, who only a few decades later became bishop of that same city, confirmed: “The Cross was found, and the earth, which had received the blood of the Lord, yielded forth the fruits of salvation” (Catechesis 4,10).

After the miracle, Saint Macarius lifted the Cross before the people, who fell to their knees, worshipping the crucified and risen Lord. From that time, on September 27 the Church has celebrated the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, a feast that recalls not a piece of wood, but Christ’s victory over death.

Saint Ephrem the Syrian extolled this mystery in luminous words: “The Cross is the throne of the King: whoever contemplates it discovers that there is no longer shame but glory, no longer defeat but victory” (Hymn on the Cross, 2).

The basil that pointed out to Saint Helena the place of the Cross remains in Byzantine tradition as a sign of the kingship of Christ: even today it is placed beside the altars and used in blessings. It is the royal fragrance of Him who has conquered death.

Saint John Chrysostom, with his mighty preaching, recalled: “The Cross has become the hope of Christians, the resurrection of the dead, the staff of the paralytic, the comfort of the poor, the chain of grace. Through it, darkness has been scattered and light restored” (Homilia De Cruce et Latrone, 1).

For this reason, the Cross is not merely a memory of Calvary, but a source of healing and salvation, a sign of the power of God who transforms suffering into new life.

This path of renunciation and self-giving does not remain abstract: the Tradition of the Fathers shows us how it is realized in the concrete life of the believer. Saint Gregory the Theologian invites us to contemplate humility as the way to encounter Christ: “He who keeps his life for himself loses it, but he who gives it will find it again in God” (Theological Orations, II, PG 36, 148). Saint John Chrysostom comments that “to take up the cross daily” means to accept not only the great trials, but also the small daily labors of love: forgiveness, patience, service, generous silence (Homilies on Matthew, LV, PG 58, 545).

Saint John of Damascus, meditating on the kenosis, affirms: “To follow Christ means to imitate His obedience unto the total self-emptying of love, which transforms the world” (Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, III, 19, PG 94, 1093). And Saint Cyril of Alexandria emphasizes that whoever accepts to lose his life for Christ already enters into the logic of the Kingdom: “The life we give for Christ is the very life that will be restored to us in glory” (Commentary on John, XI, PG 74, 556).

In this same spirit, today’s reading of the Word shows us how justification and discipleship are not separate realities, but two inseparable aspects of the Christian life: faith, which grafts us into Christ, makes us capable of denying the self and of living the daily cross. The new identity in Christ is manifested in the path of service and self-giving.

Thus, what begins as sacramental participation in the death and resurrection of Christ becomes a daily journey of love, service, and humility, confirming that faith is not only an intellectual assent, but a living, ontological, and practical experience: to be incorporated into Christ means to allow His life to shape ours, until every moment of our existence is transformed into an offering pleasing to God and a participation in the glory of His Kingdom.

Beloved brothers and sisters, our calling is simple and radical: to be crucified and risen with Christ. This is the promise of the Gospel and the new life that has been given to us.

Let us pray to the Lord, through the intercessions of the holy Fathers who have enlightened us with their wisdom and holiness — Saint John Chrysostom, Saint Gregory the Theologian, Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Saint Basil the Great, Saint John of Damascus — that He may grant us the grace to live fully in the faith, to embrace the cross with trust, and to bear joyful witness that “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”

To Him be all glory and honor, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.

Amen.

Archpriest Michele Alberto Del Duca.