Num 21:4b-9; John 3

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Readings and Antiphons on p. 1748 of the Daily Missal.

Entrance Antiphon.

We should glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom is our salvation, life and resurrection, through whom we are saved and delivered.

First Reading: Numbers 21:4b-9

A reading from the Book of Numbers.

In those days:
The people became impatient on the way.
And the people spoke against God and against Moses,
“Why have you brought us up out of Egypt
to die in the wilderness?
For there is no food and no water,
and we loathe this worthless food.”

Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people,
and they bit the people
so that many people of Israel died.
And the people came to Moses, and said,
“We have sinned,
for we have spoken against the Lord and against you;
pray to the Lord,
that he take away the serpents from us.”

So Moses prayed for the people.
And the Lord said to Moses,
“Make a fiery serpent, and set it up as a sign;
and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.”

So Moses made a bronze serpent,
and set it up as a sign;
and if a serpent bit any man,
he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

The Word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 78:1-2.34-35.36-37.38 (R. cf. 7b)

Let us now pray the Responsorial Psalm

R/. Never forget the deeds of the Lord!

Give ear, my people, to my teaching;
incline your ear to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable
and utter hidden lessons of the past.

When he slew them, then they sought him,
repented and earnestly sought God.
They would remember that God was their rock,
God the Most High their redeemer.

Yet they deceived him with their mouths;
they lied to him with their tongues.
For their hearts were not steadfast toward him;
they were not faithful to his covenant.

Yet he who is full of compassion
forgave them their sin and spared them.
So often he held back his anger,
and did not stir up all his rage.

R/. Never forget the deeds of the Lord!

Second Reading: Philippians 2:6-11

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Philippians.

Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant,
being born in the likeness of men.
And being found in human form
he humbled himself and became obedient unto death,
even death on a cross.
Therefore God has highly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

The Word of the Lord.

Please stand for the Gospel

Alleluia, Alleluia
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your Cross you have redeemed the world.
Alleluia.

Gospel: John 3:13-17

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John.

At that time:
Jesus said to Nicodemus,
“No one has ascended into heaven
but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man.
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
so must the Son of man be lifted up,
that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”

For God so loved the world
that he gave his only Begotten Son,
that whoever believes in him should not perish
but have eternal life.
For God sent the Son into the world,
not to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.

The Gospel of the lord.

Communion Antiphon.

When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself, says the Lord.