Monday, September 14, 2026. Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The Roman Emperor Constantine’s mother, St. Helena, went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to locate and to preserve the relics of the Christian faith. One of her goals was to find the place of Jesus’ crucifixion. She discovered the spot and found the True Cross. Three crosses were found; according to tradition, the inscription Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum (“Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”) remained attached to the True Cross. According to common tradition, the inscription was missing, and Saint Helena and the bishop, assuming that 1 was the True Cross and the other 2 belonged to the thieves crucified alongside Christ, devised an experiment to determine which was the True Cross. In one version of the tradition, the three crosses were taken to a woman near death; when she touched the True Cross, she was healed. The True Cross restored the dead man to life. St. Helena had a church built on the site, known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In the early seventh century, the Persians conquered Jerusalem, captured the True Cross, and took it back to Persia. After their defeat, they returned the True Cross to Constantinople to restore it to Jerusalem. Tradition says that the emperor carried the Cross on his own back, but when he attempted to enter the church on Mount Calvary, a strange force stopped him. He was advised to take off his royal robes and crown and to dress in a penitential robe to carry the Cross to the church.
The Cross is special because Christ used it as the instrument of our salvation. After His Resurrection, Christians continue to look to the Cross because Christ Himself offered us the answer: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). The point of taking up our own cross is not simply self-sacrifice; in doing so, we unite ourselves to the sacrifice of Christ on His Cross. During Mass, the Cross is there, too. The “unbloody sacrifice” offered on the altar is the re-presentation of Christ’s Sacrifice on the Cross. When we receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion, we do not simply unite ourselves to Christ; we nail ourselves to the Cross, dying with Christ so that we might rise with Him. The Cross is the crossroads of history and the Tree of Life. Christianity without the Cross is meaningless: Only by uniting ourselves to Christ’s Sacrifice on the Cross can we enter into eternal life.
Dear Jesus, your love for your Father and for the whole world brought you to the cross. Gazing upon the cross helps us to remember your bitter Passion, and we thank you for your great sacrifice. May our veneration of the cross help us to be more loving. That we may learn to love our brothers and sisters, and that any hatred, mistrust or resentment will leave our hearts. Lord Jesus, in remembrance of your sorrowful Passion and Death, please look down upon us and grant the petition we ask for… (Mention your intentions here).
“Ester and I pray for Your blessings to grace our children, and their children’s children, to wholeheartedly support The MCC FOUNDATION – The MONTINOLA-CUMAGUN CARE FOUNDATION OBJECTIVES: (1.) Special Children SPED; a child’s mind is the most precious thing to waste. (The motto of the American Negro College), and the Handicapped Senior Citizens – Physical Therapy. (2.) Financial Support for Diocesan priests and Grade School Teachers for the rural areas. (3.) Computer Start-up Education Tools for selected public schools and (4.) Selected Start-up Management and Financial Support for Small Businesses. Let the Montinola Cumagun Care Foundation’s Good Work speak, not our family name.
O Jesus, your cross is life-giving! Your death and resurrection brought us salvation. Send us the Holy Spirit to guide Ester and me to open our hearts to know that without sacrifice, we can never be your disciples. “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Luke 12:48
WORD Today. John 3:13-17. Jesus said to Nicodemus: “No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.
Reflection.The words of the Popes. Just “as Moses lifted the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (Jn 3:14-15). The reference is to the episode in which, during the Exodus from Egypt, the Jews were attacked by poisonous serpents and many of them died. God then commanded Moses to make a bronze serpent and to set it on a pole; anyone bitten by serpents was cured by looking at the bronze serpent (cf. Num 21:4-9). Jesus was to be raised likewise on the Cross, so that anyone in danger of death because of sin, may be saved by turning with faith to him who died for our sake: “for God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him” (Jn 3:17). (…) Therefore, if the merciful love of God — who went so far as to give his only Son to redeem our life — is infinite, we have a great responsibility: each one of us, in fact, must recognize that he is sick to be healed. Each one must confess his sin so that God’s forgiveness, already granted on the Cross, may have an effect in his heart and in his life. (…) Sometimes men and women prefer the darkness to the light because they are attached to their sins. Nevertheless, it is only by opening oneself to the light and only by sincerely confessing one’s sins to God that one finds true peace and true joy. (Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus, 18 March 2012)
Lord of heaven and earth, You sent Your only Son down from heaven to bring me life. Thank You for this gift of love so great that whoever believes will not perish but have eternal life. As I rise this morning, fill me with faith, gratitude, and courage to live in the light of Your love. Help me reflect Your mercy in all I say and do today and share Your goodness with others. Amen
“The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones.” (Shakespeare). Business Enterprises are not Legacy: the wake you leave, WHO you leave it to, WHAT you leave, and WHY? Let the Montinola Cumagun Care Foundation’s Good Work speak, not our name.
Our Lady of the Impossible, grace those late in life but had more in life who tried to be their brothers’ keepers for those who have less in life – “Ester and I pray for your blessings to grace our children, and their children’s children, to wholeheartedly support The MCC FOUNDATION – The MONTINOLA-CUMAGUN CARE FOUNDATION OBJECTIVES: (1.) Special Children SPED, a child’s mind is the most precious thing to waste. (The motto of the American Negro College), and the Handicapped Senior Citizens – Physical Therapy. (2.) Financial Support for Diocesan priests and Grade School Teachers for the rural areas. (3.) Computer Start-up Education Tools for selected public schools and (4.) Selected Start-up Management and Financial Support for Small Businesses. “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Luke 12:48. “The sin of the rich man was not that he did wrong things, but that he did nothing. (William Barclay, in Antonio G. Cumagun Autobiography Song of Myself Memoirs, Looking Back at Serendipity, 2002) Our Lady of the Impossible, “Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection was left unaided. . .” the good news of peace and justice through Ester and my founding the Montinola Cumagun Care Foundation. Business Enterprises are not Legacy: It is the fruits of the wake you leave, and who you leave it to, and what you leave. Let your wake speak, not your name.
Ester and my state of health – vital stats are recorded by Ester’s everyday, 24 hr. PDNs.
Ester’s morning BP was 110/70. HR 71. O2sat 98%. Temp 36.4
110/70. HR 70. O2sat 97%. Temp.36.4Last Night’s BP
Tony’s morning BP was 110/70. HR 68. O2sat 99%. Temp. 36.6
Last Night’s BP 110/70. HR 55 .O2sat 98%. Temp. 36.5
Beata John Paul 1, watch over Cristina C, Justice Jun’s state of health, Ester’s recovery, and our autistic son John Paul’s emotional/emotional stability 57 (baptized John Paul a decade before Cardinal Luciano of Milan took the regnal name of John Paul), whom we met, promised to pray for him that John Paul II continued with Christmas greetings, and my weakening 89-year-old body.
FOR THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED AND SOULS IN PURGATORY
In Memory of all those who left us. We remember you in the morning and at night. You are always with us. We pray for the souls in Purgatory.
Blessed Mother Mary, I bring to you for your intercession the souls of Amb. Manuel R. and Dolores G. Cumagun, Juana Cumagun, Annette Cumagun, Lina Beltran, Judge and Mrs. Dolores Cumagun, Gov. Primo & Magdalena H. Gaffud, Dr. Trino, Sr. & Angeles Montinola, Betty, Luie, Trino, Jr. Montinola, Bernardino, and Isabel Jalandoni. Dr. Terry Lirio-Montinola, Dr. & Mrs. Tomacruz, Akira Tsusaka, Boy Eugenio, Jesus Ibañez, Sen. Nene Pimentel, Santiago Ranada 111, Boysie Villavicensio, Patria Manuel, Dr. Mariano Laurel, Rene Datu, (Ateneo ’54 – Jimmy Ongpin, Atty. Ato Gonzales, Buddy Joaquin, Fr. Unson, Msgr. Tantoco, Atty. Art Alafriz, Robert Arevalo Ylagan, Maximo Abesamis, Jr., Jesse Paredes), Atty. C. Platon, Araceli Rivera, Rey Castañeda, Col. Tanseco, Dr. E Fores, Dr. J. Caedo, Christine Syjuco, Leni Panganiban, Raul Boncan, Atty. Spanky and Dolly Perez, Amb. Albert del Rosario, Nellie Valdez, Toti Herbosa, Tec Syjuco, AL, Umberto (Beck) Gonzales, and Rufo Colayco. Pray 7 Our Father and The Credo
Physical Therapy
