Ukrainian Catholic ChurchAustralia, New Zealand and Oceania
Homily by Fr. Simon Ckuj on the on the Sunday after the Exaltation of the Holy and Life Giving Cross
September 19, 2026
“What God asks of you is not greatness, but faith; not perfection, but willingness; not strength, but love.” This is the freedom of the Gospel. You do not have to earn God’s love. You do not have to impress Him. You do not have to be flawless. You simply have to open your heart to Christ, who loved you and gave Himself for you.
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Gal 2:20
Brothers and Sisters in Christ, today, on the Sunday after the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, when our Church dedicates this day especially to our teenagers, the Word of God speaks to us with a clarity that is both challenging and deeply consoling. Saint Paul tells us that we are not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. And the Lord Himself calls us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. These are not abstract ideas. They are the very path of life for every Christian, and perhaps most especially for our young people who are learning to navigate a world full of noise, pressure, and competing voices.
Saint Paul’s words are astonishing: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” He does not say that Christ inspires him, or guides him, or encourages him—though all of that is true. He says something far more radical: Christ lives in him. This is the heart of justification. It is not merely that God forgives us, or wipes away our sins, or gives us a second chance. Justification means that God gives us His own life. He makes us capable of living in a way we could never achieve by our own strength. As Saint John Chrysostom says, “Christ did not simply remove our sins; He made us righteous by pouring His righteousness into us.” The Fathers insist that justification is not a legal transaction but a transformation. It is the Cross planted in the human heart, making it capable of divine love.
Teenagers today often feel the pressure to prove themselves—to be successful, to be admired, to be perfect, to be strong. The world tells them that their value depends on achievement, appearance, popularity, or performance. But Saint Paul tells us something utterly different: you are justified not by what you accomplish, but by Who lives in you. Your worth is not measured by your works, but by Christ’s love. Saint Gregory the Theologian, whose words always cut straight to the heart, says, “What God asks of you is not greatness, but faith; not perfection, but willingness; not strength, but love.” This is the freedom of the Gospel. You do not have to earn God’s love. You do not have to impress Him. You do not have to be flawless. You simply have to open your heart to Christ, who loved you and gave Himself for you.
And yet, the Gospel today reminds us that this gift of justification is not passive. Christ calls us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. For teenagers, this can sound harsh. But the Fathers teach us that the Cross is not a burden; it is a path. Saint Maximus the Confessor says, “The Cross is the door through which the soul enters into the knowledge of God.” To take up the Cross is to choose love over selfishness, truth over lies, courage over fear, mercy over anger. It is to say “no” to the parts of ourselves that pull us away from Christ, and “yes” to the life He offers. Teenagers carry many crosses—questions about identity, pressures from peers, anxieties about the future, struggles with faith. Christ does not ask them to carry these alone. He asks them to carry them with Him. And when they do, those crosses become places of grace.
Saint Paul warns us not to rebuild what Christ has torn down. For young people, this means not returning to habits, friendships, or choices that lead them away from God. It means recognising that justification is not a moment but a relationship. Christ lives in us, but we must allow Him to shape our decisions, our desires, our priorities.
In the gospel, Our Lord asks a piercing question: “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?” Teenagers today are offered the whole world—endless entertainment, endless information, endless distractions. But none of these can give life. None of these can justify. None of these can save. Only Christ can. Only the One who took up the Cross for us can teach us how to carry our own. Only the One who gave His life for us can show us how to live ours. And only the One who rose from the dead can give us a life that does not end.
Saint Gregory the Theologian once said, “Let Christ be formed in you, so that when He appears, He may recognise His own image.” This is justification. This is the Christian life. This is the call to every teenager in our Church today: let Christ live in you. Let His Cross shape your choices. Let His love define your worth. Let His presence be your strength. You do not walk alone. You do not carry your burdens alone. You do not face your future alone. Christ lives in you. And the life you now live, you live by faith in the Son of God, who loved you and gave Himself for you.
May our teenagers and all of us discover this truth not as an idea, but as a living reality. May we know that we are justified not by our achievements, but by Christ’s love. And may we learn to carry our crosses with Him, so that we may see the Kingdom of God coming with power in our own lives.
