Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

"We adore you O Christ and we praise you, because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world." This prayer composed by St. Francis of Assisi was recited every time he entered a church. Today, it is often recited as the opening prayer before each station of the cross.

To many it may seem odd that in the middle of September we celebrate the triumph of the Holy Cross, the instrument of our Lord's passion, our gateway to paradise.

Wikepedia notes: The feast commemorates the finding of the True Cross in 325 during a pilgrimage to Jerusalem by St. Helena, the mother of the Roman emperor Constantine I . The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was then built at the site of the discovery, by order of Helena and Constantine. The church was dedicated nine years later, with a portion of the cross placed inside it.

In 614, that portion of the cross was carried away from the church by the Persians, and remained missing until it was recaptured by the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius in 628. The cross was returned to the church the following year after initially having been taken to Constantinople by Heraclius.


The date used for the feast marks the dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 335. This was a two-day festival: although the actual Consecration of the church was on September 13, the cross itself was brought outside the church on September 14 so that the clergy and faithful could pray before it.

To be a follower of Jesus, we are reminded to pick up our own cross and follow him to Calvary.

All the trials and tribulations of everyday life comprise the wood of our own cross. I found this interesting quote on the Internet that is appropriate for our meditation today: "How splendid the cross of Christ! It brings life, not death; light, not darkness; Paradise, not its loss. It is the wood on which the Lord, like a great warrior, was wounded in hands and feet and side, but healed thereby our wounds. A tree has destroyed us, a tree now brought us life" (Theodore of Studios).

When you gaze upon the cross today, know in your heart how much Jesus really loves you!