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discoveringorthodoxy · 2 years

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The Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross

Christ is with us! He is and always shall be!

Yesterday we celebrated and commemorated the Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross. This feast honors the Cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified.

To be honest, yesterday was the first time I had ever heard of this feast. I knew about some of the saints that are mentioned in this story and that we had found the Cross Jesus was crucified on, but I wasn’t aware of the story behind that or that it is commemorated in the church. So, in honor of the first feast day in the Orthodox Calendar, I want to look into the story behind the finding and exaltation of the Holy Cross.

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During the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire, the pagan Roman Emperors tried to bury the places where Jesus suffered and rose from the dead in an attempt to wipe them from history. One of these emperors was Emperor Hadrian, who reigned from 117-138 AD. Emperor Hadrian ordered that Golgotha and the Lord’s Sepulchre be buried. On top of these, a temple in honor of the Roman goddess Venus and a statue of Jupiter was placed there. It wasn’t until 300 years later through Divine Providence that these places were discovered and opened for veneration. This was done under the rule of Emperor Constantine the Great (306-337).

Emperor Constantine took power over the Roman Empire after winning it from Maxentius, who ruled the Western part, and Licinius, who ruled the Eastern part. By the year 323 AD, he was the sole ruler of the Roman Empire. Saint Constantine played a major part in stopping the persecutions of Christians in the Roman Empire. In the year 313, when he was the ruler of the Western half, he issued the Edict of Milan. The Edict of Milan made it so that Christianity was legalized, causing all persecutions to stop. Emperor Licinius signed the Edict, but continued to persecute the Christians. So, after St. Constantine defeated him and took control over the Eastern half, Christianity was legal throughout the Empire. After winning three wars with God’s assistance, the saint had seen the Sign of the Cross in the heavens. Below the cross were the words: “By this you shall conquer.”

With a desire to find the Cross Jesus was crucified on, St. Constantine sent his mother, the pious Empress Helen (Feast day May 21st), to Jerusalem. He gave her a letter to St. Makarios, who was the Patriarch of Jerusalem. During her journey, St. Helen to several holy places connected with Jesus’ earthly life. She built more than 80 churches at different places, such as Bethlehem (Jesus’s birthplace), the Mount of Olives (where Jesus ascended to Heaven), and at Gethsemane (where Jesus prayed before His Passion and where the Theotokos was buried).

As she eagerly searched for the Cross, St. Helen asked both Christians and Jews about its whereabouts. While she was unsuccessful for long time, she eventually came across an elderly Jew named Jude. Jude told her that the Cross was buried beneath the temple of Venus. So, they demolished the temple and, after praying, excavated the ground. Soon after, the Lord’s Sepulchre was uncovered. Close by, they found three crosses, a board with the inscription written by Pilate, and the four nails that had pierced the Lord’s Body (Feast day March 6th).

In order to see which cross was the one Jesus had been crucified on, Patriarch Makarios alternately touched the crosses to a corpse. The moment the Cross of the Lord touched the corpse, the man came back to life. After witnessing this miraculous resurrection, everyone believed that they had found the Life-giving Cross. Once found, Christians came in huge waves to venerate the Cross. The crowds were so big that they asked St. Makarios to lift the Cross so that those in the distance could see it. When the Patriarch and other spiritual leaders lifted the Cross, the people would prostate themselves saying, “Lord have mercy”. This discovery occurred in the year 326.

During the discovery of the Life-giving Cross, another miracle took place. There was a woman who was close to death and she was healed by the shadow of the Holy Cross. Jude (Feast day October 28th) was baptized and given the name Kyriakos. Later on, he was consecrated as the Bishop of Jerusalem and would eventually suffer a martyr’s death for Christ during the reign of Emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363).

St. Helen took part of the Life-giving Wood and nails with her to Constantinople. Once there, St. Constantine ordered a majestic church to be built at Jerusalem in honor of the Resurrection of Christ. This church would also have the Life-giving Tomb of the Lord and Golgotha and after ten years, construction on the church was finished. However, St. Helen did not survive until the dedication of the church, as she reposed in the year 327. On September 13th, 335, the church was consecrated and the next day, September 14th, the festal celebration of the Exaltation of the Honorable and Live-giving Cross was established. The church that St. Constantine had built still stands today and is known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Besides the discovery of the Holy Cross, there is another event connected to the Holy Cross that is remembered on this feast day. That event is its return to Jerusalem from Persia after spending fourteen years in captivity. During the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Phokas (602-610), the Persian king Khozróēs II attacked Constantinople. The Persian army defeated the Greeks and plundered Jerusalem, taking both the Life-giving Cross of the Lord and the Holy Patriarch Zachariah (609-633). For fourteen years the Cross remained in Persia. It was only after Emperor Herakleios (610-641) defeated the Persian king and concluded peace with his son Syroes that the Lord’s Cross returned to the Christians.

With great solemnity the Holy Cross was transferred to Jerusalem. Emperor Herakleios carried the Cross while wearing a crown and his royal purple garments and was accompanied by Patriarch Zachariah. When they reached the gates that preceded Golgotha, the Emperor suddenly could not proceed. When he asked the Patriarch about this, the holy Patriarch told him that an Angel of the Lord was blocking his way. The Emperor was told to remove his royal trappings and to walk barefoot, since the Lord Jesus Christ made His way to Golgotha in all humility. So, Emperor Herakleios put on plain clothes and without anymore trouble, carried the Cross of Christ into the Church.

Currently, there is a small True Cross relic shown in the Greek Treasury within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Pictured below is actually a fragment from the True Cross in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

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The finding of the Holy Life-giving Cross is such a momentous time in Christian history. It is amazing the miracles it has brought forth and I would really like to see it one day. Personally, I know the stories about its powers to be true because my priest had an experience with the Cross. He said that when he had an illness in his heart, a fragment of the Holy Cross had happened to be touring the local church. So, when another priest came to pray over him in the hospital, the priest brought the fragment of the Holy Cross. And when he laid the Cross on my priest’s chest, the fragment refused to come off. It could not be pulled off by anyone! And when it did eventually come off, my priest’s heart was healed! It was a miracle!

Hearing about the events behind its discovery was so fascinating as well. The Roman Emperors tried to hide its location to hinder Christians but despite that, it was never forgotten and miraculously found! How amazing! And the dedication both St. Constantine and St. Helen had to find it was outstanding! Especially since they sought out for it 300 years after Jesus’ death. It makes me wonder what else we could find today. Archaeologists are constantly finding sites depicted in the Bible.

Learning about this feast day was so much fun. While I am a day late in writing this, I am glad I did look into it. Until next time and may God bless all of you!

- Joanna

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Sources:

“The Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross.” Orthodox Church in America, www.oca.org/saints/lives/2022/09/14/102610-the-universal-exaltation-of-the-precious-and-life-giving-cross.

#Eastern Orthodox #greek orthodox #Orthodox Feast Day #Holy Cross #Orthodox Saint #Jesus #exaltation of the holy cross #article

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myremnantarmy · 8 months

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𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟒, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Gospel Jn 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 up the serpent in the desert,

so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

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.

#jesus #catholic #my remnant army #jesus christ #virgin mary #faithoverfear #saints #jesusisgod #endtimes #artwork #Jesus is coming #Gospel #word of God #bibleversoftheday #biblevisuals #bibleverse #holy cross #feast day

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officialyourdailyinspiration · 7 months

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A Song of Praise for God's Favor

1 O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things, even counsels of old, in faithfulness and truth.

2 For thou hast made of a city an heap; of a defenced city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built.

3 Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee.

4 For thou hast been a strong hold to the poor, a strong hold to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

5 As the heat in a dry place shalt thou bring down the noise of strangers; as the heat by the shadow of a cloud, the song of the terrible ones shall be brought low.

6 And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.

7 And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering that is cast over all peoples, and the veil that is spread over all nations.

8 He hath swallowed up death for ever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.

9 And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

10 For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down in his place, even as straw is trodden down in the water of the dunghill.

11 And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst thereof, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and he shall lay low his pride together with the craft of his hands.

12 And the fortress of the high fort of thy walls hath he brought down, laid low, and brought to the ground, even to the dust. — Isaiah 25 | English Revised Version (ERVB) The English Revised Version of the Holy Bible is in the public domain. Cross References: Genesis 49:18; Exodus 15:2; Deuteronomy 13:16; Job 12:14; Job 40:11; Psalm 36:8; Psalm 55:8; Psalm 91:1; Isaiah 1:19; Isaiah 2:10; Isaiah 2:15; Isaiah 11:14; Isaiah 13:11; Isaiah 15:1; Isaiah 24:15; Isaiah 30:18; Jeremiah 51:54; Lamentations 2:2; Matthew 5:11; Luke 1:25; 2 Corinthians 3:15-16; Ephesians 1:11; Ephesians 4:18

#song #praise #God's favor #Isaiah 25 #Book of Isaiah #Old Testament #ERVB #English Revised Version Bible

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stairnaheireann · 8 months

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#OTD in Irish History | 14 September:

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Formerly, in the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, the Wednesday, Friday and Saturday following 14 September were observed as one of the four sets of Ember days. In the Irish calendar they were known as Quarter tense). 919 – Death of Niall Glúndub mac Áedo, a 10th-century king of the Cenél nEógain and High King of Ireland. Many Irish kin groups were…

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#irelandinspires #irishhistory #OTD #14 September #Bloody Foreland #Clonfert Cathedral #England #History #History of Ireland #Hugh O’Neill #IRA #Ireland #Irish Civil War #Irish History #Joe McDonnell #Today in Irish History

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meltorights · 8 months

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exaltation of the holy cross on thursday..... banger feast if i do say so myself

#de profundis #tep.txt

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jaiafilyani · 1 year

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“As we see, the Déanic year is divided into thirteen twenty-eight-day months and five seasons, one of which is only one month long. The four three-month seasons correspond to the four directions and the four terrestrial elements (water, fire, earth, and air) while the fifth season corresponds to the fifth element (aethyr or akasha) and the vertical direction. At the end of the fifth season/thirteenth month is a one-day (or in leap years two-day) interval which has no date and is not considered part of the year. This is the Hiatus and represents the time when the Holy Daughter of God the Mother was dead. Upon Her resurrection the New Year begins. There are eight High Festivals in the year that come roughly at the two Solstices (Nativity and Rosa Mundi) and the two Equinoxes (Eastre and the Feast of Divine Life), plus the four cross-quarter days that lie between them (the Feast of Lights, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Queen of Heaven, the Festival of Regeneration and the Feast of the Dead). There are also Low feasts in addition to these eight, but as we are here dealing with the fundamental structure of the Wheel of the Year, we stay for the moment with the Great Eight.” -Chapel of Our Mother God #filianism #deanism #calendar #holiday #religion #religious #goddess #goddessworship #love #god #spiritual #witch https://www.instagram.com/p/ClHdJyouSS8/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#filianism #deanism #calendar #holiday #religion #religious #goddess #goddessworship #love #god #spiritual #witch

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thepastisalreadywritten · 30 days

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SAINT OF THE DAY (April 1)

April 1 is the feast of a little-known saint whose story demonstrates the power of the Church as the home of forgiveness, redemption and mercy.

St. Mary of Egypt was a prostitute for 17 years before she received the Eucharist and chose the life of a hermit.

Born in 344 A.D., Mary of Egypt moved to the city of Alexandria when she was 12 years old and worked as a prostitute.

With the intention of continuing her trade, she joined a large group that was making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

On the feast day itself, she joined the crowd as it was headed to the church in order to venerate the relic of the True Cross, again with the intention of luring others into sin.

When she got to the door of the church, she was unable to enter. A miraculous force propelled her away from the door each time she approached.

After trying to get in three or four times, Mary of Egypt moved to a corner of the churchyard and began to cry tears of remorse.

She then saw a statue of the Blessed Virgin. She prayed to the Holy Mother for permission to enter the church for the purposes of venerating the relic.

She promised the Virgin Mother that if she were allowed to enter the church, she would renounce the world and its ways.

Mary of Egypt entered the church, venerated the relic, and returned to the statue outside to pray for guidance.

She heard a voice telling her to cross the Jordan River and find rest.

She set out and in the evening, she arrived at the Jordan and received communion in a church dedicated to St. John the Baptist.

The next day, she crossed the river and went into the desert, where she lived alone for 47 years.

Then, while making his Lenten retreat, a priest named Zosimus found the hermitess.

She asked him to return to the banks of the Jordan on Holy Thursday of the following year and to bring her Communion.

The priest was true to his word and returned bearing the Eucharist.

Mary told him to come back again the next year but to the place where he had originally met her.

When Zosimus returned in a year’s time, he found Mary’s corpse.

On the ground beside it was a written request that she be buried accompanied by a statement that she had died one year ago, in 421 A.D., on the very night she had received Holy Communion.

#Saint of the Day #St. Mary of Egypt

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bagelswithtoast · 4 months

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Another Küng excerpt for the Christmas Season:

“It is not historical criticism, searching for the essential message, which is emptied the Christmas message and the Christmas feast of meaning, but on the one hand the trivializing of these things, reducing them to a romantic idyl, a cozy private affair, and on the other the superficial secularization and ruthless commercialization. As if the “holy infant so tender and mild “–not indeed in Luke and Matthew, but in the holy pictures–were always smiling and had never cried in his very human misery (which is indicated, without any social critical protest, by the crib and the swaddling clothes). As if the savior of the needy, born in a stable, had not clearly revealed a partisanship for the nameless ones (shepherds) against the great ones who are named (Augustus, Quirinius). As if the Magnificat of the grace-endowed maid, about the humiliation of the mighty and the exaltation of the humble, about satisfying the hungry and sending away the rich, were not a militant announcement of a revision of priorities. As if the lovely note of the newborn child meant that we could ignore his work and his feet three decades later and as if the child in the crib did not already bear on his brought the mark of the cross.”

Hans Küng, On Being a Christian, 452.

#reading #quotes #christianity

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anastpaul · 8 months

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Our Morning Offering – 14 September – This is My Joy, To Follow My Saviour

Our Morning Offering – 14 September – “Month of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross” and the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross This is My Joy, To Follow My SaviourA Prayer to Seek the Consolation of the CrossBy St Alphonsus Rodriguez SJ (1532-1617) Jesus, love of my soul,centre of my heart!Why am I not more eager to endure painsand tribulations for love of…

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#aprayertoseektheconsolationofthecross #prayerofstalphonsusrodriguez #stalphonsusrodriguez #treasure

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frmartinshomiliesandreflections · 8 months

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14th September >> Fr. Martin's Gospel Reflections / Homilies on John 3:13-17 for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross ‘God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son’.

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Gospel (Except USA) John 3:13-17 God sent his Son so that through him the world might be saved.

Jesus said to Nicodemus:

‘No one has gone up to heaven except the one who came down from heaven, the Son of Man who is in heaven; and the Son of Man must be lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life. For God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved.’

Gospel (USA) John 3:13-17 So the Son of Man must be lifted up.

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 up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 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.

Reflections (7)

(i) Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Today’s feast of the exaltation or triumph of the Holy Cross is not like Good Friday. Our focus is not so much on the sufferings of Jesus. Rather, we celebrate what the gospel reading refers to as the lifting up of the Son of Man. The term ‘lifting up’ suggests not just his being lifted up on the cross but also his being lifted up in glory. There are some depictions of the cross which highlight this double sense of Jesus being lifted up, where the body of Jesus on the cross is almost glorified. You may be familiar with the cross of San Damiano in Assisi. When Saint Francis was praying before it, he heard the Lord call on him to rebuild the church. The image of Jesus that is painted on that cross has a glorious, luminous, quality. It is that kind of depiction of the cross that reflects the meaning of today’s feast, which is the feast of the triumph or exaltation of the cross. In what sense was the crucifixion of Jesus a triumph? It was firstly the triumph of love over hatred, the triumph of God’s love over human sin. All authentic love is life-giving and God’s love is supremely life-giving. That is why the crucifixion of Jesus was a triumph in another sense, the triumph of life over death, of God’s life over human death, a triumph in which we can all share. That verse in today’s gospel reading which has spoken to believers down the centuries really sums up the meaning of today’s feast, ‘God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him’. Today we are invited to look upon the cross as the explosion of God’s life-giving life for us all and then to allow ourselves to be drawn into that love so that we can reflect it to others through our lives.

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(ii) Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

In the time of Jesus no one would have considered crucifixion a triumph. It may have been considered a triumph for those who were doing the crucifying; it certainly would never have been considered a triumph for the person crucified. Yet, that is what we are celebrating this morning. Jesus, in being crucified, triumphed. It was a triumph of love over hatred. As John the evangelist says in this morning’s gospel reading, ‘God so loved the world only Son’. Jesus revealed God’s love in all that he said and did, but he revealed God’s love most fully on the cross. John the evangelist would say that on the cross Jesus revealed God’s glory. That is why in John’s gospel Jesus speaks of his coming crucifixion as the hour when he is glorified. Authentic love is always life-giving and that is uniquely so of God’s love. As well as being the triumph of love over hatred, the cross of Jesus is the triumph of life over death. Jesus was put to death in the most cruel way but through his death he passed over into a new life and that life was offered to us all. The blood and water flowing from the side of Jesus in John’s gospel speaks to us of the life that flows through the death of Jesus. The cross has been celebrated in art as the tree of life. The triumph of the cross, which is the triumph of God and of Jesus over Satan and all the forces of evil and death, is a triumph in which we all share. From the cross Jesus draws all of us into the love and life of God. As he says in John’s gospel, when I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all people to myself. We simply have to let ourselves be drawn.

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(iii) Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

The words ‘triumph’ and ‘cross’ don’t normally belong together. ‘Triumph’ suggests celebration, achievement, recognition. ‘Cross’ indicates suffering, humiliation, defeat. How could any one who ended up crucified ever be said to have triumphed. It is hard to think of a greater paradox that the phrase ‘the triumph of the cross’. Yet, as Christians, we don’t find that phrase in any way strange. When we look on the cross with the eyes of faith, we don’t simply see the tragic ending of a good man’s life. We behold what Paul called the power and the wisdom of God. What is this power that shows itself in such degrading weakness? It is of course the power of love, the power of a love that is greater than any human love, the love spoken about in today’s gospel reading. ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only Son’. Here was a divine love that became a human love in the life and death of Jesus, a love so powerful that it was in no way diminished by the experience of rejection, hatred, and all that was most sinister and corrupt in the human spirit. The triumph of the cross is the triumph of love over hatred, of life over death. The triumph of that Good Friday is a triumph in which we all continue to share. The light that shone in that awful darkness continues to shine on all of us. The love that burst forth from the hill of Golgotha two thousand years ago continues to flow into all our lives.

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(iv) Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

The expression ‘exaltation of the cross’ would have made very little sense in the time of Jesus. ‘Exaltation’ suggested glory, honour, status, whereas death by crucifixion was the most shameful death imaginable. It was the complete absence of glory, honour and status. Why did the early Christians begin to speak of the death by crucifixion of Jesus as exaltation? They could only do so in the light of Jesus’ resurrection. In today’s second reading, Paul says that because Jesus ‘was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross’, God raised him high, or highly exalted him. In that sense, Jesus’ exaltation by God followed his death on the cross. Yet, the early church understood that Jesus was already being exalted by God as he hung from the cross. When people were doing their worst to Jesus, God was standing over his Son vindicating him, confirming all that his Son lived by and stood for. It was because Jesus was totally faithful to the work God gave him to do that he was crucified. What was that work that God gave Jesus to do? Jesus’ work was to reveal God’s love for the world. As Saint John says in this morning’s gospel reading, ‘God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son’. On one occasion in John’s gospel Jesus said, ‘my food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work’. According to that same gospel Jesus’ last words before he died were ‘it is finished’. Jesus’ work of revealing God’s love for the world, for Jews, Samaritans, pagans, was experienced as threatening by many, especially those in power. They crucified him to put a stop to his work. Yet, in killing Jesus they enabled Jesus to finish the work God gave him to do. If his life proclaimed God’s love for the world, his death proclaimed that love even more powerfully. His death revealed a divine love, a love that endured in the face of all the very worst that evil and sin could inflict on him. That is why we can speak of the exaltation of the cross. When we look upon the cross, we believing we are looking upon an explosion of love, the glorious revelation of God’s love, a love that is stronger than sin and death, a love that embraced the world and embraces each of us in a very personal way. We can each say with Saint Paul in his letter to the Galatians, ‘I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me’.

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(v) Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

The discovery of the relics of the true cross by St Helena, the mother of Constantine, is dated to September 14, 320. The annual commemoration of that event has been celebrated since, in praise of the redemption won for us by Christ. No one in the time of Jesus would ever have put together the two words ‘triumph’ and ‘cross’. Far from being a triumph, death by crucifixion was considered to be the most degrading and terrifying form of execution. It was a way for the Roman authorities to show its triumph over all those who dared to threaten Roman order and peace. Yet, as Christians, we have no difficulty in looking upon the cross of Jesus as a triumph. Rome did not have the last word when it came to Jesus, because God raised Jesus from the dead and he made him the cornerstone of a new community, which went on to include a future Roman Emperor, Constantine. Through the eyes of the resurrection we can see the cross of Jesus as the triumph of love over hatred, of Jesus’ love over the hatred of his enemies, of God’s love over the hateful rejection of his Son. This is how John in his gospel understood the cross of Jesus. It was the glorious revelation of God’s love for the world, in the language of today’s gospel reading. Jesus himself says that a man has no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends. We venerate the cross because it is a powerful manifestation of a love that is greater than any human love. That is why the earliest Christians tended to depict the crucifix as a glorious Christ with arms outstretched reigning in love from the cross. This morning we celebrate a triumph in which we all share. We are all embraced by the love of God that shines through Christ crucified. The cross has become good news for us. Saint Paul in his letter to the Romans expressed that good news very simply and very powerfully, ‘God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners, Christ died for us’.

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(vi) Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

The words ‘triumph’ and ‘cross’ don’t normally belong together. Yet, as Christians, we don’t find the phrase, ‘triumph of the cross’, in any way strange. When we look on the cross of Jesus with the eyes of faith, we don’t simply see the tragic ending of a good man’s life. We behold what Paul called the power and wisdom of God, the power of a love greater than any human love, the love spoken about in today’s gospel reading. ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only Son’. Our own capacity to love is very influenced by the extent to which our love is returned. It is not so with God. On the cross, Jesus revealed a love so powerful that that it embraced even those who brought about his death. The love that burst forth from the hill of Golgotha two thousand years ago continues to flow into all our lives. The Eucharist that we celebrate makes this love present to us in a special way. God so loves the world that he continues to give us his Son in the Eucharist. Not only are we the beneficiaries of the triumph of God’s love on Calvary, the triumph of the cross, but our own lives can reveal to others the triumph of the cross. The triumph of the cross shows itself in all kinds of simple ways, in the tolerance and humour we show to each other against all the odds, in the willingness to let go of old hurts, in the bearing of terminal illness with patience and dignity, in the fidelity to significant commitments when they become costly, in the loving service that endures even when it is not appreciated. We pray on this feast that the triumph of the cross would continue to take flesh in all of our lives.

And/Or

(vii) Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

When we had our parish pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi about two years ago, I bought a wooden cross. It is a replica of the cross that spoke to Saint Francis in the church of San Damiano in Assisi. On that occasion Francis heard the Lord call on him to rebuild his church. It is really a painting on wood of Jesus on the cross. The image is very unlike the image of Jesus on the large crucifix in our side chapel. There it is very evidently the suffering Jesus that is depicted. On this cross from Assisi Jesus looks very serene. There is no trace of suffering in his face. It is almost like the glorious Christ on the cross with his arms outstretched to embrace all. That image is very appropriate for today’s feast. This is not like the feast of Good Friday, where we dwell on the sufferings of Jesus. This feast proclaims the triumph of Jesus on the cross. What was the nature of that triumph? It was firstly the triumph of life over death. Those who put Jesus to death did not have the final say, because God the Father raised him high, in the words of Saint Paul in today’s first reading. It was also the triumph of love over hatred. Human hatred for Jesus did not have the last word, because in and through Jesus crucified, the love of God for humanity was shining brightly. In the words of the gospel reading, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son. It was also the triumph of mercy over sin. In today’s first reading, the people of Israel cried out, ‘We have sinned by speaking against the Lord’. However, when they looked upon the bronze serpent they experienced the Lord’s life-giving mercy. When we look upon the face of the Lord on the cross, we too find mercy; we experience the cross as the throne of grace. Today’s feast celebrates the good news that God turned the tragedy of Calvary into a triumph for us all. Through the cross, God’s life-giving love and mercy was embracing us all. Today’s feast also reminds us that in our own personal experiences of Calvary, the Lord is present with us in a loving and merciful way, working on our behalf to bring new life out of our suffering and dying.

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14th September >> Mass Readings (USA)

Feast of The Exaltation of the Holy Cross

(Liturgical Colour: Red: A (1))

(When a Feast of the Lord is celebrated on a weekday there is only one reading before the Gospel, which may be chosen from either the first or second reading. (This rule is not followed in the United States, so two separate readings are shown here))

First Reading Numbers 21:4b-9 Whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

With their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food!”

In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents, which bit the people so that many of them died. Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you. Pray the LORD to take the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses, “Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and if any who have been bitten look at it, they will live.” Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 78:1bc-2, 34-35, 36-37, 38