The Triumph of the Cross

by Rev. Nicholas Cirillo

The Feast of the Triumph of the Holy Cross commemorates the victory that Our Lord accomplished through his death and resurrection. The cross is a mark of great suffering and humiliation, but it is a horrific symbol which we adore because through it we have come to know the great love that Jesus has for us, and through the wounds that it inflicted, we have been healed. The Cross of Jesus Christ was found in the fourth century by St. Helen, the mother of the Emperor Constantine. According to the legend, a goodly Jew named Judah was the only person who knew of the location of the cross. Under pressure from St. Helen, he revealed that it had been buried under the temple of Venus which had been built by Emperor Hadrian at Golgotha. As she found three crosses buried at the site, it seemed impossible to determine which one was the cross of Christ. Just then a funeral procession was passing by the place, and Helen had all three of the crosses brought to the side of the dead body. When the third cross was placed upon the dead man, he rose to life, confirming that this was indeed the life-giving cross of Jesus. There are probably hundreds of legends and stories that are attached to the finding and veneration of the cross (each with a hundred variations), and all of them seek to remind us of how dearly we value the sacrifice the Jesus made by carrying it. The cross is the burden that he lifted when he walked among us, it is the symbol of his suffering, it is the altar on which he as our high priest offered himself as the sweetest victim. It is the weapon by which the powers of hell are vanquished, it is the bridge between heaven and earth, and it is the balance on which the price of our redemption has been measured out. And so as we honor the cross which Christ bore for us, we pray that we might find in his example the strength to bear our own burdens with patience and to triumph over our own difficulties assisted by strength that comes from above.

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The Exaltation of the Cross

September 14

Holy Cross - San Clemente, Rome
(Detail of Apse mosaic, 12th Century)

Adoramus te, christe, et benedicimus tibi,
quia per crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee,
for by thy cross thou hast redeemed the world.
+ + +
For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him may not perish, but have everlasting life.
- John 3:16 (Douay)
Introduction | Prayer, Scripture | Suggestions for Family Celebration

On the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (or Triumph of the Cross) we honor the Holy Cross by which Christ redeemed the world. The public veneration of the Cross of Christ originated in the fourth century, according to early accounts, beginning with the miraculous discovery of the cross on September 14, 326, by St. Helen, mother of Constantine, while she was on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem -- the same day that two churches built at the site of Calvary by Constantine were dedicated.
The observance of the Feast of the Exaltation (probably from a Greek word meaning "bringing to light") of the Cross has been celebrated by Christians on September 14 ever since. In the Western Church, the feast came into prominence in the seventh century, apparently inspired by the recovery of a portion of the cross, said to have been taken from Jerusalem the Persians, by the Roman emperor Heraclius in 629.
Christians "exalt" the Cross of Christ as the instrument of our salvation. Adoration of the Cross is, thus, adoration of Jesus Christ, the God Man, who suffered and died on this Roman instrument of torture for our redemption from sin and death. The cross represents the One Sacrifice by which Jesus, obedient even unto death, accomplished our salvation. The cross is a symbolic summary of the Passion, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ -- all in one image.
The cross -- because of what it represents -- is the most potent and universal symbol of the Christian faith. It has inspired both liturgical and private devotions: for example, the Sign of the Cross which is an invocation of the Holy Trinity, the "little" Sign of the Cross on head, lips and heart at the reading of the Gospel, praying the Stations (or Way) of the Cross, and the Veneration of the Cross by the faithful on Good Friday by kissing the feet of the image of Our Savior crucified.
Placing a crucifix (the cross with an image of Christ's body upon it) in churches and homes, in classrooms of Catholic schools and in other Catholic institutions, or wearing this image on our persons, is a constant reminder -- and witness -- of Christ's ultimate triumph, his victory over sin and death through his suffering and dying on the cross.
We remember Our Lord's words, "He who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake shall find it." (Matt. 10:38, 39). Meditating on these words we unite ourselves -- our souls and bodies -- with His obedience and His sacrifice; and we rejoice in this inestimable gift through which we have the hope of salvation and the glory.

Dying, you destroyed our death; rising you restored our life.
Save us by your cross, Christ our Redeemer.
(Antiphon for Afternoon prayer)

Prayer, Scripture

God our Father,
in obedience to you your only Son accepted death on the cross for the salvation of mankind.
We acknowledge the mystery of the cross on earth. May we receive the gift of redemption in heaven.
We ask this through our Lord jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
-- Collect (opening prayer) for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross
+ + +
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.
He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
-- John 3:16-18
+ + +
In [God ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace which he lavished upon us. For he has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of his will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things to him, things in heaven and things on earth..
-- Ephesians 1:7-8
+ + +
Christ Jesus, who, 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 likenes 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.

-- Philippians 2:5-11
+ + +
You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. Through him you have confidence in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
-- I Peter:18, 19, 21
(Scripture passages from the Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition)
+ + +
Jesus dies upon the cross
Meditation on the Twelfth Station by John Henry Cardinal Newman
"Consummatum est." It is completed -- it has come to a full end. The mystery of God's love towards us is acomplished. The price is paid, and we are redeemed. The Eternal Father determined not to pardon us without a price, in order to show us especial favor. He condescended to make us valuable to Him. What we buy we put a value on. He might have saved us without a price --- by the mere fiat of His will. But to show His love for us He took a price, which, if there was to be a price set upon us at all, if there was any ransom at all to be taken for the guilt of our sins, could be nothing short of the death of His Son in our nature. O my God and Father, Thou hast valued us so much as to pay the highest of all possible prices for our sinful sols -- and shall we not love and choose Thee above all things as the one necessary and one only good?

Suggestions for family activities

If possible attend Mass together. Consider taking your family to a church that has especially fine Stations of the Cross. Look at the images and explain their meaning. At each Station pray, "We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee, for by thy cross thou hast redeemed the world." At the end, have the children kneel before the Blessed Sacrament and say a Hail Mary, an Our Father, and a Glory be.
Make the evening meal today more festive than ordinary -- light candles on the table or use the good dishes.

Read one or more of the prayers or scripture readings for the day before the evening meal. Older children could take turns doing the readings.

Begin teaching even the very youngest members of the family to make the Sign of the Cross at the end of the mealtime prayers. (Older brothers and sisters usually will be very glad to help the baby with this.)

Explain to children the meaning of the Sign of the Cross that we make before meals, and point out how this action is intended to unite every one of us with Jesus' sacrifice for us -- his crucifixion and his resurrection from the dead.

Make a point of mentioning how great is God's loves for us. Encourage children to memorize John 3:16. This is a key verse about the triumph of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, and encourages children to revere and respect God's word in the Bible. Give a small reward or privilege to each child who memorizes the verse. Have them recite it for you when they say their bedtime prayers.
Two suggestions:

-- Have grade-school-age children write the verse in their fanciest writing and illustrate it with a drawing of Jesus on the cross. Even little people think a lot when they are drawing something. Maybe you could set a crucifix on the table for them to look at when they draw it. (Don't forget to display the results on the refrigerator -- or maybe send it to grandma.)

·-- Frost a sheet cake with white icing, and make a large cross on the cake with red icing, and pipe "John 3:16" on the cross. Let the children help decorate the cake further by sprinkling it with silver dragees or colored sprinkles.

If there are crucifixes in the children's rooms, make sure to call attention to it at bedtime prayers. If not, today would be a very good time to get them.

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American Catholic's Saint of the Day

September 14, 2005

Triumph of the Cross

Early in the fourth century St. Helena, mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, went to Jerusalem in search of the holy places of Christ's life. She razed the Temple of Aphrodite, which tradition held was built over the Savior's tomb, and her son built the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher over the tomb. During the excavation, workers found three crosses. Legend has it that the one on which Jesus died was identified when its touch healed a dying woman.

The cross immediately became an object of veneration. At a Good Friday celebration in Jerusalem toward the end of the fourth century, according to an eyewitness, the wood was taken out of its silver container and placed on a table together with the inscription Pilate ordered placed above Jesus' head: Then "all the people pass through one by one; all of them bow down, touching the cross and the inscription, first with their foreheads, then with their eyes; and, after kissing the cross, they move on."

To this day the Eastern Churches, Catholic and Orthodox alike, celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on the September anniversary of the basilica's dedication. The feast entered the Western calendar in the seventh century after Emperor Heraclius recovered the cross from the Persians, who had carried it off in 614, 15 years earlier. According to the story, the emperor intended to carry the cross back into Jerusalem himself, but was unable to move forward until he took off his imperial garb and became a barefoot pilgrim.

Comment:

The cross is today the universal image of Christian belief. Countless generations of artists have turned it into a thing of beauty to be carried in procession or worn as jewelry. To the eyes of the first Christians, it had no beauty. It stood outside too many city walls, decorated only with decaying corpses, as a threat to anyone who defied Rome's authority—including the heretic sect which refused sacrifice to Roman gods. Although believers spoke of the cross as the instrument of salvation, it seldom appeared in Christian art unless disguised as an anchor or the Chi-Rho until after Constantine's edict of toleration.

Quote:

"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).

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