The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
When Jerusalem was conquered and destroyed by the Romans in AD 70, a great persecution of Christ's religion began, lasting almost 300 years. Only after the end of this persecution, the mother of the Roman emperor Constantine, St. Helen, decided to look for the Cross on which Jesus died.
After a long search, the Cross was found. Historians can’t agree regarding the year of this event; the most common year is 320, 326 or 330, while all sources give 13 or 14 of September as the date. In connection with this event, two basilicas were built in Jerusalem on Golgotha: The Martyrs (Martyrium) and the Resurrection (Anastasis).
The Basilica of the Martyrs was also called the Basilica of the Cross. On September 13, 335, both basilicas were consecrated and handed over to the local bishop. In memory of this, every year, on September 13, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross was celebrated. Later this feast was moved to September 14, because that day is the anniversary of the public display of the relics of the Cross, i.e. the first adoration of the Cross, which took place the day after the consecration of the basilicas. The feast was introduced first to those churches that had the relics of the Cross, and then to the whole Universal Church.
In 614, the Persians, led by Khosrow, attacked the Holy Land. They then demolished all the churches, including the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and knowing how much the Cross of Jesus Christ was venerated, they took it with them. The whole world was praying for the recovery of the Holy Cross. After the victory of Emperor Heraclius over Khosrow, in the peace treaty the Persians were forced to give up the holy relic (628). The legend says that when the emperor himself wanted to carry the Cross of Christ to Calvary on his shoulders, he could do so only when he took off his royal robes. It is a legend because from the testimony of Cyril of Jerusalem (+ 387), we already know that in his time the venerable relic was divided into small parts and sent to almost all nearby churches.
The largest part of the Holy Cross currently is at the cathedral of St. Michael and Gudula in Brussels. St. Peter in Rome (keeps some of the relics worn on the chest by the Byzantine emperors during gala ceremonies) and the Basilica of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem, the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, donated by the Polish queen Anna Gonzaga, which she received from king John II Casimir.
Was the cross the purpose of Christ's coming into the world?
Was not a goal, but a necessary path to a goal! Through his cross, Christ obtained forgiveness for our sins. He won Divine Mercy for us. He has opened the door to eternal life for us. If we can cry out to God, "Abba - Father!", the cross of Christ has done it.
When Jesus places a cross before us marked by suffering, it means that he wants a gift from us. Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus, developing this thought, said that Jesus wants us to smile to the cross. He begs for our love, tested by suffering, in order to be able to say to us: "Here you are with me in times of trial." Today, many people are looking for Christ without a cross and find a cross without Christ. Then suffering seems to be meaningless and tragic in all respects.
When Jesus places the cross of suffering before us, he helps us to detach ourselves from the earth. He helps us to look higher and remember that the world is only a place of temporary residence. Our suffering, combined with his suffering, lifts us to God’s heights. It liberates us from selfishness and makes us greater in spirit.
When we do not want to accept the sign of the cross in which God freely reveals himself, we behave like the Pharisees. We are tempting God to prove what he is not. God is not a magician. God is not a miracle worker. God revealed in Jesus Christ is love! Love, wisdom and power revealed in the cross! This is the power of the Lord as revealed in the cross, such is his wisdom as revealed in the cross, this is the love of God as revealed in the cross.
There are a thousand of such situations in life when no other power, love or wisdom speaks to a person. There is no other answer, this is the only one that God gives us through the cross. None of the miraculous signs were there to get people's attention. Everything referred to the power and wisdom revealed in the cross.
Look at the cross, because in the cross the power and wisdom of God are revealed. It is important to submit ourselves to the way how God reveals himself to us. It is important to give him freedom, not to dictate what he should be; not suggest what to do. It is not God who adjusts to us, but we to Him! He knows what is important to a man, what he needs and desires, what can make him happy.
The paradox of the Gospel consists in the fact that man needs the experience of love, that has been radically revealed in the cross: there is someone who gave his life for me, and this is my God. I cannot get anything more from him, I do not need any more evidence, confirmations, signs. How can I stand in front of him and say: prove, do You love me? Someone who looks at the cross has no such needs, does not stand before God with arrogance and say: give a sign! God does not have to explain himself to us, he explained himself once and for all in the cross of Jesus Christ.
The cross is the sign of a Christian. That is why the world promoting paganism and atheism fights it so vehemently. Whoever desires that the Son of Man will be exalted, who wishes to show that he follows Christ in order to have eternal life, must take up his cross. Take the cross under your roof, on your shoulders. Take it in your heart and your life. This is the only true elevation of the cross, because it was made in man and by man.
The sign of the cross will be seen in the sky
At the end of our reflection, please meditate on the words that Jesus said to Saint Faustina: “Write this: before I come as the Just Judge, I am coming first as the King of Mercy. Before the day of justice arrives, there will be given to people a sign in the heavens of this sort: All light in the heavens will be extinguished, and there will be great darkness over the whole earth. Then the sign of the cross will be seen in the sky, and from the openings where the hands and the feet of the Savior were nailed will come forth great lights which will light up the earth for a period of time. This will take place shortly before the last day.” (Diary 83)
Until Tomorrow
fr. george