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Exaltation of the Holy Cross
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| By Fr JOHN FLADER
14 September, 2008 |
As you say, until the revision of the liturgical calendar after the Second Vatican Council, there used to be two feasts of the holy cross. The feast on May 3 was called the Finding of the Holy Cross and that on September 14, the Exaltation or Triumph of the Holy Cross.
We should remember that, in a real sense, the primordial feast of the holy cross is Good Friday, when we commemorate Our Lord’s death on the cross and we venerate the cross.
The feast formerly celebrated on May 3 commemorated the finding of the holy cross by St Helen, mother of the Emperor Constantine, in the year 326. While on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, St Helen had the inspiration to search for the cross on which Our Lord had died.
There was no tradition as to where it might be, but she was told that if she could find the holy sepulchre in which Jesus’ body had been laid, she would find the cross nearby. It was the custom in those days among the Jews to dig a pit near the burial place of a criminal and to throw into it the instruments of the execution.
Apparently, at the time of Our Lord’s death, the Romans had done everything possible to conceal the place of his burial, and they built a temple to Venus over the sepulchre.
St Helen ordered the pagan temple to be destroyed and, after digging to a great depth beneath it, the workers discovered the holy sepulchre.
Near it were three crosses, the nails used to fasten Jesus to the cross and the title of Jesus’ execution. Because it was impossible to know which of the three crosses was the one of Jesus, the Bishop of Jerusalem, Macarius, suggested that all three crosses be taken to a sick lady, who lay dying, in the hope that God would reveal through one of them that it was the true cross. He touched all three crosses to the sick lady, and one of them brought about an immediate cure.
Overjoyed, St Helen then asked for a church to be built on the site of the sepulchre, the present Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and she left a large portion of the cross there in a silver reliquary.
September 14 marks the day of the dedication of that church in 335.
St Helen took another piece of the cross to her son Constantine and a third piece to Rome, where she asked that a church be built for it for the benefit of those who could not travel to Jerusalem. It is the present Church of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, located near the Lateran Basilica in Rome. Among the items still on display in that church are part of the true cross, a nail thought to be used in the crucifixion and part of the title of execution, with the word Nazarene written in Hebrew, Greek and Latin, as described in the Scriptures.
In the year 614 the Persians conquered Jerusalem and took away the large portion of the cross left there by St Helen. Some years later, around 621 the Emperor Heraclius I, a firm believer, gathered together an army and set out to defeat the Persians and recover the cross.
Before leaving Constantinople, he prostrated himself before the altar and asked God for the courage to be successful in his mission. His army won victory after victory and finally the Persians made peace and he recovered the cross, some 14 years after it had been taken away. He took it back to Constantinople, where the people, carrying olive branches and torches, received it in a triumphant procession.
Around 630, the Emperor decided to show his gratitude to God by going personally to Jerusalem to return the cross to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. When he reached the gate leading out of the city to Calvary, he was astonished to find that he could not continue any further.
The Patriarch Zachary then suggested that, dressed in the royal clothing of the Emperor, he did not sufficiently resemble Jesus when he carried the cross. Heraclius removed his shoes and imperial robes adorned with gold and jewels, and wearing a simple tunic, he was able to carry the cross up to Calvary.
It was after this event that the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross was instituted. The feast is celebrated not only in the Catholic Church but also with great ceremony in the Orthodox Churches, as well as by some Protestants.
Send your questions to Fr John Flader
c/- The Catholic Weekly, Level 8, Polding Centre,
133 Liverpool St, Sydney 2000,
or email to director@caec.com.au
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