The Story of the Holy Cross
On the 14th of September the Church celebrates the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. On this Feast, also known as the Triumph of the Cross, we honour 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 Saint Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, while she was on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Soon two churches were built at the site of the Sepulchre by Constantine. The date used for the feast marks the dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 335. 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. We read in history that the Life-giving Cross was kept in Jerusalem until the year 614 when the Holy City fell to the Persians who looted the Church of the Resurrection and took the True Cross back with them to Persia. Fourteen years later Emperor Heraclius concluded a peace with the Persians, and the Holy Cross was brought to the imperial capital of Constantinople. The Emperor, taking off his shoes and his imperial robes, carried the Cross into the Church of Holy Wisdom where it was once again triumphantly exalted. It was then resolved that the Feast be celebrated by the Church in all parts of the world on the 14th of September, for which reason it is called the Universal Exaltation.
The holy cross was found by St. Helena about 180 years after it had been buried by the heathens. For out of an aversion to Christianity, they had done all in their power to conceal the place where it lay, and where Jesus was buried. They had therefore heaped upon his sepulchre a great quantity of stones and rubbish, besides building a temple to Venus; that those who came thither to adore him might seem to pay their worship to a marble idol. They had, more over, erected a statue to Jupiter in the place where our Saviour rose from the dead, as we are informed by St. Jerome; which figure continued there from the emperor Adrian’s time to Constantine’s reign. The precautions of the persecutors evidently show the veneration which Christians must have paid namely to the cross of Jesus from the beginning of Christianity.
St Helena, Constantine’s mother, being inspired with a great desire to find the identical cross on which Christ had suffered and died, came to Jerusalem, and consulted all those whom she thought likely to assist her in accomplishing her pious design. She was by them credibly informed, that if she could find out the sepulchre, she would likewise find out the instruments of the punishment, which is the cross. This is because it was the custom among the Jews to make a great hole near the place where the body of the criminal was buried, and to throw into it whatever belonged to his execution. They looked upon all these things as detestable objects, and which for that reason ought to be removed out of sight. The pious empress, therefore, ordered the profane building to be pulled down, the statues to be broken in pieces, and the rubbish to be removed; and upon digging to a great depth, they discovered the holy sepulchre, and near it three crosses; also the nails which had pierced our Saviour’s body, and the title which had been affixed to his cross. By this discovery they understood that one of the three crosses was that of Jesus and that the other two belonged to the two who were crucified with Jesus. The title was found separate from the cross. Now the difficulty was to distinguish which of the three was that cross on which Jesus died.
Surprisingly this was done with the help of a miracle. St Macarius, a Bishop, knowing that one of the principal ladies of the city lay extremely ill, suggested to the empress to take the three crosses to the sick person, and to pray for her healing. This being done, St. Macarius prayed, and after his prayer, applied the crosses singly to the patient, who was immediately and perfectly recovered by the touch of one of the crosses, and hence giving the true identity. St. Helena, full of joy for having found the treasure which she had so earnestly sought, and so highly esteemed, built a church on the spot, and placed the cross there with great veneration. She afterward carried part of it to Emperor Constantine, who was then at Constantinople, who received it with great veneration. Another part of the Cross she sent, or rather carried to Rome to be placed in the church which she built there, under the name of The Holy Cross of Jerusalem, where it remains to this day.
The title was sent by St. Helena to the same church in Rome, and deposited on the top of an arch, where it was found in a case of lead in 1492. The inscription in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, is in red letters, and the wood was whitened and these colours had faded. Also the words “Jesus” and “Judaeorum” were missing due to decay of wood. The board is nine, but must have been originally twelve inches long. The main part of the Cross St. Helena enclosed in a silver shrine, and committed to the care of St. Macarius, that it might be delivered down to posterity as an object of veneration. It was accordingly kept with singular respect in the magnificent church which she and her son built at Jerusalem, and was shown publicly to the people at Easter. This stately church was hence called the Basilica of the Holy Cross. It was also called the church of the Sepulchre or of the Resurrection, because of its proximity to the sepulchre where was buried. The Church was extended so far on Mount Calvary as also to include the rock Golgotha also.
Christians “exalt” the Cross of Christ as the instrument of 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. In Roman Catholic liturgical observance, red vestments are worn at church services conducted on this day, and if the day falls on a Sunday, its Mass is used instead of that for the occurring Sunday in Ordinary Time.
The Christian cross is the best-known religious symbol of Christianity. It is generally seen as a representation of the crucifixion of Jesus. It is related to the crucifix, a cross that includes a representation of Jesus’ body and to the more general family of cross symbols. The cross in the Bible means that wooden cross on which the Lord Jesus was nailed and put to death on Mount Calvary. The cross of Christ is also the sign of forgiveness, and Jesus did this by His suffering for all on the cross. In short, this one word, “the cross,” stands for Christ crucified, the only Saviour who takes away all the blemishes through his death on the cross.
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 jewellery. 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.
While there are many religions in the world and our separated brothers and sisters do not see eye-to-eye with the teachings of the Holy Catholic Church, yet, there is one thing that all these religions agree upon. All honour the Holy Cross as being a most Sacred object. The sign of the Cross is found in the Sacred Liturgy. The Cross is in all Christian festivals. It is in the Rite of Adoration. It is the symbol of blessing. It is found in the dedication of Churches, in the Schools, the homes, Hospitals, Seminaries, Convents, Religious Order, Crusades and even in cemeteries. Let us all look up to the Holy Cross as our symbol of faith and salvation. The Holy Cross is the true symbol of love, compassion and forgiveness.
God Bless You
Fr Eugene Lobo SJ
