September 13 and September 14 

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross

From Deacon Dick~

This year the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross falls on Sunday, September 14 and so we honor the Holy Cross by which Christ redeemed the world. Our readings reflect this Feast as does our liturgical color of red. The public veneration of the Cross of Christ originated in the fourth century, according to early accounts. The miraculous discovery of the cross on September 14, 326, by Saint Helen, mother of Constantine, while she was on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, is the origin of the tradition of celebrating the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross on this date. Constantine later built the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on the site of her discovery of the cross.

Christians “exalt” (raise on high) the Cross of Christ as the instrument of our salvation. The cross is a symbolicsummary of the Passion, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ — all in one image.

The Cross 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.

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” (Mt 10:38, 39).