Today is is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. This Feast commemorates not one, not two, but three separate historical events which speak eloquently of the power of the Cross. This day is also called the Exaltation of the Cross, Elevation of the Cross, Holy Cross Day, Holy Rood Day, or Roodmas. During trials and temptations our strength and protection is the Sign of the Cross. At Baptism we are sealed with the Sign of the Cross, signifying the fullness of redemption and that we belong to Christ. Let us look to the cross frequently, and realize that when we make the Sign of the Cross we give our entire self to God — mind, soul, heart, body, will, thoughts.
This Feast celebrates three historical events:
1. Finding the true cross by St. Helena (mother of emperor Constantine)
2. Dedication of churches built by Constantine on the site of the Holy Sepulchre and Mount Calvary
3. Restoration of the True Cross to Jerusalem by the emperor Heraclius II
In a deeper sense, the feast also celebrates the Holy Cross as the instrument of our salvation. This instrument of torture, designed to degrade the worst of criminals, became the life-giving tree that reversed Adam’s Original Sin when he ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden.
Little clip of ‘Lift High the Cross’ for you, one of my favorites hymns you’ll hear me sing loudly at Mass.