September 14 + The Exaltation of the Holy Cross

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross commemorates three historical events: the discovery of the True Cross in 326, its initial exaltation for public veneration in 335, and the recovery of the Cross from the Persians in 628. This feast also celebrates the boundless impact of Christ’s Cross upon all of creation.

In 326, Constantine’s mother, Saint Helena, embarked on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Her mission was to identify significant sites from Christ’s life and establish churches at those locations. In Jerusalem, she aimed to find the True Cross and to build a church over the sites of Mount Calvary and Jesus’ tomb, known as the Holy Sepulchre. Upon identifying Mount Calvary and the empty tomb, she discovered three buried crosses. After an investigation, the local bishop confirmed they were the crosses used to crucify Jesus and the two thieves. Since Helena did not know which cross was Christ’s, she arranged for a sick woman to touch all three. The woman was immediately healed upon touching one of them, indicating that it was the True Cross.

Following the discovery of the True Cross, Mount Calvary, and Christ’s tomb, Emperor Constantine ordered the construction of a church to encompass these sites and house the True Cross. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was erected and dedicated on September 13, 335. The following day, Christ’s Cross was brought outside the newly built church for the faithful to venerate. Thus, the first showing, or Exaltation of the Holy Cross, occurred on September 14, 335.

In 614, the Persians invaded Jerusalem and took the True Cross as a trophy. Allowing the Holy Cross to remain in their possession was seen as sacrilegious. Eight years later, in 622, Eastern Roman Emperor Heraclius initiated military campaigns to recapture Jerusalem and the True Cross. Finally, in 628, he triumphed, and the following year, Emperor Heraclius entered Jerusalem with the True Cross, restoring it to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. After that, the Feast of the Holy Cross became a universal celebration within the Church, starting in Rome and subsequently spreading throughout the entire empire, and has been celebrated annually on September 14 ever since.

Although we commemorate these three historical events today, the core of our celebration is not the physical wood of the Cross or the holy sites where Jesus died and was buried. Our primary focus is the infinite love shown through the selfless and perfect Sacrifice of the Son of God and the boundless mercy that has poured forth upon the world as a result.

The Cross of Christ must permeate each one of us, transforming us and making us new. This happens when we open ourselves to the infinite mercy of God flowing from that selfless Sacrifice. It also occurs when we allow every one of our sufferings, the injustices we endure, hardships, and most undesirable aspects of our lives to share in the redemptive power of Christ. We do this when we embrace Jesus’ commands to share in His sufferings, unite them with His own, and allow Him to bear an abundance of good fruit through us. "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For he that will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it.” St. Matthew 16:24–25