Triumph of the Cross

September 14 is the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross, also called, the Exaltation of the Cross. Here is how the feast originated:

Early in the fourth century St. Helena, mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, went to Jerusalem in search of the holy places of Christ's life. She razed the Temple of Aphrodite, which tradition held was built over the Savior's tomb, and her son built the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher over the tomb. During the excavation, workers found three crosses. Legend has it that the one on which Jesus died was identified when its touch healed a dying woman.

The cross immediately became an object of veneration. At a Good Friday celebration in Jerusalem toward the end of the fourth century, according to an eyewitness, the wood was taken out of its silver container and placed on a table together with the inscription Pilate ordered placed above Jesus' head: Then "all the people pass through one by one; all of them bow down, touching the cross and the inscription, first with their foreheads, then with their eyes; and, after kissing the cross, they move on."

To this day the Eastern Churches, Catholic and Orthodox alike, celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on the September anniversary of the basilica's dedication. The feast entered the Western calendar in the seventh century after Emperor Heraclius recovered the cross from the Persians, who had carried it off in 614, 15 years earlier. According to the story, the emperor intended to carry the cross back into Jerusalem himself, but was unable to move forward until he took off his imperial garb and became a barefoot pilgrim. (American Catholic)

The cross was an ancient form of punishment which dates back to the Persians. It was later adopted by the Greeks, then also by the Romans. Crucifixion was considered the worst of all punishment, not only because of the pain felt by the crucified, and the slow and excruciating cause of death on the cross, which is asphyxiation – characterized by the loss of oxygen causing severe muscle paralysis among others. It was considered the worst punishment because of what it meant – the person is exposed, stripped naked which means the person is stripped of his dignity, and then he is hanged on the cross between heaven and earth which mean he is deprived of both heaven and earth – he is deprived of everything. The cross was not only a painful death, but a sentence of ultimate humiliation and of total deprivation.

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The cross is by no means then a beautiful symbol. It is actually an ugly sign of cruelty. Triumph of the Cross then would be an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms. The cross is anything by triumphant.

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What changed it all is when Jesus gave himself over to be crucified. The authorities meant to humiliate, deprive, defeat Jesus. On the contrary, on the cross, Jesus was exalted, fulfilled, triumphant. On the cross, Jesus was exalted, raised up high, and just as the serpent lifted up on the pole symbolized, all who look on Jesus Crucified will be saved. On the cross, Jesus fulfilled his mission to be Messiah, whose suffering and death won the healing and life of broken humanity. On the cross, Jesus triumphed over violence, over sin, over death, over evil, over hatred. The cross is the triumph of Peace, of Grace, of Life, of Goodness, of Love.

The cross was a sign of defeat and of weakness. But the self-giving of Christ, which the letter of Paul to the Philippians sing about transformed it into a statement of triumph and strength. Very beautifully, Hans Urs Von Balthasar wrote that the divinity of Jesus shone most eminently in the cross. Jesus, was most God when he was there hanging on the cross – for only God can be capable of such great love. True, because God is love.

As the Church grew, the cross became a central symbol of the faith, and rightly so. We sign ourselves with the sign of the cross. The cross is central in the symbols of the Churches. We hang the cross in our homes, rooms, schools, workplaces, even in our cars. Some have the cross in their pocket. Some wear them as pendants, rings, or sometimes even as earrings. But more than just symbols, more than fashion accessories, let us remember that when we sign ourselves with the cross, when we hang the cross, or when we bring the cross, or wear the cross,

1. We are reminding ourselves of the great love of God – For God so loved the world, that he gave us his only son, so that all who would believe in him might have eternal life.
2. We are making a statement of faith – that we believe that Jesus Christ has saved us, that Jesus Christ has freed us.
3. And we are saying yes to cross – to take up our cross daily, to embrace the cross and let the cross triumph in our lives. The cross triumphs in our lives when we defeat violence, sin, death, evil and hatred, and let Peace, Grace, Life, Goodness, Love be concrete in our daily lives.

May we be always grateful for the immense love of God, proud of our Christian heritage of the cross, and aware of our responsibility to take up the cross daily.

Let us adore Christ and bless him because by his holy cross he has redeemed the world.