The Exaltation of the Holy Cross
This weekend we celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The feast recalls three historical events: the finding of the True Cross by Saint Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine; the dedication of churches built by Constantine on the site of the Holy Sepulchre and Mount Calvary; and the restoration of the True Cross to Jerusalem by the Emperor Heraclius II. However, the deeper meaning of the feast is a celebration of the Cross as the instrument of our salvation. This instrument of torture, designed to degrade the worst of criminals, became the lifegiving 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. Let us all place our hope and trust in the Cross as we celebrate this feast today.







