The Feast of the Triumph of the Cross

Greek Orthodox icon of the Exaltation of the Cross

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross, formerly called the Exaltation of the Cross in the old calendar. Today's feast does have a historical component, as it commemorates the finding of the True Cross in 326, during a pilgrimage to Jerusalem undertaken by St. Helena, mother of the Roman emperor Constantine. It was under Constantine, after his own conversion to the faith, that Christianity was eventually made the state religion of the Roman Empire. Constantine ordered that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre be built at the site where the True Cross had been found. Nine years later, the Cross was placed inside and the Church was dedicated. In 614, the True Cross was carried away from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre after an attack on Jerusalem by the Persians. It remained missing until 628, when it was recaptured by the Byzantine emperor Heraclius, who returned it to Jerusalem the following year. The September 14th date used for the feast marks the date of the dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the year 335. Since the event we commemorate today was so early in the life of the Church, it is a feast celebrated by both Western and Eastern churches.

But if you attended Mass today, you probably noticed that the focus isn't merely on this historical event. Rather, it is centered on the mystery of the Cross as an instrument of our salvation in the hands of our loving God. The proper preface to the Eucharistic prayer today's feast includes this portion that really struck me this morning:

You decreed that man should be saved through the wood of the cross.
The tree of man's defeat became his tree of victory;
where life was lost, there life has been restored
through Christ our Lord.

We celebrate the Cross today -- not just the physical, historical Cross, but the mystery of Christ's Cross and our share in it. The feast is called the Triumph of the Cross precisely because the goodness and mercy of God assures that great good will be brought forth from even the greatest suffering. This assurance is our life and our hope.