Letter from the Pastor
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September 14, 2025How is it that one of the worst instruments of torture and death is now seen as one of the holiest images on earth? The Persians first developed crucifixion. It was so brutal; the Greeks forbade its use. The Romans; however, used it often to suppress rebellion. A Roman citizen could not be crucified. It was only used on foreigners, slaves, or those who committed treason against Caesar.
Today we celebrate the cross; it is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. Today’s feast takes precedence over the Ordinary Sunday readings and prayers.
It took about 400 years before the public veneration of the Cross of Christ. The miraculous discovery of the cross on September 14, 326 A.D., by Saint Helena, the mother of Constantine, is the origin of today’s feast on this date. Constantine later built the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on the site of her discovery of the cross. Our parish has a relic of the True Cross, which will be displayed on the Altar during Mass.
The Cross is the most compelling and universal symbol of the Christian faith. It has inspired both liturgical and private devotions. Before we pray, we make the Sign of the Cross, which is a prayer to the Holy Trinity; the “little” Sign of the Cross on head, lips, and heart at the reading of the Gospel; praying the Stations of the Cross; and the Veneration of the Cross by the faithful on Good Friday by kissing the feet of the image of Our Savior crucified.
We place a crucifix in the center of our churches, over our beds and in our homes. Every classroom and hallway of Catholic schools and in other Catholic institutions bears the cross. We even wear this image around our necks as a constant reminder — and witness — of Christ’s ultimate triumph, His victory over sin and death through His suffering and dying on the Cross. If our Lord would never have given His life on a cross for the salvation of the world, then a cross would never have been seen in “exultation.”
Through our celebration today, the “Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross,” is first and foremost a feast by which we give glory to God the Father for what He did through His divine Son. It is also a feast by which we can understand that God can “exalt” our personal crosses in life, and bring forth much grace.
Christians “exalt” (=raise on high) the Cross of Christ as the instrument of our salvation. Adoration of the Cross is really love of our Lord, who suffered and died on this Roman instrument of torture for our redemption from sin and death. The cross is a summary of the Passion, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ — all in one image. Only God can turn an evil into a good, an instrument of death to eternal life.
We adore you,
Lord Jesus Christ,
here, and in all your churches
throughout the whole world,
and we bless you,
for by your holy cross you
have redeemed the world.
(Saint Francis of Assisi)
By Baralome Esteban Murillo