Triumph of the Cross
by Paul Turner

The cross could have become a symbol of shame for Christians: it brought about the death of Jesus Christ. However, faith in the resurrection made the cross a symbol of pride. The worst weapon of Jesus' enemies could not overpower him. Through the cross, Jesus triumphs over death.

Pride in the cross soon turned to veneration of the cross. Since no record from the time of the apostles indicates that the cross of Christ was preserved, zealous Christians later searched for its remains. They had already honored the general location of Calvary and the sepulcher, so new basilicas were built over those sites under the reign of Constantine in the early fourth century. Around this same time people believed they had identified relics of the cross of Christ, and these diffused throughout the Christian world. John Calvin sarcastically noted that if all the splinters of the cross were gathered together, they would fill a ship — three hundred people could not carry the cross which one person carried up to Calvary.

It is difficult to verify splinters of the true cross of Christ. However, legend has it that in 322, Helena, the mother of Constantine, uncovered three crosses in the excavations for the new basilicas in Jerusalem. She assumed them to be the crosses of Jesus and the two wrongdoers. Macarius, the bishop of Jerusalem, brought in a dying woman and had her touch the crosses. The third one cured her, and that cross was proclaimed the cross of Christ. It became an object of veneration in Jerusalem until it was stolen in the seventh century, but Heraclius of Constantinople captured and returned it in 629, bringing it into the city, where it was lifted up for all to venerate again. This þexaltationþ of the holy cross gave us a feast day on September 14 every year.

Our current calendar changed its title from the Exaltation of the Holy Cross to the Triumph of the Cross. It is still celebrated on September 14 to commemorate both the victory of Christ and the dedication of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem in 335. As a feast of Christ, when it falls on Sunday it replaces the regular liturgy for ordinary time.

Copyright © 1997, Resource Publications, Inc. 160 E. Virginia St. #290, San Jose, CA 95112, (408) 286-8505. This article may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher.  For permission e-mail info@rpinet.com.
Paul Turner, pastor of St. Munchin Parish in Cameron, MO, holds a doctorate in sacramental theology from Sant' Anselmo University in Rome.