Make the Exaltation of the Cross a deeply personal feast

The Feast of the Exaltation of the True Cross is September 14. It recalls when St. Helena (mother of Constantine) discovered the True Cross of Our Lord after a search throughout the Holy Land, and on September 14 in the year 320, it was venerated, with great jubilation and fitting exaltation.

In honor of this feast day, it is a good time to pause and consider: We are called to exalt in the Holy Cross of Christ. But what of the crosses God sends us? Do we see the cross we carry each day as a gift from God we must embrace?

Although that might seem very difficult indeed, is that not what we are called to do, and reminded by a feast day titled the “Exaltation” of the Cross? This feast day is important not only because it recalls the finding of the True Cross of Christ, but because it reminds us of this challenge: to be willing to love the cross God sends us.

The saints all became saints through great suffering. It is not as if they were born perfect, knowing right away how to accept everything God sent them with patience. Men and women who eventually become saints must first struggle. If they can do it, so can we!

Here is what some saints have to say about the Cross, which may help us reflect more deeply upon the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross:

St. John of the Cross taught: “The road is narrow.  He who wishes to travel it more easily must cast off all things and use the cross as his cane.  In other words, he must be truly resolved to suffer willingly for the love of God in all things.” 

When the cross feels too heavy for us, perhaps we might try envisioning leaning upon it like a cane, and praying in the words of the Our Father, “Thy will be done.”

St. John Vianney wrote: “You must accept your cross; if you bear it courageously, it will carry you to Heaven.”

Thinking of the very cross we carry as the object that will in turn carry us … to heaven ... is a great incentive indeed! But how do we bear the cross courageously? One of the timelessly Catholic ways to do this is to “offer it up.” How do we do this? The first step is to consciously have the intent to offer it up. Second, pray.

The following prayer, one of seven given at Fatima, is an excellent prayer to help you “offer up” your cross:

You can pray this type of prayer in the moment a difficulty comes your way, or even sometime thereafter. You can also cultivate the good habit of praying a Morning Offering every day. That way, every difficulty that comes along your path has already been offered to God.

St. Teresa of Avila said, “The lukewarm do not embrace the cross; they merely drag it along.” 

And so that is the key: not to drag it … but to embrace it. The cross comes to us regardless of how we respond. But what response will we choose? The one we must try for is revealed in the name of this feast day: “exaltation.” When it is so hard for us to embrace our cross, we must pray all the harder for Christ and our Blessed Mother to supply us with the graces necessary for us to do so. 

Here are two quotes by modern saints that help provide more light and medicine to our hearts when our crosses feel dark, bitter, or impossible to carry.

In the words of Padre Pio, “The Christian’s motto is the Cross.  You will recognize God’s love by this sign, by the suffering he sends you."

In the words of Mother Teresa, “Suffering is a sign that you have come so close to Him that He can kiss you.”

In the Litany of the Cross we are told: “The cross is the strength of the weak. The cross is the doctor of the sick. The cross is the power of the kings…” There is such a paradox in the cross: an instrument of death become the instrument of our salvation. 

All of these quotes by these great saints say in essence the same thing: the cross, however heavy it may sometimes feel, is a gift from God we must embrace.

Perhaps the teachings of the saints about the cross make it easier to understand why we must love the cross. Perhaps it is the example of Christ Himself: seeing those arms of His extended upon the crucifix in an embrace of each of us. Perhaps it is considering that we are asked by God, each day, to take up our cross and follow Him” (MT 16:24-26), and in doing so, we lovingly console the Heart of Christ. It is love which transforms each burden we carry into a “true cross” after the example of our Savior. And so we exalt as we take up our cross, and follow Him.

For a free, guided Holy Hour in honor of the Feast of the Exaltation of the True Cross which offers love to Jesus and Mary, sign up for free here. 

Saints of the Cross, pray for us!