The Holy Cross

This weekend, we celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.  This feast, which is always commemorated on September 14^th, falls on a Sunday this year and thus replaces the 24^th Sunday in Ordinary Time.  This feast celebrates two historical events.  The first is the discovery of the cross on which Jesus died by St. Helena, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.  The second is the anniversary of the dedication of the Church of the Holy Supulchre which was built on the site of Helena’s discovery.

Another now famous cross was discovered by an ironworker in the rubble at Ground Zero, two days after the attacks of September 11^th, 2001.  That cross, a 17-foot steel column and a crossbeam, became a sign of hope and healing in the aftermath of 9/11.  Now that cross and the remembrance of September 11^th will forever be linked thanks to a recent court decision. 

 In July a federal appeals court ruled that the cross can remain on display at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.  The display was challenged by a group of Atheists who asserted that it was unconstitutional, but the judges struck down the group’s lawsuit, saying that the purpose of displaying the cross is to tell the story of how some people used faith to cope with the tragedy.  The judges concluded that “The Cross at Ground Zero came to be viewed not simply as a Christian symbol, but as a symbol of hope and healing for all persons.”

As Catholic Christians, we are reminded over and over of the hope and healing of the cross.  In fact, our faith journey begins when the sign of the cross is traced on our foreheads before we are baptized.  As we grow in our faith, we sign ourselves with the cross many times both in private prayer and in communal worship.  Through this simple but powerful gesture, may we become more aware of our share in the dying and rising of Jesus and thus become an instrument of hope and healing for all persons who bear heavy and painful crosses in their lives.