Saturday 14 September

EXALTATION OF THE CROSS

Numbers 21:4-9, Psalm 78, Philippians 2: 6-11, John 3:13-17

The Sign of the Cross

The Exaltation of the Cross is one of the twelve important feast days of the Church and has been celebrated since the 4th century when St. Helena was sent to Jerusalem by her newly converted son, the Emperor Constantine, to discover Christian relics. One of her most important discoveries was pieces of the Cross and this relic, precious as it is in itself, serves to emphasise the centrality of the Cross in our Christian faith. The Cross has become the principal symbol of Christianity. When we bless ourselves with this sign we make the power of the Cross our own.