The Exaltation of the Holy Cross

By Father S. Peter Donatelli; 2008

JOKE: During a recent publicity outing, Senator Hillary Clinton snuck off to visit a fortune teller of some local repute. In a dark and hazy room, peering into a crystal ball, the mystic delivered grave news. “There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just be blunt: Prepare yourself to be a widow. Your husband will die a violent and horrible death this year.” Visibly shaken, Hillary stared at the woman’s lined face, then at the single flickering candle, then down at her hands. She took a few deep breaths to compose herself. She simply had to know. She met the fortune teller’s gaze, steadied her voice, and asked her question. “Will I be acquitted?”

 

INTRO: How often in life have been tempted to call or visit a fortune teller because we feel that if we just know what to expect perhaps we can change the future for the better. It’s amazing how much money and time people spend on finding fortunes or reading horoscopes in the hope of a five star day or perhaps receiving some affirmation that everything is going to be all right. Sadly some people even refer to themselves by their horoscopes. We hear, “I’m a Leo or Taurus or whatever.” Rarely do you ever hear people bragging about being a Christian, especially as a pick up line in a bar. Unfortunately these fortune teller type experiences have led some people to the occult so allow me to recommend never getting involved in them.

 

POINT ONE: The reason I mention these is over the last month or so I have been reacquainting myself with Thomas a Kempis and recently read this in his “Imitation of Christ;” One day when a certain man who wavered often and anxiously between hope and fear was struck with sadness, he knelt in humble prayer before the altar of a church. While meditating on these things, he said: “Oh if I but knew whether I should persevere to the end!” Instantly he heard within the divine answer: “If you knew this, what would you do? Do now what you would do then and you will be quite secure.” Immediately consoled and comforted, he resigned himself to the divine will and the anxious uncertainty ceased. His curiosity no longer sought to know what the future held for him, and he tried instead to find the perfect, the acceptable will of God in the beginning and end of every good work.

 

How often we forget these tidbits of advice and opt for secular humanist ways to occupy or time in life. People are constantly searching for ways to entertain the seemingly depressing times instead of just doing what God has intended us to do. The only reflection in life should not be what would I do if I won the lottery or what would I have done differently ten years ago but the reflection we need to hold most dear is what can I do for You, my Lord and my God. God’s people forgot this in our first reading. (All quotes from the New King James Version of the Bible) Numbers 21:4: Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.” 6 So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died. 7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

 

POINT TWO: What possesses a people to see the miracles of God and still complain? These people walked through the Red Sea and still questioned God’s plan of salvation. God had to allow this generation to die out before getting to the Promised Land. What motivates me here at the Church of Christ Jesus Victor is knowing that God is all powerful and all loving and God would never place us in a position where we would not be able to accomplish His purpose for us. I just want to be part of and we all need to be excited about this. The soccer year is upon me as I begin my sixth year of coaching my son’s team. I have a coaching style where I look for zeal and team effort before getting someone on the field. I remember a few times where I would call someone off the bench and he would say, “I don’t know or I don’t want to play defense.” Immediately my reaction is “Sit down!” And I call somebody else. There has even been a few times where some young men were chasing butterflies when I called their name and they missed out on playing the game. I do NOT want to miss out on what God has ready for me. (1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”) Instead of reflecting on the joys of being God’s chosen people, then celebrating this, people become infatuated with complaining which leads to depression which leads to foolish habits like horoscopes, psychics, and the occult. It is no wonder that in a country that honors abortion, promiscuity, self gratification, gluttony, greed, and the secularization of public schools and other institutions that only 47 percent of our population goes to church. This is significantly less in Maine. According to the Barna group, More than half of all adults (53%) believe that if a person is generally good, or does enough good things for others during their life, they will earn a place in Heaven. (2007). Fifty-three percent of all adults believe they have a personal responsibility to tell other people their religious beliefs. When it comes to feeling a personal responsibility to share ones religious beliefs with others, regional differences emerge. In total, 45% of those in the South feel strongly that it is their personal responsibility to share their faith with others, compared to 40% of Midwesterners, 27% of those in the West, and 21% of those in the Northeast. (2007)

We cannot just stop thinking and just go to church and celebrate being a [1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.] We should rejoice in the Lord always and lift high the Cross that has saved us.

 

Today, we are celebrating the Feast of the “Triumph of the Cross.” This liturgical Feast, formally known as the “Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross,” honors the work of Christ. According to Church documents, the Feast of the “Triumph of the Cross” has been celebrated since the early days of the Catholic Church. In regards to the Holy Cross itself, when the Body of Jesus was removed from it, to prevent His followers from finding it, the Cross was thrown in a ditch or well, and then covered with stones and earth. In 312 A.D., while Constantine the Great, who had not yet converted to Christianity, was in combat with Maxentius for the throne of the Roman Empire, he prayed to the Lord God of the Christians to help him in his battle. In answer to his prayer, a sign appeared in the sky. A luminous cross was seen with the words “IN THIS SIGN YOU WILL CONQUER” inscribed on it. Following this, Constantine won the battle over Maxentius. Indebted to God for his victory at the Milvian Bridge on October 28, 312, Constantine commanded that the Sign of Christianity be placed on the Roman standards and on the shields of all the soldiers. Then, on September 14, 326, St. Helena found in Jerusalem the True Cross on which Jesus was crucified. To commemorate the finding of the Holy Cross, Constantine dedicated two Churches upon Calvary, “Anastasis” and “Colgotha,” both within the precincts of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Beginning in those days, the Feast of the “Exaltation of the Holy Cross” was commemorated annually on May 3^rd. In 614, Chosroes II, the King of Persia, invaded Syria and Palestine, at which time he carried away many of the great treasures of Jerusalem, including the relic of the True Cross. In 629, Emperor Heraclius of Constantinople marched into Persia and recapture the True Cross, seeing to it that Heraclius piously bring it back to Jerusalem while being clothed in sackcloth of penance and barefoot. On September 14 th, the Sacred Cross was restored to its place in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. To commemorate this victory, in the 7 th century, the Church of Rome adopted the “Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross” on September 14 th.

 

When Jesus started His trek to Jerusalem to be crucified, He could have easily distracted Himself with things of the world and possibly even convinced Himself to abort His mission on earth. Philippians 2: 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 

POINT THREE: Amazingly people are shocked to hear tha when you follow God’s call you will be rewarded beyond your wildest expectations. Those of us who dream of winning the lottery or becoming superstars or dreaming the dreams of earthly people will realize that when you believe in the One who created you for a special purpose, nothing that the world can give you will equal the vastness of rewards in Heaven. John 3: 13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

 

CONCLUSION: From Kempis; remember the purpose you have undertaken, and keep in mind the image of the Crucified. Even though you may have walked for many years on the pathway to God, you may well be ashamed if, with the image of Christ before you, you do not try to make yourself still more like Him. The religious who concerns himself intently and devoutly with our Lord’s most holy life and passion will find there an abundance of all things useful and necessary for him. He need not seek for anything better than Jesus. If the Crucified should come to our hearts, how quickly and abundantly we would learn! A fervent religious accepts all the things that are commanded him and does them well, but a negligent and lukewarm religious has trial upon trial, and suffers anguish from every side because he has no consolation within and is forbidden to seek it from without. The religious who does not live up to his rule exposes himself to dreadful ruin, and he who wishes to be more free and untrammeled will always be in trouble, for something or other will always displease him. How do so many other religious who are confined in cloistered discipline get along? They seldom go out, they live in contemplation, their food is poor, their clothing coarse, they work hard, they speak but little, keep long vigils, rise early, pray much, read frequently, and subject themselves to all sorts of discipline. Think of the Carthusians and the Cistercians, 50the monks and nuns of different orders, how every night they rise to sing praise to the Lord. It would be a shame if you should grow lazy in such holy service when so many religious have already begun to rejoice in God. If there were nothing else to do but praise the Lord God with all your heart and voice, if you had never to eat, or drink, or sleep, but could praise God always and occupy yourself solely with spiritual pursuits, how much happier you would be than you are now, a slave to every necessity of the body! Would that there were no such needs, but only the spiritual refreshments of the soul which, sad to say, we taste too seldom! When a man reaches a point where he seeks no solace from any creature, then he begins to relish God perfectly. Then also he will be content no matter what may happen to him. He will neither rejoice over great things nor grieve over small ones, but will place himself entirely and confidently in the hands of God, Who for him is all in all, to Whom nothing ever perishes or dies, for Whom all things live, and Whom they serve as He desires. Always remember your end and do not forget that lost time never returns. Without care and diligence you will never acquire virtue. When you begin to grow lukewarm, you are falling into the beginning of evil; but if you give yourself to fervor, you will find peace and will experience less hardship because of God’s grace and the love of virtue. A fervent and diligent man is ready for all things. It is greater work to resist vices and passions than to sweat in physical toil. He who does not overcome small faults, shall fall little by little into greater ones. If you have spent the day profitably, you will always be happy at eventide. Watch over yourself, arouse yourself, warn yourself, and regardless of what becomes of others, do not neglect yourself. The more violence you do to yourself, the more progress you will make.

~ by ordani on September 16, 2008.