Our Reminder To Love

Exaltation of the Holy Cross 2024
Emperor Constantine saw a vision of the Holy Cross in the sky which led to his victory.  Years later, St. Helena led an expedition to the Holy Land and miraculously found the true Cross of Our Lord.  Hundreds of years after that, Emperor Heraclius defeated the Persians and rescued the Cross which had been stolen.  This feast was prepared by Our Lord through the many miracles He has performed.  The Cross is the sign of victory over our enemies and gives us the knowledge of God’s love for us, which is, in the end, the only knowledge necessary.  When God’s love is revealed to us, we must respond by offering all our love in return.  The love we are given through the Cross raises us to such heights that we are able to love God with a share in His own sacrificial love.
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The Wood Made Holy

Exaltation of the Holy Cross 2023
It was through the tree that sin entered the world, and it is through the tree of the Cross that all things are purified.  The brazen serpent of Moses was a prefiguring of the Cross.  The sign of death becomes the sign of salvation.  We must learn our lessons from the liturgy.  The Introit tells us to glory in this Cross.  We are different from the others who believe the Cross is foolishness.  We only learn the mystery of the Cross through humility.  Just as the name of Jesus is exalted through His humility, our names too will be written in the book of life.
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Peace Is Restored Through The Cross

The Exultation Of The Holy Cross 2022
We honor the Holy Cross with a spirit of joy in this liturgy.  It is important for us to know the history of this feast.  The first victory under the banner of the cross was that of Emperor Constantine, in which he conquered the powers of evil by God’s help.  His mother, St. Helena, led the expedition to recover the true Cross from Jerusalem and centuries later, Emperor Heraclius led his armies to combat the pagan world and return the Cross to its rightful home.  This instrument of torture has become the instrument of our salvation, and it is only through the Cross that true peace is restored.  “For the sake of Jesus, let us persevere on the cross.”
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Carry The Cross Bravely

Exaltation of the Holy Cross 2020
We rejoice to be able to honor this feast day with a High Mass.  The chant was full of enthusiasm and devotion which is reminder of St. Augustine’s adage that “he who sings prays twice”.  This is an ancient feast commemorating the dedication in Jerusalem of the basilica on September 14, 335.  Also, it marked the day that St. Helena had found the true Cross. The cross was the worst form of capital punishment in the Roman world but on this day, after being sanctified by the Blood of Christ, it is worthy of exaltation as Our Lord promised in the Gospel.  Constantine began this process when he used the cross as the symbol of victory at the Milvian bridge.  Emperor Heraclius exalted the true Cross after recovering it from the infidels.  We, too, will be exalted with Christ if we carry our daily crosses well.
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Draw Us To Yourself

Exaltation of the Holy Cross 2018
The feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is a renewal of Good Friday but with the emphasis on the glorifying of the instrument of our salvation. From His Holy Cross, He calls to us and draws us to Himself.  At this Mass we are meant to respond generously to this invitation and become as Tertullian described the early Christians “Cross Lovers”.  The Cross was the means by which the Church was delivered from three centuries of persecution when Constantine triumphed by it.  His mother, St. Helen, shortly after discovered the true Cross.  Centuries later the emperor restored the Cross to its basilica in Jerusalem.  All these events are remembered today and encourage us to remain faithful.
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The True Cross

Exaltation of the Holy Cross 2017

Relics of the true Cross are in our shrine and give us a link to the origins of this feast.  The Cross had its antecedents in the Old Testament but its exaltation began with Constantine’s victory under its banner.  His mother, St. Helen, discovered the true Cross and later the Emperor Herclius saved it from the Persians.  The mystery of the Cross, if known and lived, will be our path to a glorious triumph in heaven and peace and consolation during the trials and sufferings of this life.

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The Kingdom of the Cross

Exaltation of the Holy Cross 2015
We are in a battle between those who fight for the Holy Cross and those who oppose it. This day commemorates historical events which are tied to the Cross of Christ, including the conquest of Emperor Constantine, the discovery of the Cross by St. Helena, and its rescue by Emperor Heraclius from the infidel Persians. In the ancient world, the cross was a sign of shame and torture, but at the end of time it will appear in the sky as the sign of salvation to the faithful and conquest of the powers of evil.
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Our Immovable Cross

Sermon From The Feast Of
The Exultation of the Holy Cross 2014
The object which was deigned from all eternity to be the instrument of our redemption, an instrument of torture and death, is the holy sign venerated today.  The Cross of Christ should stand immovable in our souls.  On this day we celebrate the victory of the Cross over all the enemies of the Church.  St. Helena led an expedition to the Holy Land and miraculously discovered the True Cross.  History has shown that God will not be defeated.  The Sign of the Cross is a proclamation of our Faith.  It is through this sign of death that we are given life.
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Our Humiliations

Sermon From
10th Sunday After Pentecost 2014
This week we have the feasts of St. Helen and St. Bernard who entered religious life with thirty relatives and friends who accompanied him.  This is the Sunday of Humility when we remember where we came from so we do not fall.  St. Paul reminds Corinthians of their stupidity in worshiping rocks and how grace helped them.  We were called to a supernatural destiny from the beginning but Adam destroyed that for us.  Now we must overcome the inherited pride by the essential virtue of humility because unless we become like little children we shall not enter into heaven.
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