MAY
3 - THE FINDING OF THE HOLY CROSS
By Prosper Gueranger
IT was most just that our divine King
should show himself to us with the sceptre of his power, to the end
that nothing might be wanting to the majesty of his empire. This
sceptre is . the Cross; and Paschal Time was to be the sea~n for its
being offered to him in glad homage. A few weeks back, and the Cross
was shown to us as the instrument of our Emmanuel's humiliation and
as the bed of suffering whereon he died; but has he not since then
conquered Death? and what is his Cross now but a trophy of his
victory ? Let it then be brought forth to our gaze and let every knee
bend before this sacred Wood, whereby our Jesus won the honour and
praise we now give him!
On the day of his birth at Bethlehem we
sang these words of the Prophet Isaias: A child is bom unto us, atJd
a son is given unto us, and his government is upon his shoulder.1 We
have seen him carrying this Cross upon his shoulder; as Isaac carried
the wood for his own immolation; but now it is no longer a heavy
burthen. It is shining with a brightness that ravishes the eyes of
the angels; and after having received the veneration of man as long
as the world lasts. it will suddenly appear in the clouds of heaven,
near the Judge of the living and the dead-a consolation to them that
have loved it, but a reproach to such as have treated it with
contempt or forgetfulness.
Our Saviour did not think the time
between his Resurrection and Ascension a fitting one for glorifying
the instrument of his victory. The Cross was not to be brought into
notice until it had subjected the world to him whose glory it so
eloquently proclaimed. Jesus was three days in the tomb; his Cross is
to lie buried. unknown to men, for three centuries: but it is to have
its resurrection, and the Church celebrates this resurrection to-day.
Jesus would, in his own good time, add to the joy of Easter by
miraculously revealing to us this sacred monument of his love for
mankind. He entrusts it to our keeping-it is to be our consolationas
long as this world lasts: is it not just that we should love and
venerate it ?
Never had Satan's pride met with such a
humiliation as when he saw the instrument of our perdition made the
instrument of our salvation. As the Church expresses it in her
Preface for Passion tide : • He that overcame mankind by a Tree,
was overcome by a Tree.' Thus foiled, he vented his fury upon this
saving Wood, which so bitterly reminded him both of the irresistible
power of his conqueror and of the dignity of man who had been
redeemed at so great a price. He would fain have annihilated the
Cross; but knowing that this was beyond his power, he endeavoured to
profane it, and hide it from view. He therefore instigated the Jews
to bury it. At the foot of Calvary, not far from the sepulchre, was a
deep hole. Into this was the Cross thrown, together with those of the
two thieves, the Nails, the Crown of Thorns, and the Inscription or
Title written by Pilate. The hole was then filled up with rubbish and
earth, and the Sanhedrim exulted in the thought of its having effaced
the memory of the Nazarene, who could not save himself from the
ignominious death of the Cross.
Forty years after this, Jerusalem was
destroyed by the Romans, the instruments of God's vengeance. The Holy
Places were desecrated by the idolaters. A small temple to Venus was
erected on Calvary, and another to Jupiter over the Holy Sepulchre.
By this, the pagans intended derision; whereas, they were
perpetuating the knowledge of two spots of most sacred interest. When
peace was restored under Constantine, the Christians had but to
remove these pagan monuments, and their eyes beheld the holy ground
that had been bedewed with the Blood of Jesus, and the glorious
Sepulchre. As to the Cross, it was not so easily found. The sceptre
of our divine King was to be raised up from its tomb by a royal hand.
The saintly Empress Helen, Constantine's mother, was chosen by heaven
to pay to Jesus---and that, toe·, on the very spot where he had
received his greatest humiliations---the honours which are due to him
as the King of the world. Before laying the foundations of the
Basilica of the Resurrection, this worthy follower of Magdalen and
the other holy women of the sepulchre was anxious to discover the
instrument of our salvation. The Jews had kept up the tradition of
the site where it had been buried: the Empress had the excavations
made accordingly. With what holy impatience she must have watched the
works! and with what ecstasy of joy did she behold the redeeming
Wood. which. though not at first distinguishable, was certainly one
of the three Crosses that were found! She addressed a fervent prayer
to the Saviour. who alone could reveal to her which was the trophy of
his victory; the bishop. Macarius, united his prayers with hers; and
their faith was rewarded by a miracle that left them no doubt as to
which was the true Cross.
The glorious work was accomplished, and
the Church was put in possession of the instrument of the world's
Redemption. Both East and West were fill,ed with joy at the news of
this precious discovery, which heaven had set on foot, and which gave
the last finish to the triumph of Christianity. Christ completed his
victory over the pagan world by raising thus his standard-not a
figurative one, but his own real standard-his Cross. which. up to
that time. had been a stumbling-block to the Jews, and foolishness to
the Gentiles; but before which every Christian is henceforth to bend
his knee.
Helen placed the holy Cross in the
Basilica which had been built bv her orders, and which covered both
the glorious Sepulchre and the hill of the Crucifixion. Another
Church was erected on the site where the Cross had lain concealed for
three hundred years, and the faithful are enabled, by long flights
ofsteps, to go down into the deep grotto which had been its tomb.
Pilgrims came from every part of the world to visit the hallowed
places where our Redemption had been wrought, and to venerate the
sacred Wood of the Cross. But God's merciful providence willed not
that the precious pledge of Jesus' love for mankind should be
confined to one sanctuary only, however venerable it might be.
Immediately after its discovery, Helen had a very large piece cut
from the Cross; and this fragment she destined for Rome, the new
Jerusalem. The precious gift was enshrined in the Basilica built by
her son Constantine in the Sessorian garden, which was afterwards
called the Basilica of H oly-Cross-inJerusalem.
By degrees, other places were honoured
by the presence of the Wood of the Holy Cross. So far back as the
fourth century, we have St Cyril of Jerusalem attesting that many of
the pilgrims used to obtain small pieces of it, and thus carried the
precious treasure into their respective countries; and St Paulinus of
Nola, who lived in the same century, assures us that these many gifts
lessened not the size of the original relic. In the sixth century,
the holy Queen St Radegonde obtained from the Emperor 1ustin II a
large piece from the fragment that was in 'the imperial treasury of
Constantinople. It was for the reception of this piece of the True
Cross into France that Venantius Fortunatus composed the Vexilla
Regis-that beautiful hymn which the Church uses in her Liturgy as
often as she celebrates the praise of the Holy Cross. After several
times losing and regaining it, Jerusalem was at length for ever
deprived of the precious relic. Constantinople was a gainer by
Jemsalem's loss. From Constantinople, especially during the Crusades,
many churches of the West procured large pieces. These again supplied
other places; until at length the Wood of the Cross was to be found
in almost every town of any importance. There is scarcely to be found
a Catholic who. some time or other in his life. has not had the
happiness of seeing and venerating a portion of this sacred object.
How many acts of love and gratitude have not been occasioned by this?
And who could fail to recognize. in this successive profusion of our
Jesus' Cross, a plan of divine providence for exciting us to us
appreciation of our Redemption. on which rest all our hopes of
eternal happiness ?
How dear. then. to us should this day
be, which blends together the recollection of the holy Cross and the
joys of the Resurrection of that Jesus who by the Cross has won the
throne to which we shall soon see him ascend! Let us thank our
Heavenly Father for his having restored to mankind a treasure so
immensely precious as is the Cross. Until the day comes for it to
appear with himself in the clouds of heaven. Jesus has entrusted it
to his Spouse, as a pledge of his second coming. On that day. he will
collect together all the fragments by his divine power; and the Tree
of Life will then gladden the elect with its dazzling beauty. and
invite them to eternal rest beneath its refreshing shade.
The Liturgy gives us the following
history of the great event we are celebrating to·day:
After
the great victory gained over Maxentius by the Emperor
Constantine, under the standard of our Lord's Cross; which had
been miraculously shown to him. Helen, his mother, was told in a
dream to repair to Jerusalem and search for the true Cross. Upon
her arrival. she ordered to be taken down a marble statue of
Venus. which had been erected by the Pagans some hundred and
eighty years before, in order that all memory of our Lord's
Passion might be obliterated. She did the same service for the
place where reposed the Saviour's crib, as also for the site of
the Resurrection: removing from the former an idol of Adonis, and
from the latter an idol of Jupiter.
The
place where the Cross was supposed to be having been excavated,
three crosses were discovered at a great depth below the surface;
and with them, though not attached, the Title that had been
fastened to our Lord's Cross. The doubt as to which of the three
crosses the title belonged was removed by a miracle. After having
prayed to God, ",1acarius, the bishop of Jerusalem, applied
each of the crosses to a woman who was afflicted with a dangerous
malady. The first two produced no result; the third was then
applied and the woman was restored to perfect health.
The holy Cross being thus found,
Helen built a magnificent church in Jerusalem, in which she placed
a portion of the Cross, enshrined in a silver case: the remaining
part she took to her son Constantine, and it was put in the Church
called Holy-Cross in- Jerusalem, which was built on the site of
the Sessorian palace. She also took to her son the Nails wherewith
the most holy Body of Christ Jesus had been fastened to the Cross.
Constantine passed a law that from that time forward a cross
should never be used as an instrument of punishment; and thus what
hitherto had been an object of reproach and derision became one of
veneration and glory.
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Both the Eastern and Western Churches
abound in liturgical compositions in honour of the holy Cross. We
offer our readers a selection from these, beginning with the glorious
verses of Venantius Fortunatus:
The
standard of our King comes forth; the mystery of the Cross shines
upon us-that Cross on which Life suffered death. and by his Death
gave life.
He was
pierced with the cruel spear, that by the Water and the Blood
which flowed from the wound he might cleanse us from sin.
Here on
the Cross was fulfilled the prophecy foretold in David's truthful
words: 'God hath reigned from the Tree.'
o fair
and shining Tree! beautified by the scarlet of the King. and
chosen as the noble trunk that was to touch such sacred limbs.
o
blessed Tree! on whose arms hung the ransom of the world! It was
the balance wherein was placed the Body of Jesus. and thereby hell
lost its prey.
Hail, 0
Cross! our only hope, that bringest us the Paschal joy. Increase
the grace of the good and cleanse sinners from their guilt.
May every spirit praise thee, o Holy
Trinity, thou fount of salvation! and by the Cross, whereby thou
gavest us victory, give us too our recompense. Amen.
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The Roman Church has the following
Responsories and Antiphons in her Office for this feast. They are
full of unction, and breathe a fragrance of antiquity:
~. Holy
Church celebrates the glorious day whereon wa, found the
triumphant Wood,· On which our Redeemer broke the bonds of death,
and overcame the crafty serpent, alleluia.
V.
Hanging on this Wood, the Word of the Father found the way of our
salvation. • On which our Redeemer broke the bonds of death. and
overcame the crafty serpent, alleluia.
R. This
is the noblest of all trees, and is placed in the midst of
Paradise: • On it the Author of our salvation vanquished. by his
own Death, the death of all men, alleluia.
V. It
is the Cross, dazzling in its exceeding beauty, which Helen. the
mother of Constantine, sought with all the ardour of her soul. •
On it the Author of our salvation vanquished. by his own Death,
the death of all men, Alleluia.
R.
Man's faith in Christ was strengthened, when the sacred pledge was
revealed to him by heaven: • The divine prodigies that were
prefigured of old in the rod of Moses, were renewed, alleluia.
V. The
dead rose again by the contact of the Cross. and the wondrous
works of God were made manifest. • The divine prodigies that
were prefigured of old in the rod of Moses, were renewed,
alleluia.
ANT.
Save us, 0 Saviour Christ, by the power of the Cross! 0 thou that
didst save Peter on the waters, have mercy on us, alleluia. .
ANT.
Behold- the Cross of the Lord; fiee, 0 ye his enemies, for the
Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath conquered,
alleluia.
ANT. 0
Tree loftier than all cedars I whereon hung the Life of the world,
and Christ triumphed, and death conquered death for ever,
alleluia.
ANT. 0 Cross I brighter than all
stars, honoured throughout the world, beloved by men, holiest of
holy things, that alone wast worthy to bear the ransom of the
world I 0 sweet Wood I o sweet nails I that bore so sweet a weight
I save the people assembled here this day to sing thy praise!
Alleluia, alleluia.
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Our Latin Churches of the Middle Ages
are fervent in their hymns in honour of the holy Cross. The first we
select is the celebrated sequence of Adam of Saint-Victor:
SEQUENCE
Let us
proclaim the praises of the Cross, we who have so special a reason
to exult in it; for it is in the Cross that we triumph, and gain
the victory of life over our fierce enemy.
Let our
sweet melodies reach the heavens, for our faith tells us that this
sweet Wood is worthy of sweet songs. Oh! let not our life be out
of tune with our voice. When our voice is not a reproach to the
life we lead, then is our music sweet.
Let the
servants of the Cross praise the Cross, whereby they have been
blessed with the gifts of life. Let each and all thus sing: Hail,
thou saving Tree, thou salvation of the world!
Oh how
honoured and how grand was this altar of. salvation. that was
crimsoned with the Blood of the spotless Lamb, who purified the
world from its old iniquity I
This is
the ladder of sinners, whereby Christ. the King of heaven. draws
all things to himself. Its very shape shows that it takes in the
four parts of the earth.
The
Cross is not a new mystery. nor does the honour that is paid it
date from modern times. It was the Cross that made the bitter
waters sweet; it was with the Cross that Moses struck the rock.
and made the waters flow.
There
was no protection in the house of him who marked not the
door-posts with the Cross. But he that so marked them neither felt
the destroying sword. nor lost his first-born son.
The
poor woman of Sarephta found her salvation whilst picking sticks.
Without the Wood of faith. there is nor oil nor meal.
These
were blessings of the Cross. hidden under scriptural figures. but
now made manifest to the world. Kings have embraced the faith, and
enemies are put to flight. With the Cross alone. under the leader
Christ. one man routs a thousand.
Rome
beheld Maxentius and all his fleet drowned in the deep. The
Thracians were dispersed. the Persians slaughtered, and the leader
of the hostile troops vanquished.
The
Cross ever gives courage and victory to its soldiers; cure all
disease and sickness; check, the devil; sets captives free; gives
newness of life; restores all things to their former dignity.
Hail, 0
Cross, triumphant Wood, the world's true salvation! ~o tree can
yield such shade or flower or fruit as thine. o Medicine of
Christian life! keep the healthy strong, and give health to the
sick. What man cannot, of his own strength, he can do in thv name.
o thou
that madest the Cross thus sacred. hear the prayers of them that
celebrate the praises of thy Cross. We are 'the servants- of thy
Cross-Oh! take us, after this life. to the courts of true light.
Grant that we who honour the instrument of thy sufferings, may
escape the sufferings of hell: and when the day of thy wrath
comes, give us to enjoy eternal bliss.
Amen.
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The following hymn is taken from the
ancient Roman French Breviaries for this feast:
HYMN
Hail,
holy Cross! Hail, thou the world's glory! our true hope, that
bringest us true joy, the standard of salvation, our protection in
danger, the living Tree, that bearest him who is the life of all !
o sweet
glory of the world ! we who were redeemed on thee, tire not in
praising and hymning thee as the adorable and life giving Cross.
We were made slaves by a tree; by thee, 0 Tree, were we made
freedmen.
Thou. 0
Christ, didst slay original sin on thy Cross: by thy holy Cross,
cleanse us from our own guilty stains, have pity on our human
frailty, and grant pardon to them that have fallen.
By the
sign of the Cross. protect, save, bless, sanctify thy whole
people; avert from them every malady of body and mind; let no
danger prevail against this sign.
Praise to God the Father from the
Cross of his Son ! praise coequal be to the Holy Ghost I May the
Finding of the Cross be a joy to the angel citizens of heaven, and
a glory to the world! Amen.
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From the liturgical compositions
produced by the Greek Church in honour of the holy Cross. we select
the following Canon, or hymn. It was written by St Theodore the
Studite:
HYMN
This is
a day of joy I At Christ's Resurrection death disappeared, and
life was seen in all its splendour. Adam, who rises again, exults
with joy. Let us, therefore, rejoice and sing our hymn of triumph.
.
The day
for the adoration of the precious Cross has arrived. Come, all. ye
faithful I It is exposed before us, and it sends
forth
the bright rays of Christ's Resurrection. Filled. therefore. with
spiritual joy, let us embrace and kiss it.
o Cross
of my Lord. thy glory is immense! Show me now the divine face of
thy beauty. Vouchsafe that I who venerate thee may sing thy
praises. speak with thee as though thou wert ·a living thing, and
I embrace thee.
Let
heaven and earth unite in singing its praise, for the most holy
Cross is shown to all, the Cross on which Christ was fastened and
sacrificed. Let us joyfully approach and kiss it.
The
saintly Moses of old prefigured thy Cross, 0 Christ. when,
dividing the waters with his rod, he led the Israelite people
through the Red Sea, and sang a canticle of praise to thee in
celebration of the going forth from Egypt.
Thy
Cross, 0 Lord, which we kiss to-day, was prefigured by Moses, when
he stretched forth his arms; by it, we put our spiritual Amalec to
flight; by it also we are saved.
To-day
there is joy in heaven and on earth, because there shines upon the
world the sign of the thrice blessed Cross. Its sight is a source
of unceasing grace to us.
What
return shall we make to thee, 0 Christ, for thy having permitted
us to adore thy venerable Cross, on which thy most· holy Blood
was shed, and to which thy Flesh was fastened with nails? We kiss
it and give thee thanks.
The
angelic hosts exult with joy because of the adoration of thy
Cross; for on it, 0 Christ, thou didst wound the demon troop and
save mankind.
The
Church has been made a second Paradise, which, like the first,
possesses a Tree of Lifethy Cross, 0 Lord-by whose contact we are
made immortal.
The
prophecy of the Psalmist is fulfilled: for lo ! we adore the
footstool of thy divine feet, thy venerable Cross, the much loved
Wood.
The
Wood which Jeremias saw put in thy bread is thy Cross, 0 merciful
Redeemer! We kiss it, and honour thy chains, and tomb, and spear,
and nails.
On this
day a sweet odour IS exhaled from the thurible of heaven-the
Cross, perfumed with a life-giving ointment. Let us inhale this
fragrance of heaven; let us ever venerate it with faith.
Tell
us, 0 Eliseus! what is the wood thou didst put in the water? It is
the Cross of Christ, which drew us from the depths of spiritual
death. Let us ever venerate it with faith.
Jacob
prefigured thy Cross of old, 0 Christ, when he adored the top of
Joseph's mysterious rod. He foresaw that it was to be the
venerable sceptre of thy kingdom. Let us now adore it with ever
faithful hearts.
The
great prophet Daniel, when cast into the lions' den, stretched
forth his hands in the form of a Cross; he was saved from the jaws
of the wild beasts, and for ever blessed Christ our God.
Let all
the trees of the forest sing a glad hymn, for on this day they
beheld one of themselves, the Tree of the Cross, being honoured
with kisses and embraces. This is the Tree whose head was lifted
up by Christ, as holy David foretold.
I,
whose death was caused by a tree, have found thee, 0 Tree of Life,
0 Cross that bearest Christ' Thou art my invincible defence, my
power protecting me against Satan. I venerate thee this day, and
exclaim: 'Sanctify me by thy glory"
Rejoice and be glad, O Church of
God, that adorest this day the thrice blessed Wood of the most
holy Cross, round which the very angels stand ministering in awe.
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Christ Crucified is the power and
wisdom of God.! Thus spoke thine Apostle, 0 Jesus! and we are
witnesses of the truth of his words. The Synagogue thought to
dishonour thee by nailing thee to a Cross, for it was written in the
Law: Cursed is he that hangeth on a tree. But, lo! this gibbet, this
tree of infamy. is become the trophy of thy grandest glory! Far from
dimming the splendour of thy Resurrection, the Cross enhances the
brilliance of thy magnificent triumph. Thou wast attached to the
Wood-thou tookest on thyself the curse that was due to us,. thou wast
crucified between two thieves; thou wast reputed a"s an
impostor, and thine enemies insulted thee ill- thine agony on this
bed of suffering. Hadst thou been but man, 0 Son of David! all this
would have disgraced thy name and memory; the Cross would have been
the ruin of thy past glory: but thou art the Son of God, and it is
the Cross that proves it. The whole world venerates thy Cross. It was
the Cross that brought the world into submission to thee. The honours
that are now paid it more than make amends for the insults that were
once offered it. Men are not wont to venerate a cross; but if they
do, it is the Cross on which their God died. Oh! blessed be he that
hung upon the Tree! And do thou, de~rest crucified Jesus! in return
for the homage we pay to thy Cross, fulfil the promise thou madest
us: And I, ill be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things unto
myself.l
That thou mightest the more effectually
draw us, thou this day permittedst us to find the very Wood, whereon
thou didststretch forth thy divine arms to embrace us. Thou hast
deigned to give us this holy instrument of thy victory which is to
shine near .thee in the heavens on the day of judgement; thou hast
mercifully confided it to (,lUr keeping, in order that we might
thence derive a salutary fear of divine Justice, which demanded
thy.death on this Wood in atonement for our sins. Thou also gavest us
this most precious relic, that it might excite us to a devoted love
for thee, o divine Victim! who, that we might be blessed, didst take
upon thyself the maledictions due to our sins. The whole world is
offering thee to-day its fervent thanks for so inestimable a gift.
Thy Cross, by being divided into countless fragments, ~ in all
places, consecrating and protecting by its· presence every country
of the Christian world.
Oh..! that we had St Helen's spirit,
dear Jesus. and knew. as she did. the breadth. and length. and
height, and depth of the mystery of thy Cross.2 Her love of the
mystery made her so earnest in her search for the Cross. And how
sublime is the spectacle offered to us by this holy Empress! She
adorns thy glorious Sepulchre; she raises thy Cross from its grave;
who was there, that ever proclaimed with such solemnity as this, the
Paschal Mystery? The Sepulchre cries out to us: • He is risen: he
is not here!' The Cross exclaims: • I held him captive but for a
few passing hours: he is not here! He is resplendent in the glory of
his Resurrection!' o ~ross! 0 Sepulchre ! how brief was the period of
his humiliation. and how grand the kingdom he won by you! We will
adore in you the place where his feet stood.1 making you the
instruments of our Redemption. and thereby endearing you to our
respectful love for ever. Glory. then. be to thee. 0 Cross! dear
object of this day's festival! Continue to protect this world where
our Jesus has left thee. Be its shield against Satan. Help us to
remember that union of sacrifice and triumph which will support us in
all our crosses. for it is by thee. 0 Cross! that Christ conquers.
and reigns, and commands. CHRISTUS VINCIT, CHRISTUS REGNAT, CHRISTUS
IMPERAT.
