Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:
The Feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross, celebrated every year on September 14, recalls three historical events: the finding of the True Cross by Saint Helena [18 August], the mother of the emperor Constantine; the dedication of churches built by Constantine on the site of the Holy Sepulchre & Mount Calvary; & the resurrection of the True Cross to Jerusalem by the emperor Heraclius II. But in a deeper sense, the feast also celebrates the Holy Cross as the instrument of our salvation.Quoth St. John Chrysostom, Bishop & Doctor of the Church [13 September]:
"Kings removing their diadems take up the cross, the symbol of their Savior's death; on the purple, the cross; in their prayers, the cross; on their armor, the cross; on the holy table, the cross; throughout the universe, the cross. The cross shines brighter than the sun."'Tis also the festival of Saint Notburga (circa 1265-1313, of Rattenberg, of Eben, of Tyrol): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.
'Tis also the festival of Saint Louis Gabriel Taurin Dufresse, Bishop & Martyr, M.E.P. (1750-1815), martyred in the reign of the Jiaqing Emperor, one of the One Hundred Twenty Martyr Saints of China: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link CXX.
Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross
The Book of Numbers, chapter twenty-one, verses four(b) thru nine;
Psalm Seventy-eight, verses one(b,c) & two, thirty-four & thirty-five, thirty-six & thirty-seven, & thirty-eight;
The Letter to Philippians, chapter two, verses six thru eleven;
The Gospel according to John, chapter three, verses thirteen thru seventeen.
Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, today we celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. How strange this feast would have sounded to someone in the ancient world! The triumph of the cross! It would have been analogous to someone speaking today of the triumph of the electric chair or the exaltation of the noose.tout court, then we should all go home.
The cross terrified people in Greco-Roman times, and that was the point. The cross was state-sponsored terrorism, a form of capital punishment reserved for those who had in the most egregious ways undermined the authority of the Roman state.
So why in the heck are we celebrating the cross's triumph? There is only one possible explanation, and that is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. All the attempts to soft-pedal and explain away the resurrection are ruled out by this feast. If Jesus was a victim of that terrible cross
Once they had taken in the experience of the resurrection, the first Christians turned with rapt attention to the cross, convinced that in it they would find something decisive. Somehow, in the strange providence of God, that cross was ingredient in the very process by which God would save the world.Tout court means, "with no addition or qualification; simply," elsewhere, "quite short; & nothing else; simply; period." I mention this because I did not know; I had to look it up.
Video reflection by Father Don Miller, O.F.M.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Bible Study—Proverbs in a Month
The Book of Proverbs, chapter fourteen (verses one thru thirty-five).
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