Today, September 14th, marks the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (sometimes called the “Triumph of the Cross.”) It marks the day in 326 when St. Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, discovered the True Cross in Palestine. It also celebrates the dedication of Constantine’s two churches, that of the Anastasis and that of Golgotha Ad Crucem, both upon Calvary, within the precincts of the present church of the Holy Sepulchre. (Source: New Advent.org)  

Part of me prefers the ‘Triumph of the Cross’ name. To me it symbolizes our triumph over our addiction; since we ‘nailed it to the Cross’ of Our Lord who raised us up into a new and sober life. ‘Exaltation’ kind of works in this way, too; inasmuch as dying on the Cross marked Jesus as a ‘failure,’ given the ignominy of that type of death. And since He obviously wasn’t a ‘failure,’ but rose again after three days, so we, too, ‘rise again’ from our failure into a (hopefully) new and responsible life.

On a side note, the Feast is also known in some areas as “Holy Rood Day,” the tern “rood” coming from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘rod’ or ‘rode,’ which means ‘cross.’

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