Every so often, a major feast in our calendar takes precedence over our regular Sunday cycle of readings. When this happens, we are given an opportunity to experience the feast that we might normally miss when it falls on a weekday. This weekend is a wonderful example of this as we celebrate the “Exaltation of the Cross”, or, as it is sometimes known, “the Triumph of the Cross”. So, what exactly are we celebrating with this feast…?

We can begin with some essentials. Today’s feast is a reminder that the cross is the Christian symbol and this is so because the cross is at the heart of our faith. After all, what is the first prayer that we learn…? It is the sign of the cross. What do we usually do when we enter a church? We bless ourselves with holy water and make the sign of the cross as we do so. We receive the blessing at the end of the Mass with the sign of the cross. We usually begin and conclude our prayers with the sign of the cross. Many of us wear a cross, not just as an item of jewelry or bling, but as a sign of our faith and that we are disciples of the Lord, crucified and risen for us. Then there have been all those controversies about the removal of crosses in classrooms, or when a speaker is coming to a college commencement or ceremony. A few years ago, an employee of an airline was fired because she refused to remove the cross that she wore to work (she later won her appeal against this action in the European Court of Human Rights).

True, the cross is the Christian sign; but it is so much more than just a sign: it is a living and potent symbol, full of meaning and significance. It takes us into a deeper reality: we become part of Jesus’ own death and resurrection, for “the cross has become the tree of life for us”. This is expressed in one of the Mystery of Faith responses we say at Mass: “save us Saviour of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free.” Indeed, one writer, Saint John of Damascus has expressed the deeper and symbolic mystery of the cross in this way:

The cross is a shield and a trophy of victory,
it is the promise that we will not be overcome by death.
The cross is God’s instrument to lift up those who have fallen
and to support those who are still on their feet.
The cross is our constant goal as we advance,
the very well-spring of our body and soul.
It is indeed the seed of the Resurrection and the tree of life eternal.

Jesus asks us to take up our cross and follow him (cf. Matthew 16: 24). Often we can be perplexed or even fearful of such a demand because we, or those we love, have experienced heavy crosses; perhaps even crosses almost too much to bear. Who would willingly wish to do this…to take up a cross…? Thinking of this, back in the 1980s, one of the Christian denominations employed a well-known advertising company to help them rebrand or repackage their message to attract more people to the church. After much deliberation, the advertising executives solemnly told the church leaders that the first thing that they needed to do would be to get rid of their brand symbol, that is the cross or crucifix! “It is just not appealing or attractive”, they said. “How can you use an instrument of cruel execution and pain to attract people to buy into your product?”

We can smile at this, but under the misunderstanding of those executives there is a point about the “scandal” of the cross. However, today’s feast celebrates the exaltation or the triumph of the cross, or, what we might call the passage from Good Friday to Easter Sunday. We celebrate not suffering, or hurt, nor an instrument of cruel execution, but rather the one who died and rose for us and who has shown us the way to journey from trials and suffering to life and joy. This is why we venerate the cross on Good Friday and in fact, why we can truthfully call Good Friday “good”! After all, how often have we heard someone say when speaking of a crisis in life, “if it was not for my faith, I could not have got through it.”

Over the centuries many forms of the cross have developed, both in religious orders and with heraldry. We have the “Franciscan cross” shaped like the letter “T”, based on the letter tau, the last letter in the Hebrew alphabet. It is thought to be the mark given to those chosen by God (see: Ezekiel 9: 4). St. Francis adopted it as his seal or signature, for this form of the cross symbolizes the journey of life and the need for continual conversion. It is a reminder of the commitment to follow Christ, who is the poor one, crucified for us. There is also the medal of St. Benedict, with its distinctive cross, letters and symbols. This form of the cross focusses on the deliverance from evil and the petition for healing and protection.

We can think of the distinctive image of the Jerusalem Cross, as used by the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. This form has one large, central cross, with four smaller crosses, one placed in each quadrant. There are several interpretations of the symbolism here. One is that the four smaller crosses represent the four evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) and the call for all Christians to spread the Gospel to the four corners of the earth. Another meaning is that the five crosses represent the five wounds of Christ on the cross (his hands, his feet and his side). Of course, we also have the Maltese Cross. As with the Franciscan cross or the Jerusalem Cross, the “Cross of the Order of Malta” is the central symbol associated with the Order. The summary, on our Order’s website, explains well the meaning of this form of the cross:

The eight points symbolize the eight Beatitudes according to Saint Matthew and the eight virtues that a member of the Order must possess: loyalty, piety, honesty, courage, honor and glory, contempt for death, solidarity towards the poor and the sick, respect for the Church.

When a new Knight or Dame is invested, the cross of the Order is held up and the following is said:
“We give you this Cross of the Order, the sign of Christ’s passion, of his love for all. Let is always inspire you in love of your neighbor. Cherish and defend the cross.”

Let us conclude our brief reflection with an excerpt a traditional hymn written over 1400 years ago (and often sung on Good Friday) that speaks about this triumph or exaltation of the cross:

Faithful cross the saints relied on,
noble tree beyond compare!
Never was there such a scion,
never leaf or flower so rare.
Sweet the timber, sweet the iron,
sweet the burden that they bare!

May we experience and live this triumph and exaltation of the Cross. We can do this both in terms of remembering always what the Lord has done for us but, also, as we face the cross in those trials and tribulations in our life or in the life of those we love, we can draw on the power of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Finally, like St. Simon of Cyrene, let us help others to carry their crosses.

Very Rev. Msgr. Anthony M. Barratt, STL, PhD, EV, ChM