The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

But we preach Christ crucified[1]

In the homily delivered in the Cathedral St. George of Saint-Hubert at the end of the Divine Liturgy, His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian referred to the complex meaning of the great Christian feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross placed at the beginning of the liturgical year:

“Today's Gospel tells us how the Son of God was judged and crucified: a seemingly sad story for us. But it is in fact a radiating joy, which the name of the feast also indicates - the Exaltation of the Holy Cross being the historical reason. Why would the cross be foolishness to the pagan nations? The explanation can be found in today's Gospel, which testifies to the divine identity of Christ as the Son of God. The Hebrews of Christ's days were upset by this statement. But His identity is confirmed by miracles done. He showed that He is the Master of life and death, through miracles done - healings and resurrections of the dead.

Today's Gospel emphasizes that Christ is the sinless Son of God. Pilate in turn confirms the absence of a charge against Jesus. The Hebrews insist that Christ be killed. The Lord is silent to to the question asked by Pilate: ‘Then Pilate said to Him, Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You? Jesus answered, You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore, the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.’[2] Christ’s death is not the end. On the third day He rose from the dead. His resurrection becomes the joy of the apostles and later of all Christians.

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross represents a deep meditation on our vision of the world. This feast takes place at the beginning of the liturgical year for historical reasons. The death of the One who had promised eternal life, from a human point of view, appeared to be a failure. But truly it turned out to be the definitive reopening of the gates of Heaven and the victory over the devil.”

At the end of the homily, the hierarch of Canada reiterated the reasons for the importance of this great feast:

“We cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven without following the examples of the saints who are our role models, without a desire for fellowship with God, without making a certain sacrifice, without having love and faith. Access to Heaven is not automatic. The Cross is the sign that we look on unceasingly to remember the work of God throughout the year. Therefore, it is celebrated at the start of the liturgical year. We cannot lead a Christian life without one of the arms of the Cross - the vertical one and the horizontal one. This festival is therefore important for its precise historical reasons. The feast of the Exaltation of the Cross was established in 326 thanks to the joy of its discovery. But the feast also has its spiritual reasons because it indicates and marks the way and the character of the way that we must travel in the Church if we want to come closer to God and to his Kingdom.”

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[1] 1 Corinthians 1, 23

[2] John 19, 10-11