Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

by Fr. Don Kline, V.F.  |  09/14/2025  |  Letter from the Pastor

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross has special meaning for me. The year was 1987 and I was just accepted as a seminarian for the Diocese of Phoenix. On September 14th that same year, Pope John Paul II was in Phoenix. He had a Mass with about 80,000 people and I was able to be an altar server for that Mass!

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross has special meaning for me. The year was 1987 and I was just accepted as a seminarian for the Diocese of Phoenix. On September 14th that same year, Pope John Paul II was in Phoenix. He had a Mass with about 80,000 people and I was able to be an altar server for that Mass!

As we honor the Holy Cross by which Christ redeemed the world, I recall the pope’s visit to Phoenix as both transformative and inspirational for so many. As a young seminarian, I was beginning to see the faith on a scale that I had never experienced before. Standing in ASU stadium with so many Catholics under the shadow of the cross that was built for this Mass in the middle of the stadium will always be for me a of reminder of the unique power of the Cross. I was struck by those who were suffering who found hope and healing in the Real Presence of Our Lord that day.

Public veneration of the Cross of Our Lord Jesus is hardly new. This tradition originated in the fourth century. As history books show, the miraculous discovery of the cross on September 14, 326, by Saint Helen, mother of Constantine, happened while she was on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. This discovery became the origin of the tradition of celebrating the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross.

There was a church that was built by Constantine that would be called the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It was built on the site where she discovered the Cross. According to traditions dating to the fourth century, the church contains both the site where Jesus was crucified at Calvary, or Golgotha, and the location of Jesus's empty tomb, where Our Lord was buried and rose from the dead. Both locations are considered immensely holy sites by Christians. St. Helen was also inspired to have two other churches constructed: one in Bethlehem near the Grotto of the Nativity, the other on the Mount of the Ascension, near Jerusalem.

As Catholics, we know the Cross of Christ to be the instrument of our salvation. On Good Friday, we venerate of the Cross in adoration of Jesus Christ, who suffered and died on this Roman instrument of torture for our redemption from sin and death. As we mark ourselves with the sign of the cross before and after every prayer, our hearts and minds are meant to recall the Cross which represents the One Sacrifice by which Jesus, obedient even unto death, accomplished our salvation.

The Cross conveys the Passion, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ all in one glance. The Cross of Our Lord Jesus is the most potent and universal symbol of the Christian faith because of what it represents. Many devotions and expressions of our faith are conveyed in the Sign of the Cross, which recalls the Holy Trinity. There is also the “little” Sign of the Cross on head, lips and heart at the reading of the Gospel. During Lent, we make a special effort to pray the Stations of the Cross. And of course the Veneration of the Cross on Good Friday in which we express our love for Our Savior crucified.

Expressions of our faith often include hanging a crucifix (the cross with an image of Christ’s body upon it) in churches and homes, in classrooms of Catholic schools and in other Catholic institutions. One can also wear this image, is a constant reminder and witness of Christ’s ultimate triumph, His victory over sin and death through His suffering and dying on the Cross.

We remember Our Lord’s words, “He who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake shall find it” (Mt 10:38,39). Let us pray that we may be given the strength to unite our hearts and minds with Our Lord’s obedience and His sacrifice. On this powerful feast day, may we rejoice in this tremendous gift through which we have the hope of salvation and the promise of everlasting life.

God Bless,

Fr. Don Kline