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Illustration: CAMILLUS HOUSE
By: Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.
Volume 14.
Time After Pentecost.
Book V.
“Through Thee, The Precious Cross is honoured and worshipped throughout the World.” [Cyril of Alexandria. Hom. iv. Ephesi habita.]
Thus did Saint Cyril of Alexandria apostophise Our Lady on the morrow of that great day, which saw her Divine Maternity vindicated at Ephesus.
Eternal Wisdom has willed that the Octave of Mary’s birth should be honoured by the Celebration of this Feast of the Triumph of The Holy Cross.
The Cross, indeed, is the Standard of God’s Armies, whereof Mary is the Queen; it is by The Cross that she crushes the serpent’s head, and wins so many victories over error, and over the enemies of the Christian Name.
“By this Sign, thou shalt conquer.” Satan had been suffered to try his strength against The Church by persecution and tortures; but his time was drawing to an end.
By the Edict of Sardica, which emancipated the Christians, Galerius, when about to die, acknowledged the powerlessness of Hell. Now was the time for Christ to take the offensive, and for His Cross to prevail.
Towards the close of 311 A.D., a Roman army lay at the foot of the Alps, preparing to pass from Gaul into Italy. Constantine, its Commander, thought only of revenging himself for an injury received from Maxentius, his political rival; but his soldiers, as unsuspecting as their Chief, already belonged henceforward to the Lord of Hosts.
The Son of The Most High, having become, as Son of Mary, King of this World, was about to reveal Himself to His First Lieutenant, and, at the same time, to discover to His first army the Standard that was to go before it.
Above the Legions, in a cloudless sky, The Cross, proscribed
for three very long Centuries, suddenly shone forth; all eyes beheld it, making the Western Sun, as it were, its footstool, and surrounded with these words in characters of fire:
“IN HOC VINCE: BY THIS BE THOU CONQUEROR !”
A few months later, 27 October 312 A.D., all the idols
of Rome stood aghast to behold, approaching along the Flaminian Way, beyond the Bridge Milvius, the Labarum [Editor: Imperial Standard/Flag] with its Sacred Monogram, now become the Standard of the Imperial Armies.
On the morrow was fought the decisive battle, which opened the gates of the Eternal City to Christ, The Only God, The Everlasting King.
“Hail, O Cross, formidable to all enemies, bulwark of The Church, strength of Princes; hail in thy triumph ! The Sacred Wood still lay hidden in the earth, yet it appeared in the Heavens announcing victory; and an Emperor, become Christian, raised it up from the bowels of the Earth.”
Thus sang the Greek Church, yesterday, in preparation for the joys of today; for the East, which has not our peculiar Feast of 3 May [Editor: Feast Day Of The Finding Of The Holy Cross], Celebrates on this one Solemnity both the overthrow of idolatry by the sign of Salvation revealed to Constantine and his army, and the discovery of The Holy Cross a few years later in the cistern of Golgotha.
But another Celebration, the memory of which is fixed by the Menology on 13 September, was added in 335 A.D. to the happy recollections of this day; namely, the Dedication of the Basilicas raised by Constantine on Mount Calvary and over the Holy Sepulchre, after the precious discoveries made by his mother, Saint Helena.
In the very same Century that witnessed all these events, a pious Pilgrim, thought to be Saint Silvia, sister of Rufinus, the Minister of Theodosius and Arcadius, attested that the anniversary of this Dedication was Celebrated with the same Solemnity as Easter and the Epiphany.
There was an immense concourse of Bishops, Clerics, Monks, and Seculars of both sexes, from every Province; and the reason, she says, is that “The Cross was found on this day”; which motive had led to the choice of the same day for the primitive Consecration, so that the two joys might be united into one.
Through not being aware of the nearness of the Dedication of the Anastasia, or Church of The Resurrection, to the Feast of The Holy Cross, many have misunderstood the discourse pronounced on this Feast by Sophronius, the Holy Patriarch of Jerusalem.
“It is the Feast of The Cross; who would not exult ? It is the triumph of The Resurrection; who would not be full of joy ? Formerly, The Cross led to The Resurrection; now, it is The Resurrection that introduces us to The Cross.
Resurrection and Cross: Trophies of our Salvation !” [Sophronius. In exaltat. venerandæ crucis.] And the Pontiff and Patriarch of Jerusalem then developed the instructions resulting from this connection.
It appears to have been about the same time that the West also began to unite in a certain manner these two great Mysteries; leaving to 14 September the other memories of The Holy Cross, the Latin Churches introduced into Paschal Time a special Feast of The Finding Of The Wood Of Redemption.
In compensation, the present Solemnity acquired a new lustre to its character of triumph by the contemporaneous events which, as we shall see, form the principal subject of the historical legend in the Roman Liturgy.
A Century earlier, Saint Benedict had appointed this day for the commencement of the period of Penance known as the “Monastic Lent”, which continues till the opening of Lent proper, when the whole Christian Army joins the ranks of the Cloister in the campaign of Fasting and Abstinence.
“The Cross”, says Saint Sophronius, “is brought before our minds; who will not crucify himself ? The true worshipper of The Sacred Wood is he who carries out his worship in his deeds.”
The historical legend in the Roman Liturgy, referred to above, regales Emperor Heraclius regaining The Cross from the Persians and then attempting to replace it on Calvary, from whence the Persians had stolen it.
Carrying The Cross, himself, Heraclius attempted to pass through the gate leading up to Calvary. He found himself totally unable to walk or move through the gate.
It was not until he was told by Zacharias, the Bishop of Jerusalem, that, unlike the poverty and humility of Jesus Christ when He carried The Cross, Haraclius was clothed in Emperor’s Gold Robes and adorned with Precious Stones.
Haraclius immediately laid aside his magnificent apparel and, walking barefoot and clothed in mean attire, he easily completed carrying The Cross and replacing it in the same place on Mount Calvary, whence it had been carried off by the Persians.
The victory thus chronicled in the Sacred Books of The Church was not, O Cross, thy last triumph; nor were the Persians thy latest enemies. At the very time of the defeat of these fire-worshippers (Editor: The Persians], the Prince of Darkness was raising up a new Standard; the Crescent.
By the permission of God, Whose Ensign thou art, and Who, having come on Earth to struggle like us, flees not befoe any foe, Islam also was about to try its strength against thee: A two-fold power, the Sword and the Seduction of the Passions.
But, here again, alike in the secret combats between the Soul and Satan, as in the great battles recorded in history, the final success was due to the weakness and folly of Calvary.
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