Saint Helena

The Emperor Constantine had seen a cross appear in the sky, more brilliant than the sun, upon which these words were written: *In this sign you shall conquer*; and, having effectively defeated the tyrant Maxentius by the virtue of this sign, he conceived such great esteem for it that he first took particular care to make its greatness and merit known throughout the extent of his empire. To this end, he had crosses painted on the imperial banners, in place of the eagles that were there before; he had them marked on the public coinage of the empire, and had himself represented holding in his right hand a golden globe, upon which was a cross, to signify that it was by it that the world had been redeemed. Saint Helena, mother of t his emperor, Sainte Hélène Mother of Emperor Constantine, who discovered the True Cross. had an even more particular devotion to this mystery of our salvation: by a divine impulse, as soon as the Council of Nicaea was concluded, she resolved to go in person to Jerusalem to visit the H oly Place Jérusalem Holy city where the Cross was lost and subsequently recovered. s and to seek there that salutary wood, where the Redeemer of the world had been attached.

But she did not find it without difficulty: there was no one left who knew the place where He had been placed after this divine crucified One had been taken down from it; the entire space of Calvary had been so filled with rubble that it was difficult to recognize the place of His crucifixion and His burial. She nevertheless overcame all these obstacles with the help of heaven: she learned, through revelation, that the cross had been buried in one of the vaults of the sepulcher of Our Lord, and the elders of the city, whom she consulted with great care, marked for her the place where they believed, according to the tradition of their fathers, that this precious monument was; she had them dig in this place with such ardor and diligence that she finally discovered this treasure, which divine Providence had hidden in the bowels of the earth during all the time of the persecutions, so that it would not be burned by the idolaters, and so that the world, having become Christian, could render its adorations to it. God rewarded this holy empress much more than she would have dared to hope: for, besides the cross, she also found the other instruments of the Passion, namely: the nails with which Our Lord had been attached, and the title that had been placed above His head. However, one thing caused her extreme distress: the crosses of the two thieves, crucified with Him, were also with His, and the empress had no mark to distinguish one from the others . But Saint M saint Macaire Patriarch of Jerusalem who assisted Helena in identifying the True Cross. acarius, then Patriarch of Jerusalem, who was assisting her in this action, soon resolved this new difficulty: having had all the people put to prayer, and having asked God that it might please Him to reveal to His Church which was the true instrument of its Redemption, he recognized it by the following miracle: A woman, ready to die, having been brought to the place, they had her touch the two crosses of the thieves in vain; but as soon as she approached that of the Savior of the world, she felt herself entirely healed, although her illness had resisted all human remedies until then, and she had been completely given up by the doctors.

The same day, Saint Macarius met a dead man whom a great crowd was accompanying to the cemetery. He had those who were carrying him stop and touched the corpse in vain with two of the crosses; as soon as the Savior's was brought near, the dead man rose again.

Saint Helena, Sainte Hélène Mother of Emperor Constantine, who discovered the True Cross. overjoyed to have found the treasure she had so desired, thanked God for such a great favor, and had a magnificent church built on the same site; she left there a good portion of the cross, which she had richly adorned; another portion was given to Constantinople; finally, the rest was sent to Rome, for the church that Constantine and his mother had founded in the palace of Sessorium, and which has always retained since then the name of Santa Croce in Gerusalemm L'empereur Roman emperor whose conversion ended Christian persecutions. e.

The emperor, once again signaling his respect for the sacred instrument of our salvation, in the twentieth year of his reign, forbade the crucifixion of criminals from then on, a practice which has always been observed since in Christian lands. Thus, what had been a mark of ignominy became a title of honor, and was raised upon the crowns of kings and the scepters of the greatest monarchs of the earth.

These wonders make it sufficiently known to us that God accepts the respects we pay to the cross, and that the Church was inspired by His spirit when she instituted this feast to honor its Invention. Nothing can be added to the praises that the holy Doctors have given it. We shall report some of them, for the consolation of devout souls, and to confound the heretics who profane its salutary sign. Saint John Chrysostom, in a sermon on the cross Saint Jean Chrysostome Predecessor of Tryphon cited as an example of a holy and persecuted bishop. , speaks of it in these terms: « The cross is the hope of Christians, the resurrection of the dead, the staff of the blind, the support of the lame, the consolation of the poor, the restraint of the rich, the confusion of the proud, the torment of the wicked, the trophy against hell, the instruction of the young, the rudder of pilots, the harbor of those who suffer shipwreck, and the wall of the besieged. It is the mother of orphans, the defense of widows, the counsel of the just, the rest of the afflicted, the guardian of the little ones, the light of those who dwell in darkness, the magnificence of kings, the help of those who are in indigence, the wisdom of the simple, the freedom of slaves, and the philosophy of emperors. The cross is the prediction of the Prophets, the preaching of the Apostles, the glory of the Martyrs, the abstinence of the Religious, the chastity of Virgins, and the joy of Priests. It is the foundation of the Church, the destruction of idols, the scandal of the Jews, the ruin of the impious, the strength of the weak, the medicine of the sick, the bread of those who are hungry, the fountain of those who are thirsty, and the refuge of those who are despoiled ». — « Let us engrave », says Saint Ephrem, « above our doors, on our forehead, on our mouth, on our breast, and on all other parts of our body the life-giving sign of the cross; let us clothe ourselves in this impenetrable armor of Christians: for the cross is the victory over death, the hope of the faithful, the light of the world, the key to paradise, the sword that exterminates heresies, the help of religious souls, the support of faith, the defense, the guard, and the glory of Catholics. Carry always with you, O Christian! this weapon by day and by night, in all places and at all hours; never undertake anything without making the sign of the cross. When you sleep, when you wake, when you walk, when you work, when you eat, when you drink, and when you are at sea, when you cross rivers, take this armor of the holy Cross: for, as long as you are armed with it, the evil spirits will move away from you and will not dare to approach ». — The cross, says Saint Damascene, is our shield, our defense, and our trophy against the prince of darkness. It is the sign with which we are marked, so that the exterminating angel may not strike us, and for fear that we might fall into nets where we would find our ruin. It raises those who have fallen, it supports those who are standing, it strengthens the weak, it governs the pastors; it is the guide of those who are beginning, and the perfection of those who are finishing; the health of the soul and the salvation of the body, the destruction of all evils, the cause and origin of all goods, the death of sin, the tree of life, and the source of our felicity ». Tertullian, a very ancient author, whom Saint Cyprian calls his master, teaches us what the usage of Christians was regarding the sign of the cross: « At every step we take », he says, « in entering, in leaving, when we dress, when we rise, when we sit down to table, when we sit, when light is brought to us, when we go to bed, and generally in all our actions, we make the sign of the cross on our forehead ». This example of the Christians of the first centuries should make an impression on our minds, and we should, in their imitation, continually make the sacred sign of the cross, since we learn that there is no remedy more prompt nor more assured against the trials and temptations of life.

In order that the Gentiles might more easily receive the light of the Gospel, and believe with less difficulty that God had become man to die upon a cross, one of the sibyls (who were prophetesses among the pagans) predicted, several years beforehand, by a particular providence, the wonders of this mystery with these words: *O blessed wood, upon which God shall be suspended!* and the Egyptians, in their hieroglyphs, signified by the cross health and eternal life. Socrates, autho r of a Socrate Church historian cited for events in Alexandria. Church history, writes that the Christians, in ruining the temple of Serapis, found crosses engraved on the stones of which it was built, and that many Gentiles became Christians at the sight of this wonder.

The miracles that Our Lord has performed by means of the holy Cross are so numerous that it would not be possible to report them all, especially since there has never been one performed that did not draw its origin from it, and to whose all-powerful virtue one cannot attribute it.

The Invention of the holy Cross occurred in the year 326, or, according to the chronicle of Eusebius, in 328.