Episode 3213: The Cross Exalted

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Book Recommendation of the Day
Exaltation of the Cross:
Toward the Origins of the Feast of the Cross and the Meaning of the Cross in Early Medieval Liturgy
Louis van Tongeren
A historical & liturgical study: origin, development and spread of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross; how the meaning of the cross was shaped in early medieval Western liturgy.
Scholars, liturgists, or anyone interested in the historical liturgical tradition and meaning of this feast.
So today required making a decision and that is whether the 14th Sunday after Pentecost takes priority over the Exaltation of the Cross feast day. So I had to do some research and found the following:
In the Traditional Catholic liturgical calendar (the 1962 Roman Missal and earlier), the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (September 14, Double of the Second Class) takes precedence over a Sunday after Pentecost when the two coincide.
Here’s the reasoning:
• Ranking of Feasts vs. Sundays:
o The 14th Sunday after Pentecost is a Green Sunday, of the 2nd Class.
o The Exaltation of the Holy Cross is a feast of the 2nd Class as well, but feasts of the Lord (such as the Cross, Transfiguration, Epiphany, etc.) outrank “ordinary” Sundays after Pentecost.
• Rubrical Rules (1960 Code of Rubrics, Pope John XXIII):
o A 2nd Class feast of the Lord always supersedes a Sunday of the same rank.
o Therefore, the Mass of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is celebrated instead of the Sunday Mass.

• Commemoration of the Sunday:
o The 14th Sunday after Pentecost does not disappear entirely.
o It is commemorated in the Mass of the Feast with the addition of a second Collect, Secret, and Postcommunion.
o The breviary also commemorates the Sunday at Vespers and Lauds.
So, if September 14 falls on a Sunday, in the Traditional Latin Mass you would attend the Mass of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, with a commemoration of the 14th Sunday after Pentecost.
The Cross Exalted: Humility, Victory, and the Triumph of Christ”
The Mystery of the Cross
The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross reminds us of a great paradox: the Cross, once an instrument of shame, has become the standard of victory. “O Crux ave, spes unica” Hail, O Cross, our only hope.
The Desert Fathers, those early monks who fled into the Egyptian desert in the 3rd and 4th centuries, understood this mystery deeply. They saw that Christianity cannot exist without the Cross. To be a disciple is to carry it daily.
For them, the Cross was not a decoration or a memory, but the pattern of life. They lived it in their fasting, in their temptations, in their battles with demons, and in their joyful endurance of trials. Their witness shows us how to truly exalt the Cross in our own lives, not only in liturgy but in daily fidelity.
Segment 1: The Desert Fathers on the Cross
The sayings and lives of the Desert Fathers reveal how central the Cross was to their spirituality.
• Abba Theodore of Pherme declared:
“Without temptation, no man can be saved. For whoever has not been tempted has not entered into the battle. And without battle there is no victory of the Cross.”
Here, temptation itself is seen as the arena of the Cross. Victory comes not through escape but through endurance.
• Abba Anthony the Great, the father of monasticism, told his disciples:
“Expect trials until your last breath. For it is by the Cross that joy comes into the whole world.”
For Anthony, suffering was not an interruption of Christian life, but its very essence.
• Evagrius of Pontus wrote that the monk’s life was “a daily crucifixion.” Every passion resisted, every sinful thought rejected, every fast endured was a small death with Christ that led to new life.
The Fathers lived the Cross not in theory but in practice. They saw that the path to God runs only through Golgotha.
Segment 2: Why This is Relevant Today
The message of the Cross is urgently needed in our own times.
1. A Culture That Rejects Suffering
Modern society does everything to avoid discomfort. Technology, medicine, and entertainment promise escape from pain. Yet this obsession leaves us spiritually fragile. The Desert Fathers teach us that suffering embraced with faith is not destruction, but purification.
2. The Temptation of a Cross-less Christianity
Even within the Church, there is a tendency to downplay the Cross. Many Catholics prefer consolations without sacrifice, blessings without penance, resurrection without crucifixion. The Fathers would remind us that there is no Easter without Good Friday.
3. The Meaning of Our Daily Trials
Every Catholic today carries hidden crosses illness, loneliness, financial struggles, misunderstandings, family conflicts. Our culture tells us these are meaningless burdens. The Desert Fathers remind us: these are our altars. United with Christ, every hidden suffering becomes redemptive.
Thus the Cross, far from being an obstacle, is the true path to joy.
Segment 3: Remedies from the Desert Tradition
The Desert Fathers gave concrete practices to help Christians embrace the Cross in daily life:
1. Accept Trials Without Complaint
They taught that every trial is permitted by God for our sanctification. Abba Macarius said:
“If you bear affliction patiently, you will find it a teacher.”
Complaining feeds bitterness; patience turns suffering into a share in Christ’s Cross.
2. Practice Small Acts of Self-Denial
Fasting, vigils, manual labor, even voluntary poverty these disciplines trained the Fathers to carry the greater crosses of life. We too can embrace little sacrifices fasting from food, offering our time, giving up comforts as daily nails of the Cross.
3. Meditate on the Passion
The Fathers often meditated on Christ crucified. For them, the Cross was not abstract but vivid. Today, meditating on the Stations of the Cross or the Seven Sorrows of Mary can keep the mystery alive in our hearts.
4. Link Suffering to Joy
The Fathers constantly reminded themselves that humiliation precedes exaltation. What looks like defeat is often God’s hidden victory. As Abba Anthony said, “By the Cross joy comes into the whole world.”
Segment 4: Traditional Catholic Perspective
The Desert Fathers’ teaching on the Cross resonates profoundly with traditional Catholic spirituality:
• The Liturgy of the Cross
The Traditional Latin Mass centers on the Cross. The crucifix stands on the altar; the priest offers Christ’s sacrifice anew. The faithful kneel at Calvary every Mass.
• The Rosary
Each mystery recalls the life of Christ, especially His Passion. In praying the Sorrowful Mysteries, Catholics join the Desert Fathers in contemplating the daily crucifixion of Christ and the soul.
• Our Lady of Sorrows
Mary, who stood beneath the Cross, shows us how to exalt it with fidelity and love. Her feast, coming right after the Exaltation of the Cross, reminds us that no one embraces the Cross alone.
• The Saints’ Witness
From St. Francis of Assisi bearing the stigmata, to St. John Vianney’s hidden mortifications, to St. Thérèse offering her “little sufferings” the saints prove the Cross is the path to holiness in every age.
Introduction
Praised be Jesus Christ! Today is Sunday, September 14th, 2025, the 14th Sunday after Pentecost and the great feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. This feast recalls both the finding of the True Cross by St. Helena and the restoration of the Holy Cross to Jerusalem after it was captured by the Persians. But more deeply, it reminds us that the Cross itself once an instrument of shame and execution has become the throne of victory, the sign of salvation, and the glory of the Church.
Our readings today take us directly into the paradox of the Cross: Christ humbles Himself unto death, yet is exalted above every name; Satan is cast out as Christ is lifted up on the Cross, which becomes the bridge between earth and heaven.
Epistle: Philippians 2:8–9
"Christ humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. For which cause God also hath exalted Him, and hath given Him a name which is above every name."
Reflection on the Epistle
St. Paul reveals the mystery of the Cross in two steps: humiliation and exaltation. Christ, though true God, humbled Himself to the point of dying the most shameful death known to the ancient world the crucifixion reserved for slaves and criminals. Yet precisely through this humility, He was exalted by the Father.
This Epistle is a corrective to the spirit of pride in every age. The world seeks honor, prestige, and comfort, but Christ shows us that glory comes only through obedience and sacrifice. From a traditional Catholic perspective, this is the essence of the faith: to follow Christ is to embrace the Cross. It is why we sign ourselves with it, why we place it in our homes, and why the saints kissed it in times of trial.
The Cross is not optional it is the ladder to heaven. St. John Chrysostom himself once said: “The Cross is the will of the Father, the glory of the Son, the joy of the Spirit.”
Gospel – John 12:31–36
"Now is the judgment of the world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to Myself... While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may be the children of light."
Reflection on the Gospel
In this Gospel, Christ declares that His crucifixion is not defeat but victory. By being lifted up on the Cross, He will draw all people to Himself. The Cross is both the place where Satan is cast down and where grace floods the world.
Notice the Lord’s call: “While you have the light, believe in the light.” The Cross is not only a past event—it is the light by which we live now. To believe in Christ crucified is to see reality clearly: the world judged, the devil defeated, and salvation offered.
The Fathers often described the Cross as Christ’s throne, the moment when the King reigns by giving His life. For us, this means that carrying our daily crosses whether trials, sufferings, or sacrifices is not meaningless. United to Him, they become redemptive and victorious.
Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
This feast dates back to the 4th century, when the True Cross was discovered by St. Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine. Later, in the 7th century, it was restored to Jerusalem after being taken by the Persians. Since then, the Church has celebrated this day as a triumph of the Cross over its enemies.
But its meaning is eternal. The Cross is exalted because it is the means by which Christ redeemed the world. The saints teach us that every grace flows from Calvary. To meditate on the Cross is to enter into the deepest mysteries of our faith: love, sacrifice, humility, and victory.
Application for Today
• Embrace humility: True greatness is found not in pride, but in obedience to God’s will, even when it leads to suffering.
• Live in the light of the Cross: Recognize in your daily trials the opportunity to share in Christ’s redeeming love.
• Honor the Cross publicly: Just as Christians once processed with the Cross through cities, we must not be ashamed to display it in our lives, homes, and parishes.
• Defend Tradition: The Cross reminds us that victory comes not through compromise with the world, but fidelity to Christ crucified.
Conclusionary Prayer
O God, who didst will that Thy Son should suffer death on the Cross for our salvation, grant that we who glory in the holy Cross may also take up our own daily crosses with patience and fidelity. May its power cast down the pride of the world, defeat the snares of the enemy, and draw us ever closer to Christ, who reigns from His throne of sacrifice.
Exaltation of the Holy Cross, pray for us.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, intercede for us.
Episode Theme:
The Exaltation of the Holy Cross teaches us that humiliation becomes glory, defeat becomes victory, and death becomes life when united to Christ. Let us live as children of the Cross, walking in its light until we share in its triumph.