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Saint for the Day - May 3 - The Discovery of the
Holy Cross
God having restored
peace to His Church, by exalting Constantine the
Great to the imperial throne, that pious prince, who
had triumphed over his enemies by the miraculous
power of the cross, was very desirous of expressing
his veneration for the holy places which had been
honored and sanctified by the presence and
sufferings of our blessed Redeemer on earth, and
accordingly resolved to build a magnificent church
in the city of Jerusalem. St. Helen, the emperor's
mother, desiring to visit the holy places there,
undertook a journey into Palestine in 326, though at
that time near eighty years of age; and on her
arrival at Jerusalem was inspired with a great
desire to find the identical cross on which Christ
had suffered for our sins. But there was no mark or
tradition, even amongst the Catholics, to show
where it lay.
The heathens, out of an aversion to Catholicity,
had done what they could to conceal the place where
Our Saviour was buried, by heaping on it a great
quantity of stones and rubbish, and building on it a
temple to Venus. They had, moreover, erected a
statue of Jupiter in the place where Our Saviour
rose from the dead. Helen, to carry out her pious
design, consulted every one at Jerusalem and near it
whom she thought likely to assist her in finding out
the cross; and was credibly informed that, if she
could find out the sepulchre, she would likewise
find the instruments of the punishment; it being the
custom among the Jews to make a hole near the place
where the body of a criminal was buried, and to
throw into it whatever belonged to his execution.
The pious empress, therefore, ordered the profane
buildings to be pulled down, the statues to be
broken in pieces, and the rubbish to be removed;
and, upon digging to a great depth, the holy
sepulchre, and near it three crosses, also the nails
which had pierced Our Saviour's body, and the title
which had been fixed to His cross, were found. By
this discovery they knew that one of the three
crosses was that which they were in quest of, and
that the others belonged to the two malefactors
between whom Our Saviour had been crucified. But, as
the title was found separate from the cross, it was
difficult to distinguish which of the three crosses
was that on which our divine Redeemer consummated
His sacrifice for the salvation of the world. In
this perplexity the holy Bishop Macarius, knowing
that one of the principal ladies of the city lay
extremely ill, suggested to the empress to cause the
three crosses to be carried to the sick person, not
doubting but God would discover which was the cross
they sought for. This being done, St. Macarius
prayed that God would have regard to their faith,
and, after his prayer, applied the crosses singly to
the patient, who was immediately and perfectly
recovered by the touch of one of the three crosses,
the other two having been tried without effect. St.
Helen, full of joy at having found the treasure
which she had so earnestly sought and so highly
esteemed, built a church on the spot, and lodged the
cross there with great veneration, having provided
an extraordinarily rich case for it.
She afterwards carried part of it to the Emperor
Constantine, then at Constantinople, who received it
with great veneration; another part she sent or
rather carried to Rome, to be placed in the church
which she had built there, called Of the Holy Cross
of Jerusalem, where it remains to this day. The
title was sent by St. Helen to the same church, and
placed on the top of an arch, where it was found in
a case of lead in 1492. The inscription in Hebrew,
Greek, and Latin is in red letters, and the wood was
whitened. Thus it was in 1492; but these colors are
since faded. Also the words Jesus and Judæorum are
eaten away. The board is nine, but must have been
twelve, inches long. The main part of the cross St.
Helen inclosed in a silver shrine, and committed it
to the care of St. Macarius, that it might be
delivered down to posterity, as an object of
veneration. It was accordingly kept with singular
care and respect in the magnificent church which she
and her son built in Jerusalem.
St. Paulinus relates that, though chips were almost
daily cut off from it and given to devout persons,
yet the sacred wood suffered thereby no diminution.
It is affirmed by St, Cyril of Jerusalem,
twenty-five years after the discovery, that pieces
of the cross were spread all over the earth; he
compares this wonder to the miraculous feeding of
five thousand men, as recorded in the Gospel. The
discovery of the cross must have happened about the
month of May, or early in the spring; for St. Helen
went the same year to Constantinople, and from
thence to Rome, where she died in the arms of her
son on the 18th of August, 326.
Saint for the Day - The Discovery of the Holy Cross
Read about the Saint for today - May 3 and spare a thought for family or friends who might suffering from ill health or are experiencing times of trouble.
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Daily Reflection
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In every pious undertaking the
beginning merely does not
suffice. "Whoso shall persevere
unto the end, he shall be
saved." |
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Saint for the Day Website
We hope that you gain spiritual knowledge and inspiration reading about the saint for today - May 3. An online Catholic resource providing a short Reflection for the year ahead. Use these short, inspiring words to request guidance or assistance for yourself and for the sake of others. |
