This past Sunday we celebrated the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. Every year it is celebrated on September 14, and this year, because the 14th fell on a Sunday, the feast ranked higher than an ordinary Sunday. But why do Catholics celebrate an instrument of torture and death?

If you had asked a contemporary of Jesus what the cross meant to them, it was a form of occupation, punishment, torture, and death. It was reviled across all the Roman conquered lands since death on the cross was how the Romans punished those who revolted against them and the criminals within those regions. Roman citizens, however, were spared this gruesome method, and instead were beheaded — a faster and less painful form of capital punishment. The Romans perfected this form of execution and most lived in fear of it. 

The cross itself was rough, after all, it was a form of punishment, not something luxurious to be smoothed and sanded. It was crude and simple, but highly effective. And now we exalt it. Exalt has several definitions and two of them really speak to why we use that specific word. One definition is glorify and the other is elevate. When Jesus was raised up on the cross, His death was the final act of sacrifice for the debt of sin. He paid what we can never be able to with all the penances and sacrifices we take upon ourselves. The cross is seen as Christ’s throne. Jesus’ crowning achievement was redeeming us from certain, everlasting death. He restored the connection between humanity and the Divine. He has opened the doors, so to speak, for us to have a relationship with God, not only in this life, but for all eternity. 

The first few centuries were extremely difficult for Christians, yet more and more people converted to the faith, despite the potential of death. They could see that as hard as life was at that time, with daily living requiring laborious efforts, their hope was in eternal life with God. In the 4th century, Christianity became acceptable, thanks to the conversion of Emperor Constantine. His mother, St. Helena, is attributed to finding the True Cross on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The authenticity was determined by the result of miraculous healings for those that touched it. 

Today in many locations, there are relics, or pieces, of the True Cross available for veneration. One place is the Basilica of St. Andrew in Roanoke, Virginia, where I recently went on a pilgrimage. In a small room, dedicated just for the veneration of this most sacred object, one has the ability to kneel before it. For me, it was a moment of true humility. While it is only a tiny piece, I know that God does not need larger than life objects to make His presence felt. I can’t go back in time to provide comfort and support at the foot of the cross as Jesus died, but in that chapel, I was able to kneel before a piece of it and ask for forgiveness and the grace to forgive others. 

Whether it is a cross or a crucifix — that is a cross with the body of Jesus on it — we embrace Jesus and glorify God when we revere Christ’s sacrifice for us. We lift high in our homes crosses to remind us of what Jesus did for us. We wear a cross around our neck, wrist, or finger to remind us that we all have crosses in the many forms of challenges and trials of life to bear and we carry ours in solidarity with Jesus. In all our pain, sufferings, and sacrifices, we offer them up to God to transform them the way he did with the cross: turning from an object of death to a beacon of life. 

We elevate the cross for all to see, as Jesus on the cross was raised up to be a sacrifice for us all. We give thanks and glorify God for sending His Son to be our Savior. Truly, exalt is the most appropriate word to use since we fulfill both meanings of this one word. While it is officially celebrated on September 14th, let us not leave it to only that day to celebrate and thank God for all He has done for us through such a simple object.