The Exaltation Of The Cross - Year C - Hail The Cross, Our Only Hope & “Glory in the Cross”

The Exaltation of the Cross

Every so often, a major feast in the Church calendar takes precedence over the regular Sunday cycle of readings. When this happens, we are given the gift of celebrating a feast we might otherwise miss when it falls on a weekday. This weekend offers such an occasion as we celebrate the Exaltation of the Cross—also known as the Triumph of the Cross. But what, exactly, are we celebrating with this feast?

The Cross at the Heart of Our Faith

The cross is the Christian symbol because it stands at the very heart of our faith. Think about it: the first prayer most of us learned was the Sign of the Cross. We make this sign when entering a church, blessing ourselves with holy water; we receive the priest’s blessing with it at the end of Mass; and we begin and end our prayers with it. Many of us even wear a cross—not as mere jewelry or fashion, but as a sign of faith and discipleship in the Lord who was crucified and rose for us.

But the cross is more than a sign. It is a living, powerful symbol that takes us deeper into the mystery of our faith. Through it, we enter into Christ’s death and resurrection, for truly “…the cross has become the tree of life for us.” This is expressed in the acclamation at Mass: “Save us, Saviour of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free.”

The Scandal—and Triumph—of the Cross

Jesus asks us to take up our cross and follow him (Mt. 16:24). Understandably, this can leave us troubled, since many of us—or those we love—have carried heavy crosses, sometimes seemingly unbearable. Who would willingly embrace such a burden?

Interestingly, in the 1980s, a Christian denomination hired an advertising agency to “rebrand” its message. After much study, the executives recommended dropping the cross altogether, calling it an unattractive symbol: “How can you use an instrument of cruel execution to attract people?”

While we may smile at their marketing perspective, their reaction reveals something important: the cross is indeed a scandal. Yet this Sunday’s feast celebrates not defeat, but triumph—the passage from Good Friday to Easter Sunday. We do not exalt suffering itself, but the One who transformed suffering into victory, death into life, despair into hope. This is why we venerate the cross on Good Friday, and why that day is truly “good.”

How often have we heard someone say during a personal crisis, “If it wasn’t for my faith, I couldn’t have gotten through it”? This is the triumph of the cross at work in daily life.

Living the Triumph of the Cross

A hymn written over 1,400 years ago captures the joy of today’s feast:

Faithful Cross, the saints relied on, noble tree beyond compare!
Never was there such a scion, never leaf or flower so rare.
Sweet the timber, sweet the iron, sweet the burden that they bear!

This is what we celebrate today: not merely the memory of Christ’s suffering, but the triumph of his love. As we face our own trials—or walk alongside others carrying heavy burdens—we can draw strength from the power of the cross. And like Simon of Cyrene, who helped Jesus carry his cross, may we be ready to help others shoulder theirs.

In honor of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, we share our latest video, 'Glory in the Cross', a beautiful Holy Week hymn composed by Dan Schutte and sung by our choir with the verses composed for Easter Vigil.

Video can be watched by clicking here or by clicking on the thumbnail below.