The friars of the Custody of the Holy Land, in the red vestments which recall the blood shed by Jesus, went up to Calvary. As on every 14 September, they celebrated the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in the place where Jesus was crucified.
The new Golgotha
A relic of the Cross was carried in procession to the Latin chapel on Calvary. It remained on the altar, under the mosaic of Christ being nailed on to the Cross. This year, the reliquary seemed heavier: “For almost a year now, here in the Holy Land we have felt the powerlessness of not being able to do anything to stop the path of violence,” the Custody’s Vicar, Fra Ibrahim Faltas, who presided over the celebration, said in his homily. “We are facing the new Golgotha of these dark times in the history of humanity, where war and violence are crushing the lives of even the smallest children.”
An alternative route
The friars’ procession followed an alternative route compared to the usual one, due to the restoration work being done on the floor, which at the moment concerns the area between the Rotunda and Calvary. The friars also passed in front of the Arches of the Virgin Mary, they went past “Christ’s prison,” and went down the ambulatory on to which the Chapels of St Longinus, of the Division of the Robes and of the Derision open.
The mystery of the Cross
The feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross originated in Jerusalem and is linked to the finding of the True Cross (Inventio Crucis) by St Helena. Following this event, the Constantinian basilicas on Golgotha (ad Martyrium), and at the Holy Sepulchre (Anastasis) were built. Both were dedicated on 14 September 335. In addition, the Christian victory over the Persians (7th century) allowed recovering the relics of the cross and their return to Jerusalem. Over time, the feast has taken on a wider meaning of celebration of the mystery of the Cross, which, from an instrument of torture, Christ transformed into an instrument of salvation.
A new life
“The exaltation of the Holy Cross makes us know an aspect of his heart which only God could reveal to us: the wound caused by sin and the ingratitude of man becomes a source of a new creation in glory,” said Fra Ibrahim in his homily. “We have to pray with strength, that a new life of reconciliation and peace comes from these wounds. Through the madness of the Cross, the scandal of suffering can become wisdom, and the glory promised to Jesus can be shared by all of us, so that we can bring up from the rubble the peace and justice for all men on the earth.” At the end of the Mass, the faithful gathered in front of the Altar of Mary Magdalene for the blessing with the relic of the Cross and the act of veneration. In the afternoon, the Second Vespers of the feast day ended with the procession to the Tomb and the incensement to the singing of the Magnificat.
Marinella Bandini
