Holy Cross

Exaltation of the Holy Cross, September 14

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." [Matthew 16: 24]

September 14 is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The story is told that St. Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, found what was supposed to be Christ's tomb under the Temple of Aphrodite. During construction of a Basilica at that site, three crosses were found. When a dying woman touched one of the crosses, she was healed. It was then believed that Christ's cross had been found.This date celebrates the dedication of that Basilica.

According to American Catholic.org,  the cross was not necessarily a revered object in the early church. For early Christians, the cross was actually an object to be feared. The cross represented the ultimate punishment for being a Christian, in defiance of Rome -- it represented crucifixion.

I remember this fear somewhat myself. You see, it was unacceptable to be Catholic in my home. Never mind that my Irish Nana had been Catholic -- before she married my Protestant grandfather. In my home, to be Catholic was to be a recent immigrant. It meant blindly following the Catholic commandments; this was considered gullible, even dangerous, because it represented a lack of independent thought. Or so my family believed.

When I was 14, after my grandparents died, I was no longer taken to church. I wanted to go to church and I tried to ask, but I was told, No.

Many years later, I met the man who would be my husband. I think I fell for him first and then, I found out that he was Catholic. To talk to my family, they thought I was being defiant. I was not, I simply fell in love with this man who happened to be Catholic.

On one occasion, for a beautiful gift, he gave me a gold cross pendant. I still have it and I still wear it. The cross is tiny and delicate. It looks ethereal because it is perforated through, so that it appears to float.

I used to wear this cross all the time to gatherings at my family's home. But in their presence, I would hide the cross under my shirt. The cross then, became my secret symbol of faith.   You could say it was the defiance of my faith. A hidden rebellion. They could take away church, they could object to my Catholic husband, but they could not take away my faith!

This business of the hidden cross is really nothing new. It reminds me of my Scottish ancestors in the 1700's after the Battle of Culloden. It was a rout, with the British decimating a vast majority of the Scots in battle. Scotland's overt bid for independence from the English crown came to a violent end. After Culloden, the British even banned the Scottish clans from wearing their "colors", i.e., their tartans. It was thought that the wearing of the tartans would give the clans too much continued solidarity. The British wanted to break up the clans, to dilute or eliminate their power.

So the tartans simply went underground. The clans wore their colors as a sash, which got them in trouble. Then they wore their colors as a tassel, which got them in trouble. Finally they wore their colors as a tiny fringe on their belts.  You could ban the tartans, but you could not keep the Scots down.

Throughout history, Christians have been mocked, banned, persecuted, crucified. But the cross remains a symbol of our enduring faith.

To what extent would you, as a Christian under duress, protect your faith? Would you hide your Bible in a secret place? I did. Would you wear your cross under your clothes? I did. Would you sneak off to church and tell others simply that you were "out"? I did. Would you listen to bad advice that it is better to think of yourself over others, to keep as much money for yourself as you can, to distrust people of faith -- then go out and strive as hard as you might to be a better person. To be a Christian? I did.

God, may my faith burn brightly from within. May I wear my cross boldly and proudly as a symbol of that faith.

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