Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

[Homily of Pope Saint Leo the Great]

When Christ is exalted on the Cross, beloved brethren, do not let only those things which the ungodly have seen, come to the sight of your mind. For to them it was said through Moses, “And your life will be hanging before your eyes and you will tremble day and night and not believe in your life.” For they could think of nothing except their crime in connection with the crucified Lord, and they were afraid, not with the fear by which true faith justifies, but with that by which a bad conscience is tormented. But our mind, which is enlightened with the Spirit of truth, should receive the glory of the Cross, illuminating Heaven and earth, in a heart that is pure and free. And we should see with inward vision what the Lord said when He spoke of His imminent Passion, “Now is the judgment of the world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to Myself.”
O wonderful power of the Cross! O unutterable glory of the Passion, in which is to be found the judgment-seat of the Lord and the judgment of the world and the power of the Crucified! For Thou drew all things to Thyself, Lord; when Thou stretched out Thy hands all day to an unbelieving and contradicting people, the whole world knew that this gesture signified its obligation to confess Thy Majesty. Thou drew all things to Thyself, Lord, when in horror of the crime of the Jews all the elements of nature expressed their common feeling: when the lights of the

heavens were darkened and day turned to night and the earth shook with strange tremors and all creatures refused their services to ungodly men. Thou drew all things to Thyself, Lord, when the veil of the temple was torn and the Holy of holies taken away from the unworthy priests that the figure might be changed to the reality, the prophecy to the manifestation, and the law into the Gospel.
Thou drew all things to Thyself, Lord, so that what was protected in the Jewish temple in shadowy

Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross from Yaroslavl by Gury Nikitin 1680. Tretyakov Gallery Moscow

Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross from Yaroslavl by Gury Nikitin 1680. Tretyakov Gallery Moscow

signs might be celebrated fully and openly by all nations in the Sacrament. For now the order of Levites shines more brightly and the dignity of the elders is greater and the anointing of the priests is more sacred. For Thy Cross is the fountain of all blessings, it is the cause of all graces. Through it, those who believe receive strength instead of weakness, glory instead of shame, life instead of death. Now the many carnal sacrifices have ceased, and the one Oblation of Thy Body and Blood fulfils all those different sacrifices, for Thou art the true Lamb Who takes away the sins of the world. And therefore, in Thee art all mysteries accomplished, and as there is one Sacrifice instead of many victims, so there may be one Kingdom made up of all peoples.