THE TRIUMPH OF THE HOLY CROSS

September 14th is the feastday of the Triumph of the Holy Cross. It is a feastday that has been celebrated on that date since the seventh century. In the seventh century Chosroes II the pagan Sassian king had stolen the holy cross on which Our Blessed Lord was crucified from Jerusalem. The Byzantine emperor Heraclius decided to take his army on the march and bring the holy cross back to Jerusalem. He did so in the year 627. The feastday celebrates the return of the holy cross to Jerusalem.

The Triumph of the Holy Cross
by
J A. Fullerton

In six hundred and twenty-seven
Emperor Heraclius sought help from heaven
He prayed for courage from God above

And went in search of the sign of God's greatest love.

For the holy cross on which Our Lord had died
The very one on which Our Blessed Saviour was crucified
Was in the hands of a pagan king

And back to Jerusalem the cross Heraclius wanted to bring.

Many a victory Heraclius did win
And soon the luck of the pagans was wearing thin
And the wooden cross on which Our Blessed Lord had died
Was restored in Jerusalem and sanctified.

And now the task we all must face
Is to plant the cross of Christ in every race
For on every shore the cross of Christ must stand
It must be firmly planted in the sand.

GO OUT TO ALL NATIONS

I work with a number of chinese. I got to talking to a chinese man one day and I asked him if he believed in God. He said no but his son did. I then asked him why he did not believe in God and he said that nobody had ever told him about Jesus. He looked very disappointed that he had never been told about Jesus when in China.
Our Blessed Lord came to earth to save people of all nations. He commanded His followers to go out to all nations and tell them the good news of the gospels.
I pray that St. Therese the little flower, patron of catholic missions throughout the world, will intercede before Our Blessed Lord and that many catholic missionaries will be allowed to enter China.

GO OUT TO ALL NATIONS
by
J. A. Fullerton

I came from China thirty years ago
To a new land Australia I did go
Life in China was very hard
And in Australia I received a permanent visa card

I now have a son twenty-five years old
A degree in engineering he does hold
He has a family of his own
And he now knows somebody that I wish I’d known

He has a real passion and purpose in life
His life really changed when he met his wife
She told him about Jesus, God’s only Son
And a religious man he has become

I have one real regret in life
Which would have kept me out of a lot of strife
In China if someone had told me about God’s Son
I’m sure my heart would have been won