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.