Happy Roodmas Day!

"The Finding of the True Cross"  Agnolo Gaddi

Today is the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, or Roodmas Day.  It commemorates the dedication of the Basilica of the Resurrection in Jerusalem, built by Constantine's mother, St. Helena, in 355 AD.  It also celebrates the finding of the True Cross, which happened during the Basilica's construction.  You may read my condensed but charming and highly edifying re-telling of the story of the Feast here.

If today is the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, then Michaelmas Embertide is very near!  Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross are known as “Michaelmas Embertide.”  They come near the beginning of Autumn (September 22nd) and were formerly set aside as days of fasting and abstinence.  It's still a fruitful spiritual practice.  You may read more about that here.

Hail, Matthias, Apostle and Martyr

Abbey Church of St. Matthias, Trier

Today is the feast of St. Matthias, who was chosen by lot from among the 120 disciples to replace Judas Iscariot, the apostle who turned traitor.  Not much else is known for certain of Matthias.  According to one tradition, St. Matthias preached in Aetheopia on the eastern shore of the Black Sea, and was crucified there in about 80 AD.  Another tradition holds that St. Matthias was martyred in Jerusalem by being stoned and then beheaded.    For this reason, St. Matthias is often depicted holding a halberd, the instrument of his martyrdom.  What were believed to be St. Matthias's relics were brought to St. Maria Maggiore in Rome by St. Helena, the mother of Constantine.  A portion of the relics were interred at the monastery of St. Matthias at Trier, in Germany.  However, these relics may actually have belonged to a different Matthias who was bishop of Jerusalem and who also was martyred by stoning.  Until 1969, St. Matthias's feast was celebrated on Feb. 24.  This day was considered a very  favorable one for playing games of chance, since St. Matthias himself had been elected an apostle by lot.   St. Matthias's feast was moved to bring it out of Lent and closer to the Feast of the Ascension, since it was in the days following the Ascension that St. Matthias's election took place.


St. Matthias, pray for us.

"The holy cross shines in splendor"

                   "Heraclius entering Jerusalem with the Cross" by Piero della Francesca

Today is the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross.  The feast celebrates the discovery of the true cross, which was uncovered during the construction of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre.  In the fourth century AD, St. Helena, Constantine's mother, travelled to Jerusalem to search for the holy places in the life of Christ.  A tradition held that the Temple of Venus had been built over Christ's tomb, so Constantine ordered it razed and the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher erected in its place.  During excavation, three crosses were discovered.  According to tradition, the touch of the remnants of one of these crosses healed a dying woman, and therefore the cross from which these remnants came was deemed to be the true cross. 

The Persians sacked the Basilica and carried off the cross in 614 AD.   The emperor Heraclius re-captured the cross in 629.  There is a story that the emperor intended to restore the relics to the Basilica himself, but found he was unable to enter Jerusalem until he removed his imperial finery and proceeded as a barefoot pilgrim. 

The feast also celebrates the dedication of the Basilica of the Resurrection in Jerusalem in 355 AD.

From the office of Lauds for the feast:

God our Father,  in obedience to your will your Only-Begotten Son endured the cross for our salvation.  Grant that as we have come to know the mystery of the cross here on earth,  we may receive its rewards in heaven.

How St. Helen Found the True Cross

Taylor Marshall has the story here.