00:00Today we are not talking about a person but about an event that marked the history of our
00:05faith, the exaltation of the Holy Cross.
00:08Celebrated on September 14th, this festival plunges us into the heart of the 4th century, when Saint Helena, the mother of the
00:15'Emperor Constantine went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.'
00:20His heart burned with the desire to return to the holy places and especially to the instrument of redemption, the true cross.
00:28Imagine the scene: meticulous excavations on Golgotha, where Christ was crucified.
00:35After intense efforts, three crosses were discovered. How can we identify those of Christ?
00:42According to tradition, a miracle occurred. A seriously ill woman was cured by touching one of them. It was
00:50She. The true cross was found.
00:54Constantine, his son, then had the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre built in Jerusalem to house this priceless treasure.
01:03It was in 335 that this church was consecrated and with it, the veneration of the cross began, inaugurating the
01:11celebrations of discovery and consecration.
01:14But the story doesn't end there. In the 7th century, the cross was stolen by the Persians during...
01:20'an invasion.
01:21The Byzantine emperor Heraclius led an epic campaign to recover it.
01:26In 628, after a resounding victory, he triumphantly brought it back to Jerusalem, carrying it himself on his shoulders.
01:36through the streets of the holy city.
01:39It is this glorious return, this public exaltation of the cross, that is at the heart of the feast that we
01:45Let us celebrate today.
01:47What can we conclude from this?
01:48The exaltation of the holy cross is not merely the memory of a rediscovered relic.
01:54It is the celebration of the sign by which Christ conquered death, the symbol of our salvation, of
02:00God's infinite love for humanity.
02:03The cross, an instrument of torture, has become a sign of victory, hope, and redemption.
02:11It reminds us that even in suffering, the final victory belongs to Christ.
02:16She invites us to bear our own crosses with faith, knowing that it leads to resurrection.
02:23This is the center of our faith, a powerful reminder of what it means to be a Christian.
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