This feast is a celebration of the Lord's victory in death through the means of his Cross.  The choice of this date is also the anniversary of the dedication of a Church in Jerusalem, the Anastasis, built around the site of the tomb where the body of Our Lord was placed and from which He rose from the dead.  Destroyed by the Persians in 614, the current Church of the Holy Sepulcher was built the Crusaders over the former site and was dedicated on this same day in 1149.  This feast also commemorates the tradition that Saint Helena, who in visiting Jerusalem is believed to have recovered the True Cross of Christ buried at the base of the hill known as Calvary.  

Together they remind us that as Christians the Cross of Our Lord is not simply a means of human torture and execution, but rather how God has transformed our inhumanity to each other to become the means and the source of our salvation.  As we heard a couple of Sundays ago, to be a disciple of the Lord, is to take up our cross and follow him.  Today's feast reminds us that the way of the Lord is one of sacrifice, penance and pain in order to lead to divine glory.  The Passion of Saint John is referred to as the Book of Glory; as believers, we are called to follow the Lord along the way to Calvary, that we would share in His Cross, each day so that one day we will live with him in glory forever.  There is a tradition that Saint Helena found the True Cross buried at the base of a hill covered in basil.  And so the tradition is to share a meal which has basil as an ingredient.  This could a pesto sauce made from basil leaves, pizza or lasagna with basil leaves as a spice, or eggs with diced basil for breakfast.  

As we honor the Lord and reverence His Cross, the example of Little Audrey is to embrace the crosses of our lives, even in our suffering. Little Audrey teaches us to trust the Lord, that what is broken in this world, is a cross that leads us to eternal glory.  

Together, let us lift high the Cross!