The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross commemorates the rescue of the relic of the true cross by Emperor Heraclius in 629 after it had been captured by the Persians. It also marks the original dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where relics of the cross were kept, in 335. The feast celebrates the cross, the instrument of our salvation, and is in many ways an extension of Good Friday. The cross is a great and powerful sign of God’s love for us – a love stronger than death – and also a daily reality in our lives: the only true path to holiness. – CTS New Daily Roman Missal 2012, p 2987
