The streets of the Old City of Jerusalem were filled with the sound of staffs beaten along the route connecting the convent of Saint Savior with the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. They were the staffs of the kawas, the guards who traditionally serve the Churches of Jerusalem, who this morning led the procession of the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land who went to the place of the Death and Resurrection of Christ to celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. One of the oldest and most significant feasts of the Holy City.

Welcomed by the guardian of the convent of the Holy Sepulchre, Fr. Giuseppe Maria Gaffurini, the friars crossed the basilica until they reached the altar of the Magdalene and the Catholic chapel. And from here, they ascended to Calvary, the place where Christian tradition recognizes the site of the Crucifixion and where the solemn Mass was celebrated, presided over by the Vicar of the Custody of the Holy Land, Fr. Ulises Zarza. A moment of reflection, joy, and prayer in which the friars and priests were surrounded by the many faithful who, from the early hours of the morning, wanted to go to Golgotha to attend the celebration.

“We are at the foot of the Cross, on Calvary. Here, in Jerusalem, where the mystery of our salvation entered history”, the Vicar recalled at the beginning of the homily, inviting all those present to contemplate the mystery of the Cross not as a sign of defeat, but as a revelation of the love of God. A choice that may seem “paradoxical”. Because, as the Vicar explained, already in the early years of Christianity the idea of a crucified God caused scandal, suspicion, and even derision for that condemnation reserved for the worst criminals. Yet, that symbol assumed a completely different meaning.

Indeed, in the liturgical readings, reference was made to the bronze serpent raised by Moses in the desert and the words of Jesus in the Gospel of John: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up”. And precisely for this reason, Fr. Zarza stressed, “looking at the Cross means recognizing our own wound there and, at the same time, discovering there the love of God that heals and redeems”. “Here God does not speak through force, but through a love that gives itself; power is overcome by humility”, the Vicar further stated.

And it is with this spirit that the Custody of the Holy Land celebrated, as is tradition, the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. A feast that has its roots right in Jerusalem. In the 4th century, when Emperor Constantine had the two cores of the basilica built (the anastasis and the martyrium), the relics of the Cross were solemnly shown to the faithful. And since then, every September 14 the Church renews that ancient gesture: turning its gaze toward Christ lifted up on the Cross. “What seemed like a defeat becomes a place of victory”, Fr. Ulises concluded.