Almighty God, who after the creation of the world rested from all your works and sanctified a day of rest for all your creatures: Grant that we, putting away all earthly anxieties, may be duly prepared for the service of your sanctuary, and that our rest here upon earth may be a preparation for the eternal rest promised to your people in heaven; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Holy Cross Day, kept on September 14, celebrates the Cross of Christ as the instrument of the world's redemption. Its origin is a building: the basilica complex Constantine raised at Golgotha and the tomb, dedicated on September 13, 335. From the fifth century the wood of the Cross was shown to the people at Jerusalem on the day after that anniversary, and the feast has been kept ever since, East and West.