Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the Cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son 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.