EXALTATION OF THE CROSS

(Novena Date: September 5 - 13) (Feast Day: September 14)

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, celebrated every year on September
14, recalls three historical events: the finding of the True Cross by Saint Helena, the
mother of the emperor Constantine; the dedication of churches built by Constantine on the
site of the Holy Sepulchre and Mount Calvary; and the restoration of the True Cross to
Jerusalem by the emperor Heraclius II. But in deeper sense, the Feast also celebrates the
Holy Cross by which Christ redeemed the world. Christians raise on high the Cross of
Christ as the instrument of our salvation, representing the sacrifice by which Jesus,
obedient even unto death, accomplished our redemption.

Novena of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

(Begin by presenting your petitions...)
Daily Prayer
Jesus, your love for your Father brought you to the cross. We are gathered before
this magnificent symbol of our faith to recall the events of Calvary and to thank
you for your great sacrifice.
Your cross is our life. Your death brought us salvation. As we ponder on the
meaning of your death, we ask you to send us the Holy Spirit that we may be able
to accept the truth that without sacrifice, we can never be your disciples.
Give us the courage to believe that our major challenge in life is the acceptance of
suffering and death. You have glorified our suffering and death with your
suffering, dying, and rising from the dead. Inspire us to believe that without the
cross, there is no glory. Amen.

Day One

Prayer
Jesus, you carried your cross through the streets of Jerusalem, with your head
bloodied by the crown of thorns. Your enemies laughed at you, and your friends
abandoned you. You carried the cross, the sins of humanity, on your shoulders
and in the silence of your sufferings, we are reborn.
Jesus, you taught us that we should also carry others’ sins. We see this in mothers
who stand helpless at the abuses of their children, or their husbands. They suffer
in silence, yet their sufferings save and redeem their loved ones.
Teach us, O Lord, to accept situations that we cannot change and carry them as
you carried your cross through the streets of Jerusalem. Amen.

Through your Holy Cross, save us. (3x) Glory Be. (3x)

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Day Two

Prayer
Jesus, you fell three times while carrying your cross. You were exhausted by the
tortures and the lack of sleep, and your executioners had to ask the help of Simon
the Cyrene to help you carry the cross. You were nearly dead when you reached
Calvary.
Simon of Cyrene was the luckiest person on earth because he helped you carry
your cross. Make us remember, dear Jesus, in our moments of suffering and
trials, that we, too, help carry your cross, and that it is an honor to suffer and die
with you.
Give us hearts that easily respond to the sufferings around us, believing that
when we help the needy and the abandoned, we are actually serving you. Amen.

Through your Holy Cross, save us. (3x) Glory Be. (3x)

Day Three

Prayer
Jesus, you manifested your power through your miracles, but in carrying the
cross, you showed that God preferred to be powerless than to be powerful. You
did this to show your oneness with the powerless of the earth. You took the side
of the helpless because you want to shame the arrogant and the powerful.
May we, Lord, in our relationship with our brothers and sisters, avoid
domineering attitudes, and instead, be of service to them. May the glory of your
cross help us understand that hearts can never be conquered through imposition
or arrogance but through disinterested service.
Make us servants to one another and may self-giving characterize our
relationship. Amen.

Through your Holy Cross, save us. (3x) Glory Be. (3x)

Day Four

Prayer
Jesus, when you were hung on the cross, you were in control of the situation
unfolding before you. You forgave those who were laughing at you and asked your
beloved disciple to take care of your mother.
You welcomed the good thief into paradise. You continued to be compassionate
and serve others fully. You did not allow pain to control you. Give us the special
grace not to be desperate in our moments of sufferings. Enable us to bear pain
with courage and dignity, not allowing ourselves to be the center of attraction,
but able even in the midst of pain, to be of help and service to others. Amen.

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Through your Holy Cross, save us. (3x) Glory Be. (3x)

Day Five

Prayer
Jesus, you hung on the cross of three hours and your executioners insulted you,
saying that you cannot save yourself and others. You could have used your
powers but preferred to keep silent and bear with much patience the insults of
your enemies.
Teach us the virtue of patience as we bear the insults and harsh words of people
who don’t like us. Inspire us to respond with silence and give us the grace that we
may be able to pray for them. In this way, through our patience, we help you
redeem our troubled world. Amen.

Through your Holy Cross, save us. (3x) Glory Be. (3x)

Day Six

Prayer
Jesus, your mother and other women surrounded you while you were dying on
the cross. Your mother nonetheless accepted this agony, believing that this was
part of the divine plan, that God had the power to draw something good from this
terrible experience of failure.
Your mother’s faith in you and what you can do inspire us. We face similar
situations of failure and suffering, and we pray that you are with us, so that we
can face with courage our trials and hardships, believing through you, we can
draw something good from these experiences. Strengthen our faith as we live
through the difficulties and uncertainties of this life. Amen.
Through your Holy Cross, save us. (3x) Glory Be. (3x)

Day Seven

Prayer
Jesus, you refused to drink the vinegar given to you by the soldiers. We know that
these soldiers wanted to alleviate your sufferings because this drink lessens the
pain, acting as anesthesia.
You refused to drink vinegar because you wanted to feel the pain throughout the
time you hung on the cross. You did not want to lessen your sacrifice. Help us, O
Lord, to bear the pains of everyday life. Let us savor our sufferings so that we may
be able to live your cross. Inspire us not to run away from pain and sufferings, but
to accept and experience them as proof of our love for you. Help us live our pains.
Amen.
Through your Holy Cross, save us. (3x) Glory Be. (3x)

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Day Eight

Prayer
Jesus, you broke the circle of death through the cross. You are the first born from
the dead because you are the only one who came back alive after dying. You cross
reveals that suffering borne in your name would lead us to life.
Teach us then to accept our infirmities and sufferings, uniting them to your
passion and death on the cross. Give us the grace to believe that you are able to
draw something good from evil situations. You are a powerful God because even
in worst situations, you can draw something good. May your cross remind us of
your great powers. Amen.

Through your Holy Cross, save us. (3x) Glory Be. (3x)

Day Nine

Prayer
Jesus, your cross manifested your decision to always do the Father’s will. You
Father asked you to reveal to us the face of God, a mission which you succeeded
to do.
That God you revealed shines so resplendently on the cross. It is a God who loves
because he is pure love. In the cross, you gave everything – your life and you have
nothing more to give us. By your giving, we have become rich.
May our veneration of your cross enable us to live the challenge of love, that we,
too, may learn to trust, to understand, and to forgive, and that we may remove
from our hearts, hatred, mistrust, and resentment and be like God who is one
hundred percent good.
May your cross lead us to life and communion with our brothers and sisters.
Amen.

Through your Holy Cross, save us. (3x) Glory Be. (3x)

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LITANY OF THE HOLY CROSS (Said at the end of each day’s prayer)

Lord, have mercy, Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.

Holy Cross, where upon the Lamb of God was offered for the sins of the world,
*Deliver and save us.
Hope of Christians, Save us, O Holy Cross*
Pledge of the resurrection from the dead, *
Shelter of persecuted innocence, *
Guide of the blind, *
Way of those who have gone astray, *
Staff of the lame, *
Consolation of the poor, *
Restraint of the powerful, *
Destruction of the proud, *
Refuge of sinners, *
Trophy of victory over hell, *
Terror of demons, *
Mistress of youth, *
Succor of the distressed, *
Hope of the hopeless, *
Star of the mariner, *
Harbor of the wrecked, *
Rampart of the besieged, *
Father of orphans, *
Defense of widows, *
Counsel of the just, *
Judge of the wicked, *
Rest of the afflicted, *
Safeguard of childhood, *
Strength of manhood, *
Last hope of the aged, *
Light of those who sit in darkness, *
Splendor of kings, *
Civilizer of the world, *
Buckler impenetrable, *
Wisdom of the foolish, *
Liberty of slaves, *
Knowledge of the ignorant, *
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Sure rule of life, *
Heralded by prophets, *
Preached by apostles, *
Glory of martyrs, *
Study of anchorites, *
Chastity of virgins, *
Joy of priests, *
Foundation of the Church, *
Salvation of the world, *
Destruction of idolatry, *
Stumbling-block of the Jews, *
Condemnation of the ungodly, *
Support of the weak, *
Medicine of the sick, *
Health of the leprous, *
Strength of the paralytic, *
Bread of the hungry, *
Fountain of those that thirst, *
Clothing of the naked, *

Lamb of God, Who was offered on the cross for the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who was offered on the cross for the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who was offered on the cross for the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

V. We adore the, O Christ, and we bless Thee.

R. Because through Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Let us Pray:
O God, Who, for the redemption of the world, was pleased to be born in a stable,
and to die upon a cross; O Lord Jesus Christ, by Thy holy Sufferings, which we,
Thy unworthy servants, devoutly call to mind, by Thy holy Cross, and by Thy
Death, deliver us from the pains of hell, and vouchsafe to conduct us where thou
didst conduct the thief who was crucified with Thee. Who livest and reignest
eternally in heaven. Amen