This past January, my wife, Mary, and I were blessed to be able to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.  It was an amazing gift to walk in the footsteps of Christ and see so many places where the Gospel stories took place.  As I read the Gospels now, I will never read them the same way!

One of the most memorable parts of the trip was our stay in Jerusalem.  Our hotel was only a short walk from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  This church is very large with a number of worship spaces and side chapels.  It contains Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified, the Holy Sepulchre where Jesus was laid, and the site where St. Helena found the True Cross in the early 4th century.  

Each morning, a group of us would walk to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and pray for an hour before breakfast.  It was an amazing experience, praying the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary near the spot where Mary stood as Jesus was crucified, praying the Glorious mysteries of the Rosary at the tomb from which Jesus rose from the dead, and meditating on the gift of the Holy Cross at the site that St. Helena found this instrument of execution exalted by Christ for our salvation.

This Thursday, September 14th, is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the anniversary of the day back in the year 335 when the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was first dedicated on that holy site.  Let’s all take some time this week in prayer, meditating on the Most Holy Cross of Christ on which He poured out His infinite love for us!