Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Today was the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.  The gospel reading today is John 3:13-17-

Jesus said to Nicodemus:

“No one has gone up to heaven

except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.

And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,

so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,

so that everyone who believes in him might not perish

but might have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,

but that the world might be saved through him. ”

This day in September is used for the feast because it's the day the True Cross was brought to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.   This summer we read St. Helena and the True Cross by Louis De Wohl and it was just amazing- I would call it gripping.  So the children and I feel like we know St. Helena very well.  By the way, any book Louis De Wohl is awesome.  Today I read The Queen and the Cross and The Cross by Max Lucado while the children colored St. Helena's picture.  

How about Tucker's self-taught cursive?  :)

We learned all about the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and how the places where Jesus died and was buried are both located inside the Basilica.  We looked at the coat of arms for the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem  and its motto- "Deus lo Vult"- "God wills it!"

We also made a cross brownie to celebrate Christus Vincit- Christ Conquers!

Ave Crux Spes Unica – Hail the Cross, Our Only Hope.

"How splendid the cross of Christ!  It brings life, not death; light, not darkness; Paradise, not its loss.  It is the wood on which the Lord, like a great warrior, was wounded in hands and feet and side, but healed thereby our wounds.  A tree has destroyed us, a tree now brought us life."  Theodore of Studio