Holy Cross Sunday – A Spiritual Retreat During Great Lent

Every year during Lent, the Church presents the sign of the Holy Cross to the faithful—a source of strength, hope, and victory—as a source of encouragement and remembrance. In this spirit of prayer and contemplation, on Sunday, March 15, at the Chapel of the Saint Thecla Foundation, the service dedicated to the Third Sunday of Great Lent, also known as Holy Cross Sunday, was celebrated.

The service gathered believers who came to partake in the grace of this special day, on which the Holy Cross is placed in the center of the church for veneration, as a sign of the Savior’s sacrifice and of the call for each person to endure and carry their own cross.

Holy Cross Sunday holds special significance in the spiritual ascent of Great Lent, being situated in the middle of this period as a stop for spiritual strengthening. It reminds the faithful of the Lord’s Passion, but also of the victory that comes through embracing the sacrifice in the light of the Resurrection.

The veneration of the Holy Cross has its roots in historical events related to the discovery of the wood on which the Savior was crucified and its elevation for the worship of the faithful, as well as the return of the Holy Cross from the Persians during the reign of Emperor Heraclius. These moments have been united in the consciousness of the Church in the great feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, celebrated on September 14, but their echo is also found on this Sunday of Great Lent.

During the service, the faithful had the opportunity to venerate the Holy Cross, receiving strength to continue their spiritual struggle. The atmosphere of silence and prayer was accompanied by the hope that, by patiently enduring trials, everyone can discover the profound meaning of Christ’s sacrifice and love.

Thus, Holy Cross Sunday became, for those present, not only a day of veneration, but also a moment of inner renewal, a call to steadfastness in faith and to following Christ on the path that, through the Cross, leads to the joy of the Resurrection.