From: rich <
richarra@gmail.com>
August 18th - Saint Helena of Constantinople
(also known as Saint Helen, Eleanor, and Flavia Julia Helena Augusta)
246-330
Saint Helena of Constantinople was the mother of Constantine the
Great, and finder of the True Cross of Jesus. Despite being elevated
to empress of the Roman Empire during her life, she worked tirelessly
for the poor, released prisoners, and humbly mingled with the ordinary worshipers in modest attire. Throughout her life, Helena built
magnificent churches throughout the Holy Land, spreading the Gospel of
Christ, and bringing many to the faith through her witness.
Born in Bithynia, the daughter of a humble innkeeper, Helena rose
above her humble beginnings after marrying the Roman General
Constantius I Chlorus. Following the birth of their son, Constantine,
Helena's husband was elevated to junior emperor and proclaimed Caes=
ar.
He promptly divorced Helena and took a new wife. Years later, in 312, Constantine became emperor (renamed Caesar) following a decisive
victory in battle during which his father was killed, and his mother,
Helena, named empress (renamed Helena Augusta).
Helena converted to Christianity, and through her witness, the emperor
made Faith in Christ the official religion of the Roman Empire. As
Eusebius wrote, Helena was: "such a devout servant of God, that one
might believe her to have been from her very childhood a disciple of
the Redeemer of mankind.=E2=80=9D Helena spent her days in acts of charity,
and built many churches on the holy sites of the faith, oftentimes
tearing down pagan temples that had been built on the sites. In the
year 325, Helena was moved to undertake a pilgrimage to the Holy Land,
as she had been called by God to search out the True Cross on which
Jesus had been crucified. Elderly by this time, she undertook the
hardships of the journey without complaint.
Upon reaching Golgotha, the holy place where Christ was crucified,
Helena had the temple of Aphrodite (built by Emperor Hadrian to defile
the place of the Passion) torn down, and the hill excavated. During
excavation, three crosses were found buried in the earth--one for each
thief crucified beside Jesus, and the True Cross upon which He gave
His life for the world. Gazing upon the crosses, Helena was unsure of
which might be the wood of salvation. A woman from Jerusalem, who was
near certain death from a disease she had contracted, was brought to
Golgotha and made to touch each of the crosses. As soon as she
approached the Cross of Our Lord, she was cured. The Cross itself was
venerated and placed in a magnificent church (Church of the Holy
Sepulchre) built by Saint Helen in Jerusalem, although she took a
small portion back to Constantinople with her as a blessing. Within 15
years, Saint Cyril, the bishop of Jerusalem, reported the wide spread distribution of the True Cross as a relic: "The holy wood of the cross
gives witness: it is here to be seen in this very day, and through
these who take [pieces] from it in faith, it has from here already
filled almost the whole world."
Legend also suggests that Saint Helena recovered other relics of
Christ, including the tunic He wore prior to the crucifixion, and the
nails and rope used to affix Him to the Cross. Some of these relics
are on display, even today, in the private chapel of her palace in
Rome (now converted to the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem),
while others are housed at the Staurovouni monastery, which she
founded.
Following her miraculous discoveries, Saint Helena resolved to spread
the devotion to Christ throughout the region. It was in Palestine, as
we learn from Eusebius, that she had resolved to bring to God, the
King of kings, the homage and tribute of her devotion. She lavished on
that land her bounties and good deeds, she "explored it with
remarkable discernment,=E2=80=9D and "visited it with the care and solicitu=
de
of the emperor himself.=E2=80=9D Then, when she "had shown due veneration t=
o
the footsteps of the Savior,=E2=80=9D she had two churches erected for the worship of God: one was raised in Bethlehem near the Grotto of the
Nativity, the other on the Mount of Olives, where Jesus ascended into
heaven, near Jerusalem. She also embellished the sacred grotto with
rich ornaments. Further churches were raised marking the sites of the Resurrection and Crucifixion.
Saint Helena passed into heaven at the advanced age of eighty. Her
body was brought to Constantinople and laid to rest in the imperial
vault of the church of the Apostles. It is presumed that her remains
were transferred in 849 to the Abbey of Hautvillers, in the French
Archdiocese of Reims, as recorded by the monk Altmann in his "Translatio.=E2=80=9D Her sarcophagus is on display in the Pio-Clementine Vatican Museum.
by Jacob
Quote:
There is but one way in which the unity of Christians may be fostered,
and that is by furthering the return to the one true Church of Christ
of those who are separated from it.
--Pope Pius XI
Bible Quote:
6 who, though he was in the form of God,[a] did not count equality
with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself,[b] taking the
form of a servant,[c] being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being
found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death,
even death on a cross. [Philippians 2:6-8] RSVCE
<><><><>
Holy and blessed Saint Helena, with the anguish and devotion with
which you sought the Cross of Christ, I plead that you give me God's
grace to suffer in patience the labors of this life, so that through
them and through your intercession and protection, I will be able to
seek and carry the Cross, which God has placed upon me, so that I can
serve Him in this life and enjoy His Glory ever after. Amen.
--- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2
* Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4)