• August 18th - Saint Helena of Constantinople

    From rich@1:396/4 to All on Fri Aug 17 10:12:40 2018
    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.



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