Liturgical Guide: Exaltation of the Holy Cross

15th c. Altarpiece of St. Helena; Aragon, Spain - Wikipedia

The hymns selected for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (also known as the Triumph of the Cross) honour the Cross on which Our Lord died out of love for us, and through his death on the Cross - brings Salvation to the world. Celebrated on September 14th, the date for this public veneration of the Cross marks the dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 4th century. It is built upon the spot that St. Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, during a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, discovered a portion of the True Cross.


Reflection by the Apostleship of Prayer

LITURGY OF THE HOURS (1975)
102. Hail, Redeemer, King Divine
126. The Head That Once Was Crowned with Thorns
150. O Cross of Christ Immortal Tree

DIVINE OFFICE (1974)
O Cross of Christ Immortal Tree

ROMAN BREVIARY
Crux Fidelis

O Cross of Christ Immortal Tree

O Faithful Cross, You Stand Unmoved

O Cross of Christ Immortal Tree was composed by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. When it was first published, the Nuns of the Conventus of Our Lady of Consolation were living in their Victorian era Stanbrook Abbey in Worcestershire, UK. Recently, that location was sold and the Sisters established a new home in the North York Moors National Park. With the aid of patrons and friends, they plan to eventually add a new Abbey Church, Monastic Retreat House, and library. O Cross of Christ Immortal Tree is sung to the tune: Saint Flavian, adapted from the setting of Psalm 132 in John Day's Psalter of 1562. In the Liturgy of the Hours it is used on September 14, the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross.

The Head That Once Was Crowned with Thorns

Crowned With Glory Now

The Head That Once Was Crowned with Thorns was written is 1820 by Thomas Kelly (1769-1854). Born in Dublin, Ireland, Kelly took Holy Orders in the Church of England in 1792. He would eventually leave the Anglican Church, and set up a local independent congregation where he preached and lead worship services which included some of the 765 hymns he wrote during his life. The Head That Once Was Crowned with Thorns is set to the tune, Saint Magnus (Nottingham) written in 1707 by English baroque composer and organist, Jeremiah Clarke (c.1659-1707). In the Liturgy of the Hours it is used on Ascension.



THE HEAD THAT ONCE WAS CROWNED WITH THORNS by Thomas Kelly, 1820 (Public Domain)

1. The head that once was crowned with thorns
Is crowned with glory now:
A royal diadem adorns
The mighty victor’s brow.

2. The highest place that heav’n affords
Is surely his by right:
The King of kings and Lord of lords,
And heav’n’s eternal light.

3. The joy he is of all above,
The joy to all below:
To ev’ryone he shows his love,
And grants his name to know.

4. To them the cross, with all its shame,
With all its grace, is giv’n:
Their name an everlasting name.
Their joy the joy of heav’n.

5. The cross he bore is life and health,
Though shame and death to him;
His people’s hope, his people’s wealth,
Their everlasting theme.


Sung by the Choir of the King's School

Hail, Redeemer, King Divine

King of Love on Calvary

Hail, Redeemer, King Divine was written by Redemptorist, Patrick Brennan (1877-1952). It is sung to the tune St. George's Windsor by English organist and composer Sir George J. Elvey (1816-1895). Another popular setting to the tune Merseyside (see bottom video) was written by Fr. Charles Rigby (1901 – 1952) for the laying of the foundation stone of the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King in 1932. An interesting vintage British Pathé news reel of the Solemn Blessing (featuring the singing of Hail, Redeemer, King Divine) can be found here. Because of the ambitious plans (it was to be the world's 2nd largest Cathedral, after St. Peter's) construction was never started. It would not be built until the 1960s, with a new modern design. In the Liturgy of the Hours, Hail, Redeemer, King Divine is used on Palm Sunday and on the Solemnity of Christ the King.


Tune: St. George's Windsor
 

Tune: Merseyside