In the seventh century the Church in Rome adopted the practice of Adoration of the Cross from the Church in Jerusalem where a fragment of wood believed to be the Lord’s cross had been venerated every year on Good Friday since the fourth century. According to tradition, a part of the Holy Cross was discovered by the mother of the emperor Constantine, St. Helen who was on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 326. A fifth century account describes the service in Jerusalem. A coffer of gold-plated silver containing the wood of the cross was brought forward. The bishop placed the relic on the table in the chapel of the Crucifixion and the faithful approached and touched it as the priest said, “Behold the Wood of the Cross.” Adoration or veneration of an image or representative of Christ’s cross, does not mean we are actually adoring the material image, but rather what it represents. In kneeling before the crucifix and in kissing or touching it we are paying the highest honour to our Lord’s cross as the instrument of salvation. Because the cross is inseparable from His sacrifice, in reverencing the Cross we are in effect adoring Christ. Thus we affirm, “We adore You O Christ and we bless You because by your Holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.”