Reading 4
 
After that famous victory which the Emperor Constantine gained over Maxentius, in the year 312, on the eve of which the banner of the Cross of the Lord had been given to him from heaven, Helen, the mother of Constantine, being warned in a dream, came to Jerusalem, in 326, to seek for the Cross. There it was her care to cause to be overthrown the marble statue of Venus, which had stood on Calvary for about one hundred and eighty years, and which had orignally been put there to desecrate and destroy the memorial of the sufferings of the Lord Christ. The like work Helen did at Bethlehem, by cleansing from an image of Adonis the stable where the Saviour was born, and from an idol of Jupiter, the place where He had arisen from the dead.

V. But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us.
R. Thanks be to God.

R. But us it behoveth to glory in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, in Whom is our salvation, life, and resurrection
 * Who hath saved us and redeemed us. Alleluia.
V. O Lord, we worship thy Cross, and make memorial of thy glorious passion.
R. Who hath saved us and redeemed us. Alleluia.

Reading 6
 
Helen, after she had found the life-giving Cross, built over the site of the Passion a Church of extraordinary splendour, wherein she deposited part of the Cross, shut up in a silver case. Another part which she gave to her son, Constantine, was laid up in the Church of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem, which he built at Rome on the site of the Sessorian Palace. She also gave to her son the nails with which the Most Holy Body of Jesus Christ had been pierced. Constantine established a law abolishing the punishment of crucifixion for all time coming and thenceforth what had hitherto been a hissing and a curse among men, began to be esteemed worshipful and glorious.

V. But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us.
R. Thanks be to God.

R. This Sign of the Cross shall be in heaven, when the Lord cometh to judgment.
 * Then shall the secrets of our hearts be made manifest. Alleluia, alleluia.
V. When the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of His glory, and shall begin to judge the world by fire.
R. Then shall the secrets of our hearts be made manifest. Alleluia, alleluia.
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
R. Then shall the secrets of our hearts be made manifest. Alleluia, alleluia.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/embed/SqkzQgcexQ4[/youtube]
(Forgot to embed the first time)

Litany of the Holy Cross

Lord, have mercy.
 Lord, have mercy.
 Christ, have mercy.
 Christ, have mercy.
 Lord, have mercy.
 Lord, have mercy.
 Christ, hear us.
 Christ, graciously hear us.

 God the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.
 God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
 God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.

 Holy Cross, whereon the Lamb of God was offered for the sins of the world,
 Deliver and save us.

 Hope of Christians,
Save us, O Holy Cross*

 Pledge of the resurrection from the dead,*
 Shelter of persecuted innocence,*
 Guide of the blind,*
 Way of those who have gone astray,*
 Staff of the lame,*
 Consolation of the poor,*
 Restraint of the powerful,*
 Destruction of the proud,*
 Refuge of sinners,*
 Trophy of victory over hell,*
 Terror of demons,*
 Mistress of youth,*
 Succor of the distressed,*
 Hope of the hopeless,*
 Star of the mariner,*
 Harbor of the wrecked,*
 Rampart of the besieged,*
 Father of orphans,*
 Defense of widows,*
 Counsel of the just,*
 Judge of the wicked,*
 Rest of the afflicted,*
 Safeguard of childhood,*
 Strength of manhood,*
 Last hope of the aged,*
 Light of those who sit in darkness,*
 Splendor of kings,*
 Civilizer of the world,*
 Buckler impenetrable,*
 Wisdom of the foolish,*
 Liberty of slaves,*
 Knowledge of the ignorant,*
 Sure rule of life,*
 Heralded by prophets,*
 Preached by apostles,*
 Glory of martyrs,*
 Study of anchorites,*
 Chastity of virgins,*
 Joy of priests,*
 Foundation of the Church,*
 Salvation of the world,*
 Destruction of idolatry,*
 Stumbling-block of the Jєωs,*
 Condemnation of the ungodly,*
 Support of the weak,*
 Medicine of the sick,*
 Health of the leprous,*
 Strength of the paralytic,*
 Bread of the hungry,*
 Fountain of those that thirst,*
 Clothing of the naked,*

 Lamb of God, Who wast offered on the cross for the sins of the world,
 Spare us, O Lord.
 Lamb of God, Who wast offered on the cross for the sins of the world,
 Graciously hear us, O Lord.
 Lamb of God, Who wast offered on the cross for the sins of the world,
 Have mercy on us.

 Lord, have mercy.
 Christ, have mercy.
 Lord, have mercy.

 V. We adore the, O Christ, and we bless Thee.
 R. Because through Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.


 Let us Pray:


O God, Who, for the redemption of the world, wast pleased to be born in a stable, and to die upon a cross; O Lord Jesus Christ, by Thy holy Sufferings, which we, Thy unworthy servants, devoutly call to mind, by Thy holy Cross, and by Thy Death, deliver us from the pains of hell, and vouchsafe to conduct us whither thou didst conduct the thief who was crucified with Thee. Who livest and reignest eternally in heaven.     Amen.
 

PerEvangelicaDicta,
The photo is of the Chapel of St. Helena with the Place of the Cross Finding located in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem.