18/08/2026
A thought for the day!
Today, 18th August, is the Feast of St. Helena (330) who was the mother of Constantine, the first Christian Roman Emperor. Helena was probably a Yorkshire lass, but her greatest claim to fame is that on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, when she was over seventy, she is reputed to have found the True Cross.
After three centuries how she could be sure she had the right one? According to the legend, she was guided by miracles. Helena sought knowledge from an old Jewish man, Judas. He prayed in a certain spot, in a temple built to Venus, the earth moved and sweet- smelling smoke arose from the depths. Helena had the temple destroyed and underneath they found three wooden crosses. One of these declared by its ability to heal the sick and bring the dead to life that it was indeed the cross of the Saviour of which remnants abounded for centuries.
History or pious legend? Today we’d probably opt for the latter, but as a myth it does have a superb layer of meaning. When you are old, if you are persistent enough, you will find under the ruins of erotic love the sweet odour of love at its purest, most selfless. This love has the power to heal, to bring what was dead to life and constantly to regenerate itself.
