It is bold to claim that the cross of Christ is our hope. It is even bolder to believe and live the cross as our only hope. Yet the Congregation of Holy Cross professes this truth as the center of its spiritual tradition. Holy Cross’ motto is: “Ave Crux, Spes Unica — Hail the Cross, Our Only Hope!” For 175 years, they have worked to bring the hope of the cross to schools, universities, parishes, and other ministries on five continents of the globe.

The Congregation offers the world hope in crosses, a great trust in divine providence, a familial spirit and unity, eucharistic fellowship and worship, belief that education is both of the mind and the heart, and apostolic zeal to make God known, loved, and served. These are the hallmarks of the Holy Cross spirituality.

In 1986, after the Second Vatican Council called upon religious orders to return to the spirit, aims, and inspirations of their founders, the General Chapter of the Congregation of Holy Cross, the highest governing body of the community, approved a new version of the order’s Constitutions.

In writing the Constitutions, which provide a definition of daily life in Holy Cross from prayer to community life, the Congregation purposefully reflected on the life of Blessed Moreau and the Holy Cross tradition. Eloquent, even poetic at times, they are at once both a beautiful articulation of and a moving reflection on religious life in Holy Cross.

Much of the language the Congregation uses today to describe itself and its mission comes from the Constitutions: “educators in the faith,” “a great band of men,” “men with hope to bring.” The final of the eight Constitutions is a meditation on the cross of Christ entitled “The Cross, Our Hope.”

Holy Cross spirituality includes confidence in the cross as our only hope. The cross is more than a dead piece of wood that we bear; it is a living thing, a new tree of life that is planted in our lives. As we allow this tree of the cross to take root and to grow in our lives, it begins to bear fruit, giving us new, abundant life.

Portions taken from www.holycrossusa.org. For more information, visit the Congregation of Holy Cross website.