Exaltation of the Cross: Rosary at 10 PM and a 71-Year-Old Pope

September 14th: Exaltation of the Cross and rosary at 10 PM

Can it be prayed every day at the same hour without missing a single prayer? On September 14th, the Catholic calendar celebrates the Exaltation of the Cross and concludes the day with the rosary at 10 PM, a gathering repeated nightly and timed to not exceed 25 or 30 minutes. No one mandates it, nor is it announced by bells: it is a discipline. It has been trinc in Castilian since Lourdes, with litanies, Hail Mary, and chants.

Philippians 2:6-11: The day's reading

The passage ordering the antiestéticast is the hymn from the Letter to the Philippians: “so that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth, and in the depths.” It is the most repeated text of the day and, for many, the most quoted verse in the entire Bible.

The day also brings a coincidence that cannot be ignored: anyone born on September 14th may eventually become Pope of Rome. One such person turns 71 today.

3 PM and 10 PM: Two times that do not move

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy is prayed at 3 PM, because it is the hour of mercy and the time when, according to tradition, Jesus gave his life. The rosary trinc afterward, at 10 PM. The repertoire of promises attributed to Marian apparitions—protection, special graces, weapon against hell, virtues, and good works—is addressed separately, with more extension than can fit into a summary. For those seeking textual depth, the apocryphal writings of the Desert Fathers compiled by the Jesuit Heribert Rosweyde in the 17th century continue to circulate online.

Three fixed appointments, not a single day off, and zero room for improvisation. Constancy, that virtue the rest of mortals reserve for the January gym session, is fulfilled here at ten o'clock in the evening. Whoever finds a more punctual routine, may they publish it.