We expect to see a crucifix in a Catholic church. But it belongs in our homes as well. After all, what we encounter at Mass, in the worship and liturgy of the Church, should shape the way we live when we leave.
But there are other reasons the crucifix has such an important place in a Catholic home.
To talk about the crucifix is to talk about the Cross of Christ. And to talk about the Cross is to talk about our salvation.
On September 14, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, also known as the Triumph of the Cross. On this day, we remember both the discovery of the True Cross of Christ and its later recovery, but more importantly, we celebrate what once appeared to be an instrument of defeat and death and yet became the means of victory and salvation.
Timeline of the History of the True Cross
c. 30–33 A.D.: Jesus is crucified at Golgotha outside Jerusalem. The Gospels tell us where the Crucifixion took place, but they do not tell us what happened to the Cross afterward. Read Amazing new evidence for Christ's tomb found exactly where Christians said it would be.
c. 326 A.D.: St. Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, travels to the Holy Land. According to ancient Christian tradition, the True Cross is discovered during excavations near the site of Christ's tomb and Calvary.
335 A.D.: Constantine's great church complex at the site of Christ's Crucifixion and tomb, now known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, is dedicated on September 13. The Cross is solemnly venerated the following day, September 14, helping establish the date of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross we still celebrate today.
614 A.D.: The Persian army under the Sasanian king Khosrow II captures Jerusalem. Among the treasures taken from the city is the revered relic of the True Cross.
628–630 A.D.: Byzantine Emperor Heraclius defeats the Persians and recovers the True Cross. The traditional date often given for its return is 629, but modern scholarship places Heraclius's restoration of the relic to Jerusalem most likely in March 630.
7th century onward: Portions of the relic are preserved in different Christian places, while devotion to relics of the True Cross spreads throughout the Christian world. The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross becomes established in the West as well as the East.
1187 A.D.: The large relic of the True Cross carried by the Crusader army is captured by Saladin's forces at the Battle of Hattin. Contemporary and near-contemporary sources attest to its capture, yet its subsequent fate is uncertain.
The principal Jerusalem relic disappears from the historical record.
Read The Very Interesting History of the Triumph of the True Cross
VENERATING THE CROSS
The Church has a long tradition of venerating the Cross; that's why Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches always have large crucifixes in prominent places. In the Catholic Church, venerating the Cross is a liturgical tradition during Holy Week.
It's also why Catholic Christians and Eastern Christians keep crosses and crucifixes in their homes. In fact, a cross or a crucifix put in a place of honor is a sure mark of a Christian home.
This makes sense as the home is the place where we learn to love through sacrifice, forgiveness, patience, and service. It is where our faith is lived out in the ordinary moments that sanctify us, often unseen. A crucifix in the home reminds us that love is sacrificial.
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The following are five reasons every Catholic home needs a crucifix.
1. A crucifix keeps Christ’s sacrifice before our eyes
The cross is not abstract. The crucifix reminds us that Jesus suffered and died for love of us, and that our redemption was won through His Passion and death on the cross. In family life especially, where love is tested and strengthened through the ordinary sacrifices of each day... it reminds us that love gives, forgives, endures, and lays itself down for another.
2. A crucifix teaches the faith without words
Children learn from what they see. A crucifix in the home, perhaps subtly, teaches who Jesus is, what He did for us, and why His love is at the center of Catholic life. That message is not just for children. All of us need to be reminded of this great truth of Christianity.
3. A crucifix helps us unite our suffering to Christ
We all have crosses in this life: illness, worry, disappointment, grief, sacrifice. The crucifix offers us a way to join our suffering with that of Christ. It is a reminder that in the midst of whatever cross we carry, Christ is with us.
4. A crucifix turns the home toward prayer
Placed in a bedroom, living room, kitchen, or prayer corner, a crucifix becomes a visual invitation to pause, pray, and remember that Christ is present in daily life.
5. A crucifix proclaims that this home belongs to Christ
Like holy water, sacred images, and blessed objects, a crucifix marks the home as a place where Christ is welcomed, honored, and loved.
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Don't just hang it on the wall
It is good to remember that the crucifix is not a decoration.
The saints understood the power of simply spending time before the image of Christ crucified. St. Francis of Assisi's own journey of deeper conversion began as he prayed before the crucifix at San Damiano. St. Thomas Aquinas regularly prayed before a crucifix, and according to his early biographers, it was there that Christ spoke to him and asked what reward he desired. Thomas answered, “Nothing but Yourself, Lord!”
St. Anthony of Padua gave us another beautiful reason to look at the crucifix:
“Christ who is your life is hanging before you, so that you may look at the Cross as in a mirror.”
What do we see in that mirror?
We see the terrible reality of sin, but also what we are worth to God. St. Anthony continued by saying that nowhere better than in “the mirror of the Cross” can we understand how much the human person is worth.
Perhaps that is the best reason of all to place a crucifix somewhere we will see it every day. Don't let it simply become part of the room. Stop in front of it occasionally. Look at Christ. Think about what He endured. Bring Him whatever cross you are carrying that day.
The Catechism tells us that Christian meditation should lead us ultimately “to the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him” (CCC 2708).
The crucifix hanging on our wall can help us do exactly that.
