The Jeff Cavins Show (Your Catholic Bible Study Podcast) - Why Wear a Crucifix?

Episode Date: August 1, 2025

Why do Catholics wear crucifixes? Jeff explains the difference between a cross and a crucifix and emphasizes how a crucifix reminds us of true love, suffering, and being alive in Christ. Snippet from the Show Email us with comments or questions at [e-mail]. Text “jeffcavins” to 33-777 to subscribe and get Jeff’s shownotes delivered straight to your email! Or visit https://media.ascensionpress.com/?s=&page=2&category%5B0%5D=Ascension%20Podcasts&category%5B1%5D=The%20Jeff%20Cavins%20Show for full shownotes!

This podcast is brought to you by Ascension. To discover even more free Catholic podcasts, videos, and resources, to help you live your faith every day, visit ascensionpress.com. Welcome to the Jeff Kaven Show, where we talk about the Bible, discipleship, and evangelization, putting it all together in living as activated disciples. This is show 441. Why Wear a Crucifix? Welcome to the show. I'm Jeff Kavens. Good to be with you again. If it's your first time joining me on the show, welcome. Welcome to a wonderful family. We get together every week and we talk about everything that really, you know, has to do with the Bible, studying the Bible and being a witness and how to put the word of God into practice, how to be a disciple, really. And today we're going to talk about a practice that almost everybody is aware of. But a lot of people are not aware of why they do it, and that is wearing a cross. And you can see this as you go out to the mall, walk around.

You're probably going to see a cross hanging around somebody's, Nick. Watch network news, cable news. You'll see hosts who are wearing the crucifix, or a cross at least. And we'll talk about the difference between them, a cross and a crucifix. and sports stars. They oftentimes will wear a cross or crucifix and actually do the sign of the cross while they are up to bat or before a game begins or whatever it might be. And you'll find this in a lot of different sports and also in the entertainment industry. But what about you? Do you wear a cross? Do you wear one? Some people say, I don't wear one because I don't like anything around my neck. It kind of bothers them.

but more than not, I have seen people do enjoy wearing a cross, and in fact, they have several crosses, and some of them have a lot of meaning in their life. They were given to them by a loved one, or they marked a special occasion in their life with the purchase of a cross, or it was a gift from someone who really meant a lot to them, like a grandpa or a grandma. I know that since my parents have passed away this last year, both of them, grabbing a hold of my dad's cross, and, uh, some of the medals that he had, as well as my mother, it means an awful lot. It's kind of like the passing of the torch in a way. And I look at those well-worn crosses and realize they've been all around the world and at work and with me when I was playing baseball as a young man. My dad was wearing that metal or that cross at that particular time. So it does take on quite a bit of meeting. And, you know, I think they take on meaning also because we are an incarnational people. The

faith is incarnational. I mean, my word, God became a man. That's pretty incarnational, isn't it? And so when Jesus became a man, he changes the whole order of things. And we see that in the book of Acts, even the disciples, their clothing was charged with healing power. Even their shadows were. And so there is something different about a Catholic than any denomination or a non-denominational Christians that catapults them into it even deeper mystery and theology because of the incarnation of Jesus. And for that, I am so grateful and I'm so pleased, so happy, so privileged to be a Catholic. And this faith of ours is so big and so powerful and vast. I just wish that everybody could taste and see what we taste and see in our lives. And by the way, if you are not

Catholic and you're listening to the show today, I do want to welcome you. real quickly, I was raised Catholic, and then I left the Catholic Church at about, well, I had a conversion experience, powerful when I was 18, and then right around 21, I left the Catholic Church. And then I ended up coming back in 1995 as I studied my way back into the Catholic Church using Scripture and the Church Fathers. That's the great saints, you know, in the first four centuries, St. Augustine and St. Jerome and Athanasius and Cyril of Jerusalem and all these powerful, mighty disciples of the disciples. And I got a load of what they believed and realized I wasn't believing or celebrating anything like they were. And I needed to do something about it.

And part of coming back to the church was the joy of sacramentals and not a sacrament, but sacramentals like crosses or scapulars, holy water, rosary, a lot of different expressions that point to the mystery, right? A sacrament is coming. face-to-face with Christ, sacramentals point us to Christ and are useful in everyday life. And certainly wearing a cross around your neck is cool. It is powerful. But even more so, I would say a crucifix. What's the difference there? Before I get to that, let me just remind you, if you do want the show notes for this week, I do have some good stuff in store for you that I can send your way. We'll do it every week. All you got to do is text my name, one word, Jeff Kaven's,

and text it to the number 3377. Pretty biblical, 3377. And we'll get you on board with the show notes. You don't have to worry about it at all. If you're listening in the car, the notes will be waiting for you in your phone or back home with your computer. Okay, so there is a difference between a cross and a crucifix. A cross can be just the shape of a cross. And rare would it be to run into anybody who didn't know what that stood for, wearing. a cross, even though there are people in Hollywood and people in music that wear them, but it seems to be, I'm not judging, but I'm saying it seems to be more jewelry than anything else. And so there is just the shape of cross. It comes in 24-karrot, comes in silver, comes in other types of precious metals or jewels or wood. And then you have what's called a crucifix. Now, a crucifix is substantially different than a cross in that Jesus is on the cross. Now there's some kickback to that, or pushback, I should say. Some people would say, well, Jeff, why would you wear something

where Jesus is on the cross instead of off the cross? Didn't he rise from the dead? Isn't he in resurrected form? Why would we go back to that? And the reason for that is that because that's where the battle was won. That's where the victory was won. That's where love was fully expressed. Having a crucifix doesn't say that he's still on that cross and hasn't risen from the dead. That's not what it says at all, but it is, it's pointing to the act. It's pointing to that moment. And it's a very, very powerful image to see Jesus on the cross. So what I want to do today is I want to give you some practical things of what it means to wear a cross, the meaning behind it, so that as you continue on today in this coming week, you will be a little bit more aware of what you are wearing

and the witness that it provides. And the launching point of witness to other people, we'll talk about that today on the show. Hope you're having a good week. Hey, let me start out by telling you just a quick story years ago. I was 18 years old, had a conversion experience, and I went to Perkins restaurant in Twin Cities, your regular type of family food, you know, restaurant. You know, restaurant. and breakfast, food, and so forth. And in those early years of, or months, I should say, of excitement about giving my life to the Lord at 18, I would take my Bible to Perkins, and I would start reading my Bible at about 10 o'clock at night, and I'd read to maybe three or four in the morning.

And, of course, I had some coffee in me to keep myself up, but I so enjoyed the reading the Bible the whole night, and I would do that maybe two or three times a week probably. and I remember one time I went to the Perkins restaurant and I opened up my Bible and I was reading it drinking my coffee and a group of young women walked by and they slowed down and they saw my Bible open and they were intrigued and they said well what are you reading a Bible? I said I sure am if you want to sit down have a talk and I said oh no and they said well that's really cool I think that's cool you're reading a Bible I didn't do it because I was cool I just did it because I was hungry for the word of God. Well, anyway, they left. And when they left, there's about two minutes later. One of them came back into the restaurant. And she came over to my table and said, can I talk to you? And I said, sure, have a seat. She sat down. Well, I won't go into all the detail, but we had about an hour discussion about Jesus. And she told me that she really needed Jesus. And I was able to pray for her and something happened to her. I mean, she really, really was touched by the Lord. We ended up going outside of the restaurant, and I was going to go to my car, and I said, do you mind if I pray for you? And I put my hand on her head, and I prayed for her, and something happened to this young lady.

I gave her my parents' address. I was still living at home and phone number, and no such thing as sells or anything like that. Or look me up on the web. He's called 411, if you want my parents' number. and so I went home and it was about a month later in the mail came a little box about three by three a little box and my mom said you got a package here and I thought man I don't get packages I don't know what that could be certainly wasn't Amazon back in the 70s and I opened it up and it was a letter from this girl's father he was a jeweler and he wrote me a letter saying that his

daughter had been going through a lot of really difficult times, including an abortion, and that he wanted to thank me for praying with her at Perkins that night, and to thank me, he made me a beautiful Montana Agate cross. I still have it today. And it still reminds me of being 18 years old and sharing Christ with people and what that cross meant to him. And his way of expressing thanks was to send me this cross. And I remember showing it to my mom. And it was just really, really great. So that cross is still with me. And the question is, what does it mean when I wear that cross? What does it mean when you wear a cross? Luke 923 says, and he said to all, this is Jesus, if any man would come after me,

let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it. So we realize very early in Jesus ministry that if we're going to be disciples of his, we're going to have to do what he does. And so the Lord invites us to take up our cross daily and follow him. Now that is as a powerful statement. And I guess you have to ask yourself, is that just symbolic? Or is that literally, do we pick up a cross daily and follow him?

Well, I think you know the answer. There isn't any symbolism here. You will pick up your cross daily. Your cross is the place where you will die to yourself and you will live for God. It's the place where you recognize that you're a new creation. The old creation is dead and gone. And now you are alive in Jesus Christ. We'll look at more of that in just a moment.

But suffice it to say that being a disciple or a follower of Jesus is someone who is actively picking up their cross daily as a Jesus picked up his cross and carried it for us, right? Well, the late Pope Francis said the cross is a symbol of the power of God who made himself sin to heal us. And he said, Christians must ask themselves if they are aware of the importance of the cross or if they carry it like a trinket adorned with many precious stones and gold. So the Holy Father was asking us to do a little self-examination there and ask ourselves, is that just a trinket you got around your neck?

Or does that cross have real meaning and importance to you in your life? Not just in how you think, but what you do, how you conduct yourself. And he went on to say, he said, for some people, it is a membership badge. Yes, I carry the cross to show that I'm a Christian. That is good, but it isn't just a badge as if you were part of a team or a team logo, but a reminder of the one who made himself sin. And so it was in April 4th of 2017, the Pope Francis was inviting all the faithful to think about how they wear the cross and how aware they are when making the sign of the cross.

The Pope concluded asking each of us to look to this God who became sin so that we do not die in our sins and to reflect on the questions that I just brought up. So what should wearing a cross mean to us? What does it say and how does it help you live the life you have been called to live? That's what we're going to take a look at. But we're going to do it right after this. You're listening to the Jeff Kaven show. Hey guys, my name is Father Mike Schmitz. I'm so excited to tell you about new cities and new dates for the parables tour. We're going to cities in both Michigan and Texas. If you're interested in getting tickets,

you can go to Accenturepress.com slash Father Mike Tour for access to tickets and more information. Tickets go on sale. It's Thursday, May 22nd. God bless. Welcome back.

We're talking about why wear a crucifix. Is there any meaning to wearing it? And does it work better if it's gold or wood? Does it work better if you have diamonds on it or rubies, right? So we're looking at

what is the? meaning here. So let me give you a few points. Number one, when you wear a crucifix, which if you wear a cross, fine. A crucifix tells a bigger story. It really does. But a lot of times people will ask you about your cross. Oh, that's a beautiful cross, which is actually a kind of a weird statement, isn't it? It's like, oh, I love that guillotine. So what should wearing a cross mean to us? Number one, reminds you about what true love is. It should be a constant reminder throughout the day of what true love is, not just love, American style, but what true love is, and that is that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever

believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. That's John 316. And so when I see a cross or a crucifix, I should be reminded about true love. And I should be reminded of the fact that I am loved by true love and that Jesus could have done a lot of things to express his love. He could have written a great big volume called love from Jesus. He could have had a trailer on an airplane going across Jerusalem. He could have had a concert and brought people in to sing and dance and celebrate. Maybe you could do that or a feast of some type, right? But what did he do? He died on the cross for you. He gave up his life for you so that you would not experience definitive suffering, that is, to be without God forever and ever, and ever, endeavor, and ever, and ever,

and ever, and ever, and ever. That's what love is, to lay down your life for a friend and he lays down his life for you and calls you friend and family and son and daughter. So number one, when you wear a cross, you should be constantly reminded of what true love is. And that translates into how you treat people. Every person you talk to, you've got to remember you're wearing a cross. And that cross is symbolic of who you follow in terms of the love that you've been challenged to imitate. Remind you of what true love is. Number two, it reminds us of the fact that we have died with Jesus, been buried with Jesus and rose from the dead with Jesus. We died, we're buried, we rose from the dead with Jesus. He did this with us in mind, and not just to demonstrate, but to take us along

on the journey and to completely identify with him so that original sin is dealt with, and we are redeemed and made new people. So when I wear a crucifix, not only am I reminded of the fact that God loves me, but I'm also reminded of the fact that I have died with Jesus. I've been buried with him and I rose from the dead with him. That, my friend, will make a difference in your day today. That will make a difference. I guarantee it. Now, I love what Galatians 220 says, and I've done a podcast on this before about your life verse. You got a verse in the Bible that is like your life verse. That's the one. If it's going to go on your tombstone, that's it. That's it. That's that's it. Galatians 2.20, I have been crucified with Christ. There's your crucifix. It is no longer

I who live. Crucifix reminds you that. But Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and delivered himself up for me. That is what that crucifix is saying. You're talking to a dead man. I'm dead. But I'm not. But I'm now alive in Christ. The old man is dead, but I'm now alive in Christ. Now, that's going to touch all areas of your life. And so when you look at the cruciface that you're wearing, it should remind you that when you are talking to family members, remember, I'm crucified with Christ. I no longer live, but he lives in me. That should be really important in how you deal with your spouse, your children, your brothers and sisters, your parents, grandparents,

extended relatives, cousins, and uncles and aunts. And it should also come into play when you were talking about people at work or your neighbors or your enemies. And when people see you wear that crucifix, do you know what happens? I'll get me a little psychology 101 here. They're going to expect you to live that way. They are. They're going to judge you that way, too.

They're going to expect you to treat them a certain way because you're wearing a crucifix. and if you don't treat them that way and you betray them or you speak of them in a bad way or gossip, they're going to look at that cross and then you're going to come to a conclusion. It means nothing to you. It means nothing. And you might even say it. I saw you wearing that cross, but I can see you don't believe it.

So you're wearing the cross is sort of an advertisement that I will treat you a certain way. Romans 6.11, by the way, this is all in the show. notes, part of the, part of the free stuff. Romans 611, so you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Well, wearing a cross every day should remind you of that. And by the way, when you get these notes today, maybe you can get them, trim them down a little bit, print them out, put them in your smartphone, and look at them once in a while in your devotions. And look at them, just to remind yourself of what that cross is going to mean. Or if you put the cross on at the beginning of the day in your bathroom, make a copy of

these points there. And as you put it on, say, Lord, may all this be a reality in my life today. Number three, reminds you of the meaning of suffering. This is one of the big problems that we have today is that people suffer and they don't know why and they can't find meaning. And certainly, when I was a non-denominational pastor for 12 years, I did not have an answer to Colossians 124. but there is an answer you'll find it squarely in catholic theology with the early church fathers squarely in scripture colosians 124 i rejoice in my suffering for your sake and i fill up in my body that which is lacking in the sufferings of christ oh this is this is really golden here this is really as i said on my uh my viral video this is fire fire you got to look up that video on

Instagram. I mean, I was waxing eloquent in terms of Gen Z language. Maybe we'll put that in the show notes for you. This is fire. Colossians 124 reminds you of the meaning of suffering. A lot of people don't know if there is meaning in their suffering

and they kind of default to this idea that, well, you know, the Bible says if you're suffering, just kind of, you know, endure and something good's going to happen. No, the Bible didn't say that. And you can endure all you want. It doesn't mean anything's going to change. But If you can join your suffering with the suffering of Christ, bingo, as they say as Catholics,

that's where the fires. That's where the gold is right there. You see, when Jesus redeemed you, he redeemed your whole life. He redeemed you, your spirit. He redeemed your body. He even redeemed your suffering and made it redemptive power and cash. He did. Let me say it again.

I rejoice in my suffering for your sake. that's weird right out of the bat right out of the box isn't it i rejoice in my suffering for your sake and i fill up in my body that which is lacking in the sufferings of christ give me a break jeff did you say lacking yeah is that really in the bible yes so it begs the question what could possibly be lacking in the sufferings of christ didn't he do it all or do you get to heaven and find out oi they i only got 98 percent i don't know what to do now what are we going to do them do some. Holy Spirit says, no, that didn't happen. So what could this possibly mean? Well, St. Augustine answered the question, and so did St. John Paul the second. It was St. Augustine

who said, what could be lacking in the sufferings of Christ? And he said, what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ is the suffering of the mystical body of Christ, the church? Now that begs the question. Well, why would God even give us an opportunity to pick up our cross and suffer? and then wear it all day long to remind ourselves. Why? Why? Why? Well, that was answered by St. Paul I, St. John Paul II. He said, what's lacking in the sufferings of Christ? Nothing.

But that you might come to know the love of God. He has made room in his suffering for you to participate and you can even offer up the graces of this for loved ones. In other words, you get to taste the love of God. you get to feel it. You get to experience it. How? By joining your suffering to his. I didn't write this. I didn't write Colossians 124. That's Paul. I didn't come up with this conclusion. Saints did. Saints who are way above my pay scale. All I can say is do you good to listen. Right. Number four, how about your witness, the point of interest to witness?

do you know what you would say if someone commented on your crucifix? People say this type of stuff. Oh, I love your cross. Now, think about that for a moment. That's pretty weird. As I said earlier, it's like, oh, that is such a beautiful guillotine. Is that 24-carat guillotine you're wearing? You got to remember that the cross was not a piece of art in the first century.

It was the most brutal killing machine of the Romans. And on the outside, there was nothing beautiful about it. the only reason that we call it beautiful today is because of what happened on it, that we were redeemed and loved and purchased and saved. Wow. So if someone comes up to you and says, oh, what kind of cross is that? That's beautiful. Well, you can come up with an elevator speech or an escalator speech on however you get upstairs.

And when people say, I love your cross, you can say, oh, thank you. And then what? well can you tell him but yes it really is the center of my life that jesus loved me and died for me and i'm following him today and this is really a sign of me picking up my cross and following him he's made all the difference in my life it's something just a a quick elevator speech in fact this is so important that guess what if i see you at a conference coming up i'm going to ask you if i see you with a cross i'm going to ask you what your elevator pitch is Okay, then number five, choice of materials for your cross, the material, gold, value of Jesus' cross.

You may say, well, I'm going to get a 24-carat gold crucifix because of the value of Jesus' cross. Well, if that's the truth. Yeah, that's fine to do. Nevertheless, a wood cross is simply a cross as well, but it might stand for simplicity. Like, it's a St. Francis. Oftentimes you see the Franciscan cross is made out of wood. You don't see the Franciscans with 24-carat gold too much. Not sure that that would be in the wheelhouse of St. Francis. But even in the choosing of the materials for your cross,

like my Montana egg, it is so simple. It's so simple. You know what? You know what? I'll take a picture of it and I'll put it in the show notes for you. Free. Absolutely free. Won't even take an offering.

But I'll do that. I'll show you. It's a very simple Montana Agate. But the meaning of it is very, very powerful. So the choice of materials should have some kind of story, perhaps. But number six, meaning in who or where you obtain the cross. Was it your grandpas, which is your dad's, was my Montana Agate. If I gave you my Montana Agate cross, it would have new meaning in your life because of our relationship, right?

and where I obtained it. Maybe I got it at a family reunion or maybe I got it after my grandpa's funeral or maybe I found it and it ended up saving my life, you know? You just never know. So what does it mean? What does it mean in terms of where did you get it? But then there's this other question that I have to ask, and that is this, what does it mean to have a blessed crucifix?

Have you ever thought about that? Are we talking hocus pocus? Are we talking magic? No, we're not, are we? What does it mean when a cross is blessed? Now, the blessing usually comes through the priest or deacon, and having a crucifix blessed means that the crucifix has been formally dedicated to God through a prayer, a blessing. Like I said, usually from the priest or the deacon. I can do it for you, but that's like shooting blanks. now this act gives the crucifix what sacred character and incorporates it more deeply into the spiritual life of the person who owns it that's you or uses it which is you now that's an interesting thing to think about isn't it you don't just own it and put it on you're using it you're using it

to encourage yourself but also as a witness so what does it mean to have it have it blessed well a blessed crucifix is no longer just a religious object it's a sacramental that means it is a sacred sign that helps dispose the faithful to receive grace. It's set apart for holy use. It's like Father's chalice. You want to get a twisted look on his face. Ask him to use his chalice for coke. He'll give you that look. You don't understand what you're asking. That's because it's special. It is consecrated. And when you have a crucifix that is blessed. It is special. And it's a reminder of Christ's sacrifice. It already symbolizes Jesus' love and suffering. And when blessed, it becomes a more intentional reminder to yourself of

Christ's presence in your life. And number three, spiritual protection. We believe that blessed objects when used with faith can help protect against evil or temptation. Not as magic, no, no, but as a means through which God's grace is invited into our everyday life. Isn't that wonderful? That's why a lot of people will wear the cross of St. Benedict. And they believe that there's a special grace there for spiritual warfare. And the cross, you know, protects us in battle. It identifies us as belonging to him.

And we're marked. We are a marked people with the cross. That's why we say the cross. we say, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And finally, it incorporates us into a deeper prayer life. A blessed crucifix may be used in personal prayer. Maybe you take it out and put it on the table or on your Bible. Family devotions, maybe you have a cross at home for that.

Or when people go and partaking the sacrament of confession, there's usually a cross. The anointing of the sick, they will place a cross on people at the hospital, a deacons, and pastors who visit. So there's all kinds of wonderful, wonderful things about the cross. I want to encourage you today. Give yourself another look at why you wear the cross. Is there a way where you can remind yourself of some of these truths that I've passed on to you today? Some way that you can remind yourself on a daily basis.

That would be helpful, wouldn't it? Very, very helpful. Well, that's what I wanted to share with you today, just as a way of encourage me. and I'll be back next week who encourages some more because I look forward to this. I hope you do too. And if you do like these podcasts, by the way, remember that these podcasts are now on the Ascension app. That's cool in itself.

You don't have to go any further than the app to get it every single week. And there's a number of great podcasts on there. So, by the way, that's one way you can share this with family and friends. Can I ask you to do that this week? Just share this podcast, the Jeff Kaven show, share it with your loved ones, and maybe just tell them if there's anything that you've received from it that's been of some benefit in your life. I would appreciate it.

Ascension would appreciate it. And by way of extension, I guess I could say, Jesus may appreciate it too because we're all about, all about magnifying Jesus, right? Let me pray for you. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Lord, I lift up my brother. I lift up my sister to you.

and I ask you, Lord, to bless them. I ask you, Lord, to bless them and to remind them today the power of the cross and that as disciples, we have been called to pick up our cross and follow you. Lord, ignite a fire in us over the cross. Give us new ardor and new energy to walk in the power of the cross and not be ashamed. Help us with our elevator pitch when people say, that's a beautiful cross. help us, Lord, to do all these things this week. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.