Traveling Crucifix
Parish families have the opportunity receive this "Traveling Crucifix" into their homes to pray before. It is a replica of the very cross from which Jesus spoke to Saint Francis in the church at San Damiano. Worship aids, with daily prayers and thoughtful reflections, will travel with the Crucifix. Everything you need to complete this devotion as a family will be there.
Our parish Traveling Crucifix can be picked up at the end of the 10:00 AM Sunday Mass and dropped off the following week, at 9:45 AM. Questions? Please contact Don Fontana, Faith Formation Coordinator at dfontana@stpaulofthecross.com or (412) 531-5964.
To register your family to participate in this week long devotion click HERE.
Discover the Power of Praying Before The Cross
The Cross is the principal symbol of the Catholic faith and the instrument of Christ's sacrifice on our behalf. The power of praying before a Crucifix was a lesson learned by Saint Francis of Assisi, perhaps our most known and loved saint. As a young man, Francis began to sense that God was calling him to a special work of faith, but at first he was unclear of what God desired of him.
And so he prayed for guidance and clarity.
One day, while Francis was praying before the Crucifix in the dilapidated church of San Damiano in Assisi, Christ miraculously spoke these words to him: "Francis, go and repair my house which, as you see, is falling completely to ruin." At first, Francis thought that Jesus was asking him to make physical repairs to the actual building of San Damiano, and so he divested himself of every earthly possession and set out to fix the church. However, as time passed, he realized that Christ was calling him to become a source of renewal for the entire Catholic Church which at that time was suffering spiritually.
The “travelling crucifix”, pictured here, is a replica of the one from which Jesus spoke to Saint Francis in San Damiano church. May the Lord speak to your hearts as you pray before it in the days ahead.