A cross is a reminder of Jesus’ death and a symbol of the Christian faith.   It is the object to which Jesus’s body was nailed.  It is also the object to which numerous criminals and insurrectionists were put to death on.

Jesus’ sacrificial act was his death by crucifixion.  The crucifixion of Jesus is central to the Pascal mystery and new covenant.  This is why I prefer a crucifix, a cross bearing the corpus of Christ.   Christ’s corpus on the cross is a vivid reminder that it was Christ who died and rose from the dead.  It was his death on the cross that destroyed death, and his resurrection that restored life.  There cannot be a resurrection from the dead without a death and there cannot be a covenant without a sacrifice.

Seeing the Corpus of Christ on the cross is a reminder that it is he who destroyed death, he who died for my sins and he who is King and redeemer.  It is not the cross that redeems; it is Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross that redeems.   Salvation is not through the cross.  Salvation is through Christ crucified.  This is why I prefer a crucifix to a cross.