Victory, you will reign. O cross, you will save us.

In some museums there are medieval crosses with jewels on them. They are remnants of a past that some would criticize as too opposed to the humility or even the horror of the cross. To turn the cross into a precious object, however, might have the meaning of recognizing that, despite the torture, shame and horror implied in the punishment of the cross in Jesus’ times, the cross is now the most valuable treasure we have as Christians. And, on following Jesus, on embracing the pain that saves and represents a good for others, we acknowledge that it is precisely the cross which gives us eternal life.

How do you value your crucifix? Do you recognize in the cross of Jesus the only life that can give us happiness, that is, our most valuable treasure?