Is a Sacred Art Piece on Your Christmas Wish List?

Since there is still time for you to edit your Christmas wish list for what your spouse can buy you and/or to purchase a family gift, might I suggest asking for/purchasing at least one new piece of Christian art for your home? Then for every Christmas hereafter, make it an annual tradition to buy a new piece, so to not only expand the beauties in your house but to bring about numerous spiritual benefits for you and your children.

Unfortunately, today’s culture is often full of ugliness, as we experience a never-ending bombardment of images that can confuse kids and distract adults. In the midst of this confusion, we typically don’t see enough genuine beauty, that is, images that inspire us to make a commitment to our Lord’s two greatest commandments – to love one another and to love God. 

Beauty can be found in Christian-centered art. The Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms the primary role of sacred art in our prayer lives:

“Sacred art is true and beautiful when its form corresponds to its particular vocation: evoking and glorifying, in faith and adoration, the transcendent mystery of God – the surpassing invisible beauty of truth and love visible in Christ, who reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, in whom the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily. This spiritual beauty of God is reflected in the most holy Virgin Mother of God, the angels, and saints. Genuine sacred art draws man to adoration, to prayer, and to the love of God, Creator and Savior, the Holy One and Sanctifier.”

Religious statuary and paintings, which come in many forms, can provide this beauty among society’s ugliness. Go here, here, and here for some suggestions to get you started. (And yes, you can even shop on Amazon for sacred works of art.) 

Some Catholic families create a wall space in the home where a large crucifix takes center stage, surrounded by paintings of Jesus and the Holy Family, that are added piece-by-piece, year-after-year. Here is one example and another of homes where they just keep adding a new piece of religious art on a regular basis.

Youngsters especially enjoy statuary as a type of art work since they are touchable. You can display statues of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the saints in various locations in your home, including your children’s bedrooms. A great Christmas or birthday gift idea for your kids is to get each of them a statue of the saint for whom they were named, their Confirmation saint name, or of a Guardian angel, so they can display it on their bedroom dresser.  This online store sells cute statues specifically for young children, and this store has statues that older children may appreciate. 

Most Catholics remember at this time of the Advent Season to display a nativity scene or creche as a way to temporarily bring tangible images of the Holy Family into their family’s daily observance. (Just don’t go overboard like this Spanish city did !) Knowing the nativity scene is so appreciated by kids to see and touch, perhaps you can find tangible religious statues or figurines that can adorn your home 365 days a year and not just in December.

Don’t forget adding statuary outside your home too. Outdoor garden statues add a touch of grace to your yard as well as have the potential to subconsciously evangelize your neighbors who walk and drive by. Many people purchase a St. Francis statue for the garden as he is the patron saint of ecology and animals, but Virgin Mary and angel outdoor statues are popular as well. Consider directing solar lights to highlight the statue at night for more dramatic effect, which is what I did here in my own yard.

Finally, since the death of Christ on the cross is both the actual and metaphorical underpinning of our Catholic faith, the crucifix is the main image one sees when entering a church and is the one piece of Christian art that you will surely find somewhere in every Catholic family’s home. However, it could seem like merely a rudimentary gesture for a family to have hung only a sole crucifix on a solitary wall in the house. Catholic families should consider going beyond the basics of displaying a single crucifix by adding a crucifix to every bedroom. Consider taking a trip to a religious gifts store or shop online with your kids and have them pick out the crucifix they would like to hang near their bed.  

Most Catholics only set foot in a church one day a week at most, thus limiting the opportunity to once every Sunday pray while gazing at a life-size crucifix and stained glass windows. Bringing sacred art into the home will turn your house into a “domestic church,” where you can daily praise God for the blessings He has given to you while meditating on images and items that help keep your mind focused on the supernatural.

Fr. Francis Xavier Lasance, an American priest and writer, said about religious art: 

“A room with good Catholic pictures in it and without such pictures differ as much as a room with windows and one without those necessities. Sacred pictures are consolers of loneliness and a relief to the troubled mind. They are windows to the imprisoned heart; books, histories, and sermons which we can read without the trouble of turning over the leaves or straining the eyes. Pictures of Our Lord and His saints inspire us, give us courage, and induce us to bear our cross with Christian resignation.”

By not only making sure every bedroom has a crucifix adorning a wall, but also by progressing to the next step of purchasing on a yearly basis a religious painting, sculpture, or another piece of sacred art for your family to appreciate, you will be helping every family member remember to think of God daily and contemplate His goodness.