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Theprayer before a crucifix is aRoman Catholic prayer to Jesus. It is often said byRoman Catholics afterCommunion or afterMass. The faithful receive a partialindulgence if they recite the prayer after Communion before a crucifix. On the Fridays ofLent, the indulgence is aplenary indulgence.[1]
ThroughoutChristendom, believers have hung or painted aChristian cross, which theyprostrated in front of, on the eastern wall of their home in order to indicate theeastward direction of prayer, as an "expression of their undying belief in the coming again of Jesus was united to their conviction that the cross, 'the sign of the Son of Man,' would appear in the eastern heavens on his return (seeMatthew 24:30)."[2][3][4]
The original prayer dates to about 1205 and is commonly ascribed toFrancis of Assisi while atSan Damiano. The prayer echoes Psalm 22:17-18; it may also have been influenced by the opening prayer of the Eucharistic liturgy.[5]
Christians in Syria as well, in the second century, would place the cross in the direction of the East towards which people in their homes or churches prayed. The direction to which Christians prayed symbolized their souls facing God, talking with him, and sharing their spirituality with the Lord.
Long before Christians built churches for public prayer, they worshipped daily in their homes. In order to orient their prayer (toorient means literally "to turn toward the east"), they painted or hung a cross on the east wall of their main room. This practice was in keeping with ancient Jewish tradition ("Look toward the east, O Jerusalem," Baruch 4:36); Christians turned in that direction when they prayed morning and evening and at other times. This expression of their undying belief in the coming again of Jesus was united to their conviction that the cross, "the sign of the Son of Man," would appear in the eastern heavens on his return (see Matthew 24:30).
Because Christ was expected to come from the east, Christians at a very early date prayed facing that direction in order to show themselves ready for his appearing, and actually looking forward to the great event which would consummate the union with him already experienced in prayer. For the same reason the sign of the cross was frequently traced on the eastern wall of places of prayer, thereby indicating the direction of prayer, but also rendering the Lord's coming a present reality in the sign which heralds it. In other words, through the cross the anticipated eschatological appearance becomesparousia: presence. The joining of prayer with the eschatological presence of Christ, unseen to the eye but revealed in the cross, obviously underlies the widely attested practice of prostrating before the sacred wood while praying to him who hung upon it.
