Walking into our home, our kids see a crucifix. On the second floor, there hangs Fra Angelico’s The Last Supper. In one stairwell, they pass The Angelus by Jean-François Millet and then an image from the Fresco from the catacomb of Saints Marcellinus and Peter.

Those four sacred images correspond to the four parts of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: the profession of faith, life in Christ, Christian prayer, and the sacraments.

The compilers of the Catechism encourage us to catechize with images.

Following the divinely inspired teaching of our holy Fathers and the tradition of the Catholic Church (for we know that this tradition comes from the Holy Spirit who dwells in her) we rightly define with full certainty and correctness that, like the figure of the precious and life-giving cross, venerable and holy images of our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ, our inviolate Lady, the holy Mother of God, and the venerated angels, all the saints and the just, whether painted or made of mosaic or another suitable material, are to be exhibited in the holy churches of God, on sacred vessels and vestments, walls and panels, in houses and on streets.

Council of Nicaea II

That’s why there are sacred images on every floor of our home. Without the encouragement of the Catechism, using sacred art to catechize would not have otherwise occurred to us.

I wish many others were aware of this type of catechesis. There are dozens of amazing sacred images in the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. In his Introduction, Pope Benedict XVI explains why:

A third characteristic is the inclusion of some artistic images which mark the elaboration of the Compendium. These are drawn from the rich patrimony of Christian iconography. The centuries-old conciliar tradition teaches us that images are also a preaching of the Gospel. Artists in every age have offered the principal facts of the mystery of salvation to the contemplation and wonder of believers by presenting them in the splendor of color and in the perfection of beauty. It is an indication of how today more than ever, in a culture of images, a sacred image can express much more than what can be said in words, and be an extremely effective and dynamic way of communicating the Gospel message.

Pope Benedict XVI