Adoring the Crucifix

[t68ware]

I have a beautiful Crucifix on my wall, and I can’t just look at it as a normal house decoration. I feel such awe as I ponder it and I was wondering if there is anything in Catholic teaching about the proper way to adore the Crucifix. I have participated in the Eucharistic Adoration at ,my local parish, so I was wondering if there is a way to adore the Crucifix. Thank you all for answers you have helped me with in the past!! You are a great help as I slowly trek towards Rome!!

 

[Deacon_Ed_B]

We do not adore crucifixes. They are man made objects and are not to be used as idols. We use crucifixes to remind us of what Jesus did for each of us. Worship and adoration are for God only. Not man made objects. Again, if it reminds you of and makes you reflect on the crucifixion, it is doing what it is suppose to do. When we pray before a crucifix, we are not praying to the crucifix, but to the person of Jesus, the Son of God and second person of the Blessed Trinity, whose crucifixion purchased our redemption at the price of his very life.
Prayers & blessings
deacon Ed B

 

[t68ware]

We do not adore crucifixes. They are man made objects and are not to be used as idols. We use crucifixes to remind us of what Jesus did for each of us. Worship and adoration are for God only. Not man made objects. Again, if it reminds you of and makes you reflect on the crucifixion, it is doing what it is suppose to do. When we pray before a crucifix, we are not praying to the crucifix, but to the person of Jesus, the Son of God and second person of the Blessed Trinity, whose crucifixion purchased our redemption at the price of his very life.
Prayers & blessings
deacon Ed B

Thank you. Praying before the Crucifix is what I meant. I guess adoring was a bad choice of words. I did read a prayer in my prayer book “Prayer before a Crucifix”, so I guess that will do. Thank you for your answer. God Bless.

 

[graceandglory]

I have a beautiful Crucifix on my wall, and I can’t just look at it as a normal house decoration. I feel such awe as I ponder it and I was wondering if there is anything in Catholic teaching about the proper way to adore the Crucifix. I have participated in the Eucharistic Adoration at ,my local parish, so I was wondering if there is a way to adore the Crucifix. Thank you all for answers you have helped me with in the past!! You are a great help as I slowly trek towards Rome!!

The crucifix is a sacred object, but it is only a symbol. It is a symbol that points us to Christ and helps us meditate on Christ. If you were on your way to Levittown, PA and see a sign that says, “Levittown: 180 miles.” You wouldn’t stop and adore the sign. But, the sign *would *help you keep your destination in mind. “Aaah, Levittown, only 180 miles.”

 

[dove51]

I think meditating on the crucifix might be a more apt term for what you mean. I do this often. I just discovered this webpage today, but I like it a lot. I think I’ve stumbled across a new medium–cyberprayer!

confraternityofthepassioninternational.org/contemplate_our_lord_on_his_cross.htm

Some things I think you might like to check out are (none of these are mine, I take no credit for them):
principiumunitatis.blogspot.com/2008/04/meditation-on-crucifix.html

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer_before_a_Crucifix

Francis of Assissi’s Prayer Before the Crucifix:
Most high,
glorious God,
let your light fill the shadows of my heart
and grant me, Lord,
true faith,
certain hope,
perfect love,
awareness and knowing,
that I may fulfill Your holy will.

I hope this helped a little bit.

 

[AJV]

We do not adore crucifixes. They are man made objects and are not to be used as idols. We use crucifixes to remind us of what Jesus did for each of us. Worship and adoration are for God only. Not man made objects. Again, if it reminds you of and makes you reflect on the crucifixion, it is doing what it is suppose to do. When we pray before a crucifix, we are not praying to the crucifix, but to the person of Jesus, the Son of God and second person of the Blessed Trinity, whose crucifixion purchased our redemption at the price of his very life.
Prayers & blessings
deacon Ed B

I get what you mean, but the word *adore *is not restricted to latria. Even the liturgical books speak of the “Adoratio sanctae Crucis” for Good Friday.

 

[puzzleannie]

actually we venerate the Crucifix, we reserve adoration for the Person of Jesus Christ Himself, truly and substantially present in the Eucharist.

Prayer before a Crucifix
Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, while before thy face I humbly kneel, and with burning soul pray and beseech thee to place deep in my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope and charity, a true contrition for my sins, and a firm purpose of amendment. While I contemplate with deep love and tender pity thy five most precious wounds, calling to mind the words which David, thy prophet, said of thee, my Jesus:
“they have pierced my hands and my feet;
they have numbered all my bones.”

bear in mind also that “adore” in current English is not in same sense as the term in Latin that applies specifically to Veneration of the Cross as part of the Good Friday Liturgy.

 

[AJV]

actually we venerate the Crucifix, we reserve adoration for the Person of Jesus Christ Himself, truly and substantially present in the Eucharist.

Prayer before a Crucifix
Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, while before thy face I humbly kneel, and with burning soul pray and beseech thee to place deep in my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope and charity, a true contrition for my sins, and a firm purpose of amendment. While I contemplate with deep love and tender pity thy five most precious wounds, calling to mind the words which David, thy prophet, said of thee, my Jesus:
“they have pierced my hands and my feet;
they have numbered all my bones.”

bear in mind also that “adore” in current English is not in same sense as the term in Latin that applies specifically to Veneration of the Cross as part of the Good Friday Liturgy.

I don’t mean to be impolite, but permit me to be a bit contrarian, puzzleannie. I think “adore” in English is quite equivalent to the Latin. The problem is that, in defending the Catholic faith, we have often been unable to articulate to people the distinction that we make between dulia and latria- consequently we have made the word “venerate” serve for dulia and the word “adore” for latria.But in fact, adore is quite capable of being interpreted otherwise.

If you look at this document on the USCCB site- they begin by using the terms of the English sacramentary which employs ‘venerate’ but then switch to ‘adore’.

 

[puzzleannie]

precisely my point, Latin makes the distinction, English does not

 

[AJV]

precisely my point, Latin makes the distinction, English does not

(Sigh…I’m going to appear an argumentative quibbler, aren’t I, by responding to this… )

Latin makes no more distinction between the words than English does. Like English, Latin has separate words for “adore” and “venerate”.

Anyhow, my trend of thought was osmehow along the lines of certain posts in this thread

 

[maurin]

I have a beautiful Crucifix on my wall, and I can’t just look at it as a normal house decoration. I feel such awe as I ponder it and I was wondering if there is anything in Catholic teaching about the proper way to adore the Crucifix. I have participated in the Eucharistic Adoration at ,my local parish, so I was wondering if there is a way to adore the Crucifix. Thank you all for answers you have helped me with in the past!! You are a great help as I slowly trek towards Rome!!

I know what you mean. I have a most beautiful Crucifix made by Lladro’, and I often sit and stare at in meditation, in love, in revulsion sometimes, in awe, in gratitude and even sometimes in shame.

My favorite prayer before bed and waking up:

The Savior hangs before you with a pierced heart. He has spilled His heart’s blood to win your heart. If you want to follow Him in holy purity, your heart must be free of every earthly desire. Jesus, the Crucified, is to be the only object of your longings, your wishes, your thoughts…He wants your life in order to give you his. Hail to the Cross, our only Hope!–St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross; her last written words before being sent to the gas chambers of Auschwitz, August 9, 1942.

Lord, free me from every earthly desire. Take my life so that I can be Yours.

 

[Deacon_Ed_B]

Any way we look at it. we speak English. from a practical matter, we do not worship, nor adore as we commonly understand in English. We can say venerate, meaning to regard with respect or reverence because of who and what the crucifix represents. Without debating the difference in the meaning of Latin words, I think we got the point across.
Prayers &blessings
Deacon Ed B

 

[hawkeye]

The piece of wood that the Saviour hung on didn’t save you, Jesus did, adore Jesus.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

Note that Jesus compares the crucifix to the brazen serpent on the pole in the Old Testament.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life." *

John 3:14

And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; and if a serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

Numbers 21:8-9

We are healed of our spiritual ills when we meditate on the crucifix as they were healed of their physical ills when they gazed on the serpent.

 

[graceandglory]

actually we venerate the Crucifix, we reserve adoration for the Person of Jesus Christ Himself, truly and substantially present in the Eucharist.

bear in mind also that “adore” in current English is not in same sense as the term in Latin that applies specifically to Veneration of the Cross as part of the Good Friday Liturgy.

Hi puzzleannie,

Can you respond to my post? No one corrected me, and I’m bothered by my post above where I said, “but it is only a symbol.”

The crucifix is a sacred object, but it is only a symbol. It is a symbol that points us to Christ and helps us meditate on Christ.

 

[cyberwolf001]

People please get over this argueing of weather the person used the proper term or not.

The OP wanted to know how to show due respect to the Crucifix and what it stands for.

An it is certainly MORE than a mere reminder. It is also an object which God has chosen to use as a channel of amazing Graces (just to head off some arguments before there formed. God could just as easily decided to use my big toe or one of the thumb tacks holding up my Rosary on the wall. BUT HE DIDN’T! He choose the crucifix).

There are ways to adore and venerate (dulia NOT latria) the Crucifix approved by the Church.

On his kissing the crucifix as well as the wounds depicted on the corpus.

There are prayers you can say that are indulgenced. Like this one:

Behold, O good and most sweet Jesus, I fall upon my knees before Thee, and with most fervent desire beg and beseech Thee that Thou wouldst impress upon my heart a lively sense of faith, hope and charity, true repentance for my sins, and a firm resolve to make amends. And with deep affection and grief, I reflect upon Thy five wounds, having before my eyes that which Thy prophet David spoke about Thee, o good Jesus: “They have pierced my hands and feet, they have counted all my bones.” Amen.

In Latin Version:

*En ego, o bone et dulcissime Iesu
En ego, O bone et dulcissime Iesu, ante conspectum tuum genibus me provolvo, ac maximo animi ardore te oro atque obtestor, ut meum in cor vividos fidei, spei et caritatis sensus, atque veram peccatorum meorum poenitentiam, eaque emendandi firmissimam voluntatem velis imprimere; dum magno animi affectu et dolore tua quinque vulnera mecum ipse considero ac mente contemplor, illud prae oculis habens, quod iam in ore ponebat tuo David propheta de te, o bone Iesu: Foderunt manus meas et pedes meos: dinumeraverunt omnia ossa mea. Amen. *

Partial indulgence for saying it. Full indulgence for saying it before a crucifix.

I’m sorry but I can’t believe how people here tore the OP a new one over a choice of words. Obviously the OP worships Jesus and wanted advice on one method of doing so.

 

[laudamus_te]

I have a beautiful Crucifix on my wall, and I can’t just look at it as a normal house decoration. I feel such awe as I ponder it and I was wondering if there is anything in Catholic teaching about the proper way to adore the Crucifix. I have participated in the Eucharistic Adoration at ,my local parish, so I was wondering if there is a way to adore the Crucifix. Thank you all for answers you have helped me with in the past!! You are a great help as I slowly trek towards Rome!!

Hi t68ware. You should definitely not look at your crucifix as a normal house decoration! Have you had it blessed? Once it is blessed, it is a sacramental, from which you may obtain graces. Keep your blessed crucifix in a special place in your home, and pray with devotion before it and venial sins may be remitted.