Does your parish have a crucifix, a plain cross, or a resurrectifix in its sanctuary?

[Newbie2]

He died on the Cross to obtain forgiveness of our Sins, He didn’t come down off the cross at the request of those who mocked Him as they passed by. Matt 27:40

He rose from the tomb, not off the cross.

Exactomundo.

I’d ask why a cross instead of a tomb or a stone.

 

[OraProNobisIHM]

Exactomundo.

I’d ask why a cross instead of a tomb or a stone.

Ayyyyyyyyyyy

 

[daeve]

This – only in our case picture a 6’ dark wood cross, 4’ blond wood Risen Christ.

I have one exactly like that in my room. My daughter-in-law, not Catholic maybe a former Evangelical or Episcopalian but she can’t remember which, bought it at a garage sale for me. I thought it was probably taken from a coffin before burial.

My parish does the “sometimes cross/sometimes crucifix” thing too. We have a beautiful cross that hangs from ceiling over the altar. On one side there’s a corpus, but the other side is a mosaic cross. Most of the time, the crucifix side is facing the people, but during Lent we have the mosaic. I’ve never heard an explanation, but I haven’t asked either.

We have a stunning stained glass window on the front of the church, at least 2 stories tall, and it’s a resurrectifix. Although it’s very striking and quite beautiful as a piece of art, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. The position of the body and the expression on the face are like the traditional crucifix, but He’s all dressed up in fancy robes. Our stations are stained glass windows too, very pretty but the glare makes it hard to read sometimes. They do create a wonderful rainbow effect on the side altar though, not glaring but subtle and soft.

 

[CatholicLife]

This is how my Church looks like.

 

[Mrs_V]

Up on the wall behind the altar we have a life-size risen Christ sans cross. To the left is a statue of the Blessed Mother and to the right is a statue of Saint Joseph. We also have a small professional crucifix to the side of the altar.

 

[perfectpeach]

we have a painting of a crucifix…

 

[Phemie]

your comments are in serious error i take it you have never been in a lutheran or anglican church if you had you would have never made your flawed comments about " protestants dont believe in the true presence they dont believe in crucifixes "

While we don’t believe they have the True Presence, they certainly do and the Anglicans reserve the Blessed Sacrament in a tabernacle. The military parish where the former pastor was Anglican even has a Blessed Sacrament Chapel. And the Anglican Church near our church has more crucifixes than we have – not too difficult since at times we have none.

 

[CatintheHat]

Behind the altar we have a giant crucifix. On the wall of the back of the sanctuary is a figure I like to call the “Planet of the Apes” Jesus. It is a risen Jesus, and he is wearing robes like they wore in Planet of the Apes, and his arms look like if they were to drop to his side, they would touch the floor. Very creepy looking.

 

[Don9of11]

My parish St. Mary’s has a crucifix on the portable alter and main alter of the Sanctuary. Above the alter is the beautiful fresco of the Assumption of Our Blessed Mother.

 

[Morwenna]

i can remember being a young girl looking up at a life size crucifix in our church. it should have been a horrible image to a child. Jesus looked in so much pain looking up to the heavens. blood dripping down His face and neck from big huge thorns that dug into his scalp and more blood ran down his side, hands, and feet. a bone sticking out of His knee. the nails looked huge and painful. but all i could think of is God loved me that much and how important it was for me to try not to sin so i wouldnt put anymore pain on Christ. if all we ever see are the good feely things about our faith, especially the children, arent we robbing Jesus Christ and ourselves of the image of the greatest act of love ever throughout all of mankind?

Great post It reminded me of Paul Thigpen’s beautiful conversion story in Surprised by Truth. Here is an excerpt:

His Open Arms Welcomed Me

I was quite young the first time I saw him, so I don’t remember where it happened. But I do remember being terrified by the sight: that tortured man, thorn-crowned, blood-bathed, forsaken. The sculptor had spared no crease of agony; the painter, no crimson stroke. He was a nightmare in wood.

Yet I was strangely drawn to him as well. His open arms welcomed me; his uncovered breast stretched out like a refuge. I wanted to touch him.

Of course, I knew who he was. After all, I’d won the big prize—a Hershey Bar—for being the first kindergartner in our little Southern Presbyterian church to memorize the books of the Bible. And my parents had busted with pride on the morning when I stood before the congregation to recite the grand old affirmations of the Westminster Confession: Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. . . .

But in our church the cross on the wall was empty and clean. We read about the blood, we sang about the blood, but we didn’t splash it on our walls and doorposts.

In the years to follow, the man on the cross haunted me. When I found out that a schoolmate wore a crucifix around his neck, I asked my father to get me one. But he shook his head and said, “That’s just for Catholics.” There was no malice in his words; he simply spoke matter-of-factly, in the same way he might have observed that yarmulkes were just for Jews.

One day my aunt from New York came south to visit. She was always inheriting odd items from boarders in the residential motel where she worked, and this time she shared them with us. In a box of assorted old treasures calculated to fascinate a little boy for hours, I found him.

He was plaster of Paris, unfinished, maybe a foot long, cross and all. I ran my fingers over the smooth surface. The details were remarkable for so humble a work, though he had a flaw in his right foot. He was beautiful. But he was too white, too clean. So I found some old watercolors and painted every detail lovingly, with crimson dominating the whole. Then I kept him under my bed and took him out regularly so I could look at him, touch him, and wonder why he should be in some Catholic home instead of mine.

You can read the entire conversion story on EWTN’s wesite:

ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/SURPRISE.htm

:harp:

 

[Traditional_Ang]

Does your parish have a crucifix, a plain cross, or a resurrectifix in its sanctuary?

Do you think it make a difference?

Which do you prefer, and why?

For the record…

General Instruction of the Roman Missal
308. There is also to be a cross, with the figure of Christ crucified upon it, either on the altar or near it, where it is clearly visible to the assembled congregation. It is appropriate that such a cross, which calls to mind for the faithful the saving Passion of the Lord, remain near the altar even outside of liturgical celebrations.

usccb.org/liturgy/current/chapter5.shtml#sect2

Lepanto:

What you referred to as a “Resurrectifix” is actually a “Christus Rex” - “The Image of Christ the King reigning from the Tree” - If you reread the account in the Gospel of John, you’ll see the Apostle felt that our Lord was KING and reigned from the CROSS. This is not only an ANCIENT SYMBOL, but is popular in Eastern Christianity.

An Anglican Cleric – Christus Rex–Reflections on the image of Christ the King
%between%Christ the King Anglican Church
christthekingbahamas.org/christusrex.lasso
Rockefeller Foundation - Santos in Oaxaca’s Ancient Churches
christusrex.com/www2/santos/tlacochahuaya/index.html
Holy Sepulchre - The Byzantine monument at the Garden of Golgotha
christusrex.org/www1/jhs/TSspbyza.html
Roman Christendom – Vivat Christus Rex (SSPX Site)
romanchristendom.blogspot.com/2008/10/vivat-christus-rex.html
Byzantine Cross of Emperor Justinian
christusrex.org/www1/vaticano/Tb-Justinian.jpg
Byzantine Dalmatic (Very Fancy)
christusrex.org/www1/vaticano/Tb-Dalmatic.jpg

I’m going to have to hope this is enough. The Christus Rex is NOT a “Modern innovation in the SPIRIT of Vatican II”. Those who don’t know Early Church History may want it that way, because then they can talk about how, “We’re resurrection people who have to make a break with the past.” We can always point out the EARLY origins of the Christius Rex and how it symbolized to Early Christians that Jesus Christ was the King of King and Lord of Lords who reigned EVEN FROM THE CROSS. and, Because HE is King, the Church isn’t a Democracy, and we must submit our lives and our wills to HIM and to those HE places over us.

They’re really going to like that…

Your Brother and Servant in Christ, Michael

 

[Traditional_Ang]

Ours is a plain cross with a full size Jesus clothed in a white robe rising with his arms upward. It is pretty by just does not show the sacrifice as far as many of us are concerned. It would have made a nice stained glass window in the front of the building not at the altar.

Kathleen:

If this is what most of you are seeing in your parishes, then I’m due for a “foot from mouth extraction”, because this is NOT a Christus Rex, “Christ the King ruling from the Tree”. This is something else entirely different - Something I’d have to call an attempt to avoid preaching, *"*Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." (1 Cor 1:23-24 ESV)

I guess this has become a feature of MODERN ECCLESIASTICAL ARCHITECTURE, because so many of those who have designed Catholic parish churches in the USA since the 1960’s are either unbelievers who have done the work for the commission and for personal acclaim or don’t really understand that churches are there to help us know the Glory and the Love of God. This is NOT as in times past where most, if not all of those designing parish churches were believers who were doing this “as a labor of love and devotion” for the God they knew and loved.

Compare St. Ignatius Catholic Church in San Francisco to the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco & the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, and you’ll see what I mean…

St. Ignatius Catholic Church (I there in the late 1970’s)
stignatiussf.org/
stignatiussf.org/a/docent.htm
St. Ignatius Church, University of San Francisco.jpg

Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption (I attended Mass there in the late 1970’s)
stmarycathedralsf.org/
stmarycathedralsf.org/conference.html
St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco.jpg

Cathedral of our Lady of the Angels (I live 10 miles from here)
olacathedral.org/index.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_Our_Lady_of_the_Angels
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Virgin_Mary_by_Robert_Graham.jpg

Vote Now: Which is the Uggliest Cathedral in California
tinyurl.com/lkqqxd

And, Yes, you bet that makes a difference. Those of us who live in California have been familiar with all three buildings. I’m appalled to hear of effeminate Christs and to see androgynous Virgin Marys in our Modern “Sacred Art”. The MAN on the Shroud of Turin was somewhere around 5’11" and 180-185 lbs with enough muscle to be a threat to the Roman soldiers who were told to “Chastise”, “Flog” and then to “Crucify” Him. They were probably 5’8"-5’9" & 155-165 lbs. - They were SMALLER THAN HE was. Our Lord LAID FOUNDATIONS and put up TIMBER and STONE WALLS - He was used to HARD WORK & dealing with 100 lb. loads…

And, Mary was MARRIED - She fit in to her society, in spite of living a celibate lifestyle, because she was NOT androgynous - she was obviously your average mother who loved and doted on her son…

I really believe that using a non-feminine, “androgynous” statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary to greet those who come to the Cathedral of Los Angeles reflects an agenda that is contrary to the Gospel of Christ. I would much rather have had a “Greeting Statue” that was clearly a woman - or maybe even a “Missionary Image of our Lady of Guadalupe” than this.

Your Brother in Christ, Michael

 

[centurionguard]

My church Saint Bernard’s the mother church of my archdiocese has one twelve foot crucifix
on the center wall in the sanctuary behind the alter as do most English and French parishes in the archdioceses with the exception of one French church, Notre Dame de Grâce which has a large Resurrecttifix on the sanctuary wall. The Processional cross in my church also has a crucifix. According to the G.I.R.M. and I stand to be corrected but is there a limitation as to how many crucifixes there are on the sanctuary as to not cause duplication ?
Above the tabernacle there was formerly a 20 inch Franciscan San Damiano crucifix.
Now there hangs a Iconic crucifix from Medgegorje which I am not so particular about because it lacks the actual corpse of Jesus. I hope they change it.

 

[1holycatholic]

Does your parish have a crucifix, a plain cross, or a resurrectifix in its sanctuary?%between%

I’ve read this entire thread and I’m still not certain what a resurrectifix is.

My parish has a crucifix.

I attended Mass at another parish last weekend. I was surprised to see a life sized statue of a fully clothed Jesus with a cape and no cross. I guess he could be referred to as a touchdown Jesus, but to me it looked like Superman.

There was a crystal cross with no corpus near the altar. The foot high processional crucifix (mounted on a pole) was placed in front of it during the Mass.

The sanctuary lamp was white.

The homily was a reading of the parish financial report. :ehh:

FWIW: I don’t recall seeing a permanent crucifix near the main altar at St. Peter’s Basilica.

 

[saskatoon]

I think it should only be a crucifix in a Catholic church/cathedral. A plain cross is more for protestants since they don’t want to cross into the sin of idolotry like their Catholic friends (). The ressurectifix does not seem to be appropriate. Yes, Christ won victory over death on the cross, but didn’t resurrect from it. Someone had a link for the Cross of Life and that was just UGLY!! Why can’t we just stay with the classic looks? Why do we want to move to this modern “art”? Better yet, why don’t we have crucifixes in churches that depict what Jessus really looked like on the cross? I have been to churches/cathedrals where the art is just beautiful and really felt like I was in a church. I have been to other ones where the church has been stripped and is very plain and protestant feeling and found it hard to concentrate and pray. I have seen, though small, a movement for ladies to cover their heads in church again. I would really like to see a movement to bring back the beauty in churches. We all have seen great cathedrals(either in pictures or in person) in the US, Europe and around the world and they are beyond description in beauty and awinspiring. Bring that style back to our churches and give the Catholic church back its identity.

 

[Jennifer_G]

I’ve read this entire thread and I’m still not certain what a resurrectifix is.

I’ve seen one in my aunt and uncle’s old church. Their new church is this REALLY small little church (it used to be a small town near Hanover) which I don’t think even has room for a large crucifix. In my aunt and uncle’s old church, it was actually a statue of the ressurected Jesus suspended in mid-air. The “cross” was like 50 feet behind the statue on a brick wall (part of a walkway behind the altar), and was plaid colored - I think it was cloth.

Anyway, our church has the crucifix in the sanctuary. We still have the altar rails stored away in the garage just in case they ever need to be used again, but two altar rail sections still remain.

 

[Lutheranteach]

I’ve never been a fan of the crucifix except for around Good Friday. To me, a crucifix just misses the biggest point of christendom, not that Jesus died, but that Jesus rose giving to us the promise of everlasting life. Personal point of view and solely my own. I find the empty cross more uplifting is all.