J
JReducation
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Benedict’s instincts on everything have been wonderful!
JR
Benedict’s instincts on everything have been wonderful!
Its not really your place to tell Catholics what they should or should not do. The idea that a Pope should not use a particular crucifix because Satanists have used them to mock them is idiotic.Yes he has thank God. The new cross is the one Pope Puis IX used. Traditionally, Popes have used crosses as staffs. Slowly, Pope Benedict is bringing in some tradition.
The Crooked Creepy Crucifix should make Catholics shudder. It’s weird and Crooked Crucifixes have generally been used by Satanists over the centuries for mocking.
It is the mind of the Protestant to want a sanitized cross, not the Catholic. The Catholic wants to keep in his mind forever the horror of what Christ suffered in order to redeem us, and rightly so. We should never take for granted the price of our salvation.That cross was not the creation of any satanic rite. It was designed by St. John of the Cross, one the Doctors of the Church. The reason that he is called a Doctor is because everything that he teaches is consistent with the Catholic faith. There is no error in his theology and there is not doubt in the mind of the Church as to his union with God.
John of the Cross saw that vision in one of his mystical experiences where Christ appeared to him thus. He tried the best he could to explain it in his reflections.
It is based on very solid theology. St. John of the Cross saw that even while nailed to the cross, suffering the worse kind of suffering imposed by our sinfulness, Christ still bends down towards man and reaches out to embrace him, so that the cross embraces the world.
That’s a beautiful and a rationale theological explanation of the cross. I see no demonic or satanic thought here, just truth that can be verified by the teaching of the Church and the scriptures.
Most crosses are very beautiful, but very sanitized. John of the Cross, hence his name, did not see a sanitized cross. He saw a grotesque death of him who reaches out to embrace the world.
JR![]()
Beautifully statedIt is the mind of the Protestant to want a sanitized cross, not the Catholic. The Catholic wants to keep in his mind forever the horror of what Christ suffered in order to redeem us, and rightly so. We should never take for granted the price of our salvation.
JPII was a true Mystic, he was always at the foot of the Cross, with St. Francis of Assisi, with St. John of the Cross, with St. John the Evangelist, with the Blessed Virgin, with all the great Saints of the ages, never taking his eyes off our suffering savior, always looking to join in His sufferings for our sake.
Nothing sanitized, just truth. His choice of Crucifix bears witness to his soul.
I was blessed to have gone to the one in DC as part of our RCIA experience, it was awesome!i agree, cathedrals are awesome and humbling. never been to the one in DC, but i have seen a number of them in europe. they are a strong and loud statement of our glory to God.![]()
And many would say “if Pope John Paul the Great used it, it’s good enough for me.” Both would be knee-jerk, ill-reasoned arguments…but it seems to rest on a matter of aesthetics, which is open.If Pope Pius IX used it, it’s good for me.![]()
I really never had a problem with it, however I do value tradition.And many would say “if Pope John Paul the Great used it, it’s good enough for me.” Both would be knee-jerk, ill-reasoned arguments…but it seems to rest on a matter of aesthetics, which is open.
That’s just it…it isn’t all that traditional. I haven’t any problem with someone prefering the cross of Pius IX, though I don’t prefer it. I have a problem with the free and easy way that terms like “traditional” are batted around, or “modernsim,” for that matter. As has been pointed out, popes have not carried a pastoral staff OR a crosier for centuries. Pius IX carried it rarely, I seem to recall. Further, to say that if Pius IX carried it, it’s okay is as bad as what “traditionalists” accuse others of intimating: If John Paul II did it, it was ok. See?I really never had a problem with it, however I do value tradition.
Could the term that you’re looking for be “splitting”?That’s just it…it isn’t all that traditional. I haven’t any problem with someone prefering the cross of Pius IX, though I don’t prefer it. I have a problem with the free and easy way that terms like “traditional” are batted around, or “modernsim,” for that matter. As has been pointed out, popes have not carried a pastoral staff OR a crosier for centuries. Pius IX carried it rarely, I seem to recall. Further, to say that if Pius IX carried it, it’s okay is as bad as what “traditionalists” accuse others of intimating: If John Paul II did it, it was ok. See?
It doesn’t get much more realistic…That’s just the thing. I don’t think the depiction is very realistic at all.
I find crucifixes with graphic, realistic displays of Christ’s sacrifice to be quite moving.
What? No.Bishops can use any crozier they want. Traditionally, the Pope uses one with a cross at the top, but there is not law one way or the other.
The one that John Paul II used was designed by St. John of the Cross. It was deliberately designed to look like a tree from a vision that St. John of the Cross had of Christ hanging of the cross embracing the world, that’s why it is bent downward.
Benedict has used several croziers since his election. He also prefers to use the Eastern Rite crucifix in processions instead of the Roman crucifix.
The Eastern Rite crucifix is the one with two horizontal bars. This crucifix is the crucifix carried by an acolyte when a patriarch is preciding.
JR![]()
Of course it is. You’re simply wrong about that.That’s just it…it isn’t all that traditional. I haven’t any problem with someone prefering the cross of Pius IX, though I don’t prefer it. I have a problem with the free and easy way that terms like “traditional” are batted around, or “modernsim,” for that matter. As has been pointed out, popes have not carried a pastoral staff OR a crosier for centuries. Pius IX carried it rarely, I seem to recall. Further, to say that if Pius IX carried it, it’s okay is as bad as what “traditionalists” accuse others of intimating: If John Paul II did it, it was ok. See?
That art would be much easier to take if it weren’t totally out of scale with the Pope and other persons in front of it. I don’t hate it as a piece of art, but that would have been an extremely distracting backdrop, even if I loved it.JP2’s crucifix definitely looks like a relic of 1960s/1970s “art” design. I always found it grotesque, just like this monstrosity:
img246.imageshack.us/img246/6172/popepompgs5.jpg
Besides being grotesque and ugly, I find it downright scary. http://bestsmileys.com/scared/3.gifThat art would be much easier to take if it weren’t totally out of scale with the Pope and other persons in front of it. I don’t hate it as a piece of art, but that would have been an extremely distracting backdrop, even if I loved it.
That may not always be the worst thing…Besides being grotesque and ugly, I find it downright scary. http://bestsmileys.com/scared/3.gif
I’m sorry, wrong about what? I was speaking of HH Pope Pius IX’s cross, not the pastoral staff of HH Pope John Paul II.Of course it is. You’re simply wrong about that.
It doesn’t scare me, but I wouldn’t argue with anyone who held that opinion. It certainly is…forceful.Besides being grotesque and ugly, I find it downright scary. http://bestsmileys.com/scared/3.gif