Hidden Crucifix

[Rosalinda]

Our parish priest has a penchant for decorating the church which has a larger than life-size wooden crucifix accompanied by statues of the Sorrowful Mother and St. John. This trio acts as the main focus behind the altar because of their high central location; otherwise the church is extremely spartan: no stained-glass windows, discoloured brick walls and the statues themselves are a monotone shade almost blending in with the walls so they too are extremely understated. Nevertheless, father routinely covers the religious artwork with a 20’ drape and hides Our Lord on the cross for months on end. (Note not days even weeks rather months) Rather than a crucifix we have a cheap, ugly black cross for the entire Easter season and at Christmas the drape which hides the crucifixion scene is decorated with a single star. While the attempt to decorate the church with flowers, banners, balloons, dolls, pumpkins, water fountains and trees is too often cheap and tacky, with material no better than one would find for store displays, I can understand why he feels the need. Even so, what really is disturbing and frustrating for parishionners is this compulsion to use every liturgical feast as a pretext to hide the crucifix.

Why does he feel he has a right to play hide-and-seek with sacred art? I have since left the parish after several years of fighting to keep statues of St. Joseph and Our Lady inside the sanctuary. Other parishionners who were upset enough to complain were labelled a few old folks with difficulty adjusting to change. The majority seemingly could care less so father accepts the praises and chooses to ignore the complaints.

 

[msproule]

How very sad .

According the the GIRM (my emphasis added):
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.

 

[Walking_Home]

Mz. Rosalinda,

Please do not give up. These changes that the priest has made are not good for the well being of the Church and parishioners.

I myself worry that when my grandchildren in the future enter their parish church, what they find there will no longer project the Catholic faith.

Take pictures of the changes the priest has made. I don’t think it is against the rules to take pictures inside the church. Since the priest has made his position known, send a letter with the pictures explaining what is occuring to the Bishop.

Have as many of the parishioners who see these negative changes also write to the Bishop. There is strength in numbers. The Bishop may pay more attention if he gets more than one letter bringing up these abuses.

If the Bishop ignores you, go up the chain of command. There are people here who will be able to guide you as to the next step up the latter.

For the life of me, in all sincerity, I just cannot comprehend what is occuring with some of our clergy. Where are they receiving their religious instruction. How and why are they changing. I know some influence is society, but what you have explained above, it seems like the statues and crucifix are objectionable this preist.

Yes, Jesus will protect his Church, but we as the body of the Church, need to carry some of the weight of the Cross. We need to carry some of the burden of the Cross in protecting Christs Church.

Again, please don’t give up. Our Lord Jesus will give you courage.

Sincerely,
Walking_Home

Holy Mother, continue guiding me to you son, our Lord Jesus.
Keep my eyes open to recognize the deceiver.

 

[Rosalinda]

1. 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.

PsProule, Yes, I’ve read that too. There is a small processional cross which is carried to the front of the church during the entrance hymn and it stands on a pole in the sanctuary. Even this little crucifix has been a source of friction as the priest has repeatedly tried to move it as far back into the sanctuary as possible. Fortunately, an elderly altar server has just as persistently replaced it closer to the altar. While technically speaking the parish priest may be observing the letter of the law this crucifix is far too small, maybe the corpus is 10", to be “clearly visible” for all the congregation to see; whereas, the life-size crucifix is inescapably visible to all located as it is above and behind the altar.

The spirit of the law is not being respected nor are the religious and esthetic sensibilities of parishionners. This priest had to go to great lengths to find a ladder tall enough in order to hang this curtain almost from the ceiling. The irony is scripture says after Jesus died the curtain of the temple was torn asunder. This has been interpreted as a symbol of God tearing away the veil which separated us from Him and today this priest dares to put up the curtain once again.

It is so contradictory to be participating in the sacrifice of the Mass where the faithful are denied the right to be at the foot of the cross looking up into the face of their suffering Saviour. When we would recite the Our Father I would always look up at Him and would imagine Jesus raising his head to pray with us… forgive us our trespasses…

Walkinghome, the statues of Joseph and Mary have been removed from the closet and returned to their proper place. I have prayed for this priest but I no longer want to be part of a parish which is ashamed of Christ crucified. Today, I enter this church only for weddings and funerals. Meanwhile, I have found a Catholic church of the eastern rite in which I can participate in the Divine Liturgy without all the distractions and nonsense of my former parish.