Large statues of Jesus hanging on the Cross

[peace2u2]

I have been to that church (parish?) once before I moved nextdoor. People may have looked at me weird as I did not partake in the Bread and Wine — I knew only Catholics are allowed.

Is there a significance to the churchbell ringing at 8 am?

Actually no one probably even gave it a second thought that you didn’t go up to receive Jesus and Catholics are suppose to not receive Jesus if they have mortal sins on their souls and I’m sure there are many who go up anyway or maybe they don’t know they can’t go up which would include not receiving Jesus if missing a Holy Day of Obligation and not going to confession first.

I don’t know the significance of the churchbells ringing at 8am. Maybe to signify the doors to the Church are now open. Mass is celebrated everyday in the Catholic church, but not many people go because of work obligations during the week and it is not an obligation like on Sunday or other special days.

The small church that I mentioned where I returned after being away for awhile, they ring their bells at noon. I don’t know why but I know that when I am in that area at that time, it makes me think of Jesus. Maybe its meant for us to remember Jesus when we hear the bells.

 

[EIF5A]

Yes, I don’t understand why people find the Crucifix offensive

I don’t know if offensive is the right term. At least personally, I find the Crucifix daunting and a bit fearful. Perhaps convicting? But then again, don’t evil spirits also fear the Crucifix?

Secondly, it makes me wonder if any sculptor can truly represent the physical body of Christ fully. I find two branches tied together to be just as powerful of a reminder of Christ.

If I do start attending Mass regularly, I guess it’s something I have to get accustomed to.

 

[KathleenGee]

Devout Protestants…here we go with the phrase…through no fault of their own, many of them who have come to Catholicism from fundamentalism that was condemning of our faith, do have alot of fear and hesitations, taking time to heal and to be certain they are going in the right direction of their faith to into the Church.

So we place devout Protestants in the mercy of Christ. Only He can judge and they are our separated brethren.

When a Catholic commits a mortal sin, one must go to confession for absolution. Confession is a sacrament. One cannot receive the sacrament of the Eucharist in mortal sin and can only be restored through confession — for a Catholic. Only God can forgive sin. The priest simply acts in the person of Christ and gives counsel many times at confession. To receive the sacrament of the Eucharist, you must be pure of sin, because you are receiving Christ, and doing so must be made clean…not of yourself, but again Christ purifies and strengthens you at confession.

The sacraments are Christ present and ministering to us.

To respect our faith and not receive the Eucharist is a very good sign in anyone. I was at a funeral and the priest said people who are not Catholic cannot receive, but can come forward to receive a blessing. I picked up alot of resentment in the back where most of them sat.

My church rings its bell every hour. It is pretty loud being out there when it happens, and you can’t hold a conversation when it goes off. Many other churches don’t have bells.

I don’t know why at 8 am except they are having daily Mass at that time.

The early church, after the persecutions, had Christ the Risen King on the cross.

But it sounds like your conversion process is going on very deep within your soul. Ask the Lord to remove from you any thoughts that are scrupulous. Don’t stare at the crucifix because this sounds like a scruple.

 

[Indifferently]

Am I right in thinking of whether there is a theology behind whether the cross should be empty or have a figure of Christ affixed to it? Possibly related to the Roman Catholic belief in the Sacrifice of the Mass?

Either way, I highly recommend confession to a priest. We have it in many parishes in the Church of England and its healing power is unlike anything you could possibly imagine.

 

[JonNC]

=Indifferently;10209533]Am I right in thinking of whether there is a theology behind whether the cross should be empty or have a figure of Christ affixed to it? Possibly related to the Roman Catholic belief in the Sacrifice of the Mass?

I think, from a Lutheran perspective, the the crucifix better represents the fact that we preach Christ, and Him crucified. For me, the empty cross is short-hand for a crucifix. It doesn’t represent the risen Christ - that would be the empty tomb.

Either way, I highly recommend confession to a priest. We have it in many parishes in the Church of England and its healing power is unlike anything you could possibly imagine.

Agreed. I should do it more than I do.

Jon

 

[guanophore]

In case I forgot to welcome you to CAF, glad you are here, and happy new year.

This is kind of a segue but didn't want to start a new thread.

What is the current Church view on mortification of the flesh? Is it encouraged?

Yes of course.

Gal 5:16-18
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would.

Asceticism predisposes us to the working of God.

 Allowed but cautioned to be done with prayerful consideration?  Can physical suffering be used as a tool to "cleanse/purify" the soul?

Absolutely all physical and other suffering should always be offered for the purification of our own souls, as well as those of others (including the holy souls in purgatory).

Is my remaining guilt a way for the enemy to torment me and cause me to think Christ has not fully forgiven me?

There are a variety of sources for guilt. Yes, guilt was created by God to help us conform ourselves to His commandments. When we respond properly to actual guilt, we will turn away from sin and toward the divine nature.

Yes, the enemy does use guilt to interfere with our relationship with God. It is important to distinguish the source of the guilt, and prevent the enemy from using it to drive a wedge.

There is also a human source of guilt, where we acquire and nurture a false guilt which the enemy can use as a foothold to disturb the peace that is the inheritance of the Christian.

Do I need to go through RCIA and all that stuff before I can go in a confession booth?

Not necessarily, but usually. Talk to the priest and follow his guidance.

Back on topic, I also find the “normal” Protestant large wooden crosses a bit unnerving but bearable. The statues/figures in Catholic Churches…I feel like they can see how vile my soul is and that my physical presence there will “pollute” the service.

This is exactly the reason that crucifixes are used. They are a reminder of what Jesus suffered to pay for our sins, and keep us mindful of our need for His sacrifice.

The are also a reminder that our souls are always completely open to Him:

Heb 4:11-13

11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, that no one fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And before him no creature is hidden, but **all are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to do. **

The Word of God (Living Christ) always has His eye on His flock.

With regard to your sense of pollution, this is the sign of a rightly formed conscience that realizes the human condition in the presence of a holy God. It must be, however, supplemented by His grace, for His grace is that which washes away our pollution. It is our responsibility to keep ourselves in that state of grace, so that when we come to Mass we do not bring pollution with us.

 

[KathleenGee]

It is our selfish, sensual will that causes us pain. We follow Christ by taking up our cross and following Him.

People who are on highest spiritual level constantly long for Christ, ‘feed’ on suffering because it is purifying when united to Christ, and is means to bring the love of Christ more into the soul…

The Church is as a pool, as S. Catherine of Siena described, where we dip in to be nourished by the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, work in prayer and will to love Christ more, to have His new life more and more within us, to become more transparent where our will is His will and we extend His love to every human being.

 

[perro_sarnoso]

To be honest, it scares me. It’s like I’m looking physically at Jesus, and the sinner that I am and given my past, I find it hard to bear to look at the figure. My sins still haunt me, and I feel as though I have not done enough to find forgiveness and that I’m in a state of sinful unease. (Protestant churches tell you your past is your past and all is forgiven if you earnestly seek and pray — if I’m not mistaken, Catholics believe in penance that’s separate from confession…?)

Are Catholics just accustomed to the image of Jesus on the Cross? Am I just not used to seeing more vividly the suffering and pain our Lord had to endure?

It should scare you. It should repulse you. It should remind you who and what put Him there. The need for a Divine Being to have to die on the cross for Universal Salvation.

And it needs to be like this for as long as we live on this God created earth. Because we humans suffer from sin amnesia.

We even forget that we have sinned and sometimes even think that our sin is not a sin. It’s not because of a defective intellect- but a defective will. A will that has been hooked and snared by sin.

The crucifix is necessary to remind us not to sin. To fear God is to fear to offend Him because “this is the result”. Don’t Forget it"

 

[guanophore]

 It seems to be of extreme grand gesture for Christ to give such great authority to fallible human beings.  God, knowing past, present, and future, knew of the corruption and various human faults that embroiled the Catholic Church authority in the past.

Indeed.

Matt 9:6-8
" 7 And he rose and went home. 8 When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

 The question becomes:  Is calling upon the Name of the Lord sufficient for salvation, or must we also follow the Sacred Tradition because it derived from the authority that Christ gave to the Apostles?

The two are not separated into “either/or” . Jesus does not separate Himself from His Church. Calling upon His name means that we enter the Ark of the Church He founded, and remain within her protective walls.

If truly penitent, has the Catholic Church ever *NOT* forgiven a sin?  Is there a sin (other than blasphemy) that is too grave for forgiveness?

There have been many priests and bishops that not only refused to grant absolution, but even to hear a confession.

God is the final judge of all souls, but I can’t imagine what it would be like to want to make a confession and be disallowed.

It is not the gravity of the sin that is the issue, but the intention of the individual. If a person seems to clearly wish to continue engaging in the same sin, then there is not a firm purpose of amendment, and that is one of the requirements for absolution.

 

[KathleenGee]

We enter union with the Heavenly Father through the Crucified Lord.

Jesus was truly human, and His body suffered greatly on the Cross. But Jesus was always divine and He always saw God through the Beatific Vision which gave Him joy in His sufferings.

That is a reflection from St. Catherine of Siena, of whom I am reviewing all of her teachings. She has been a great help to me, and in how to deal with suffering.

The people on the highest spiritual level don’t feel any pain from the world. They draw constantly on the fountain of God through the crucified Lord, they hunger for suffering for the conversion of sinners and for greater entry into the life of Christ.

Ask the Lord in confession when that time comes, to heal you of any unnecessary fears and He will.

 

[aragonjohn1]

Yes, I don’t understand why people find the Crucifix offensive - A few years back I took my kids to a presentation on the Shroud of Turin. It was powerful. I had no idea that the Passion of Christ would spill out into that presentation or I may have not brought my kids. But I’m glad that I brought them. It moved my kids like nothing I had ever witnessed. It was as if we were brought right back to that moment in time when Jesus was scouraged, beaten, spit on and nailed onto that cross. We wept and our hearts ached for this man Jesus who did all this for us individually. There was not a dry eye in that Church.

Yes, I have heard Protestants going to confession,and I believe their sins are forgiven but they can’t receive absolution for those sins so you would still take them into the next life and be purified of them there in purgatory. So I guess its be purified now or later?

He chose to be born on earth and to die for sinners.
Praised be Jesus the Christ now and forever ( :

God bless