No Crucifixes in Church or Mass

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pamnbam

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Hello all!

I recently moved from a diocese that was very faithful to the magisterium to one where I’m not so sure. I’m used to seeing the crucified Jesus above the altar in all the churches I used to attend. In my new diocese, altar crucifixes, even processional crucifixes, are few and far between.

During Lent, my church had a crucifix up, but after Easter, there’s now a statue of the risen Lord in its place. I’m told this happens every year. I’m very disturbed that there is no crucifix in my new parish, not even one being processed at the beginning of Mass. I’ve read the GIRM and I know what should be in place during Mass, but it’s not being done. Visiting a few other parishes tells me that this is not just a parish problem. The two churches in my diocese run by religious priests are the only two with crucifixes.

To make things more interesting, my kid is starting kindergarten at my new parish this fall. I want him to understand the beauty of our Lord’s sacrifice, but I don’t want to be the “new kid on the block” making demands about what’s in our church.

As you can see, this is a diocesan problem. The bishop must clearly know what’s going on if these identical “Risen Lord” statues are above most every altar in his diocese. I know that’s who I need to go to, but will it do any good? I’m a former Protestant, and there are other things going on at my church which seem illicit; not having a crucifix, especially these other Protestant church behaviors take me back to a place I don’t want to go. I left that Protestant world for the real one.

For now, I’m going to the Masses at the two other Churches. This is fine until my kid starts school and we’ll need to show proof of parish attendance through the stewardship envelopes. I guess I could bring the envelopes to the parish office each week…

But what would you do? Would you still try the bishop? Is there any recourse if he’s unwilling to correct the issue? Is this just small potatoes/am I being selfish. This is really bothering me and I haven’t brought it up to my husband yet/not sure he’ll understand. I’m having dreams about Mass at my old parish and my former Catholic school teaching days when we revered the crucifix. Any help? Thanks in advance!
 
Maybe your parish is trying to be Eastern by using a cross with the Risen Lord instead of a crucified one. This is traditional in the East and is done from Pascha to the day before Ascension.
 
ConstantineTG said:
Maybe your parish is trying to be Eastern by using a cross with the Risen Lord instead of a crucified one. This is traditional in the East and is done from Pascha to the day before Ascension.
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I wish that were the case. Indeed, it is just a statue of the risen Lord, no cross behind him. During the entrance procession, the altar server carries a plain cross. There is also an 8" standing cross on the altar (it doesn’t appear to be a crucifix–I sit in the fourth row and have my contacts in–but if it were, it’s definitely not “clearly visible to the people” as prescribed in the GIRM).

I’d have no problem with the risen statue if it were used in conjunction with a crucifix. But the crucifix is just not there; and virtually unseen across this Roman Catholic diocese. And that’s what’s scary…
 
And, it’s not just during Easter. It’s during Ordinary Time, as well. I’ve visited the parish on a few occasions before moving and thought the risen Lord statue was temporary. When I moved during Lent and saw the crucifix, I was relieved. But now, it’s back to the risen statue.

It’s almost like our crucified Lord had to be taken down as soon as possible after Lent. I just don’t understand why any Catholic church would do this…
 
There is a church in the next town over that has just a Jesus statue rising, nothing more. In another Catholic church in the same town, this is what they have instead of the crucified Jesus…
A friend of mine said alot of the Catholic churches are stripping away the beautiful artwork, icons, pictures, crucifixes, etc to make it a more ‘Protestant seeker friendly’ environment. Don’t know if that’s true or not but I do know many of the churches now are very sterile with no paints, no artwork, no nothing…
 
VeiledCatholic said:
A friend of mine said alot of the Catholic churches are stripping away the beautiful artwork, icons, pictures, crucifixes, etc to make it a more ‘Protestant seeker friendly’ environment. Don’t know if that’s true or not but I do know many of the churches now are very sterile with no paints, no artwork, no nothing…
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Yes, this is what I was afraid of, as I’m now in the south, in the Bible Belt, and there are just so many Protestant mannerisms the priests do (turn to your neighbor and greet each other before Mass, holding hands during the Our Father, saying the “Communion Prayer” all together after communion…) I don’t like it. But what can I do about it?
 
ConstantineTG said:
Maybe your parish is trying to be Eastern by using a cross with the Risen Lord instead of a crucified one. This is traditional in the East and is done from Pascha to the day before Ascension.
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Well if that’s what they were doing then it would be an abuse and violation of the rubrics which should be corrected.

Surely you don’t mean to suggest it’s just fine and dandy for Latin parishes to disobey Latin rubrics in order to copy eastern practices? What if I should advocate for the reverse and demand you install pews with kneelers in your eastern parish?
 
wasserfall said:
Well if that’s what they were doing then it would be an abuse and violation of the rubrics which should be corrected.

Surely you don’t mean to suggest it’s just fine and dandy for Latin parishes to disobey Latin rubrics in order to copy eastern practices? What if I should advocate for the reverse and demand you install pews with kneelers in your eastern parish?
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I never said it was okay to do so. And yes, we do have pews and kneelers in our parish.
 
pamnbam said:
Yes, this is what I was afraid of, as I’m now in the south, in the Bible Belt, and there are just so many Protestant mannerisms the priests do (turn to your neighbor and greet each other before Mass, holding hands during the Our Father, saying the “Communion Prayer” all together after communion…) I don’t like it. But what can I do about it?
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Resist. Fold your hands and tuck them under your chin with your eyes closed and ignore the hand shaking and hand holding stuff. Don’t participate in anything not authorized by the rubrics. If anyone asks you why you don’t join in these activities, tell them straight out, but kindly, that these actions are not authorized during Mass. That’s what I used to do. Fortunately, a new bishop made this no longer necessary.

You might try buying a copy of Pope Benedict’s book on the liturgy and giving it as a gift to the pastor in the hope that he reads it.
 
thistle said:
What does a statue of the Risen Lord look like?
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A cross with a figure of a living Christ somewhat “floating” on top of it. There is no blood, no wounds, no crown of thorns, no pain-stricken face. He is usually wearing some type of white robe or something similar, and is usually either smiling or has a nice look on his face. It is also common, in fact I daresay the norm, for him to have his hands outstretched.

Overall it is a nice sentiment but it is utterly and completely not in accord with the mandates of the Roman liturgy to have a “ressurectifix” instead of the required crucifix. It seems to me one of those 1970s holdovers.
 
YoungTradCath said:
A cross with a figure of a living Christ somewhat “floating” on top of it. There is no blood, no wounds, no crown of thorns, no pain-stricken face. He is usually wearing some type of white robe or something similar, and is usually either smiling or has a nice look on his face. It is also common, in fact I daresay the norm, for him to have his hands outstretched.

Overall it is a nice sentiment but it is utterly and completely not in accord with the mandates of the Roman liturgy to have a “ressurectifix” instead of the required crucifix. It seems to me one of those 1970s holdovers.
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Okay. I have seen them but never understood them. Christ did not rise from the Cross. He died on the Cross and rose from the tomb.
 
thistle said:
Okay. I have seen them but never understood them. Christ did not rise from the Cross. He died on the Cross and rose from the tomb.
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Yes, you are correct of course. It is, I think, supposed to be more symbolic than literal, as in, showing Christ triumph over the Cross. However, it is ignorant of history, tradition, and the requirements of the Roman Rite. It should properly be relegated to use outside of the sanctuary.
 
thistle said:
Okay. I have seen them but never understood them. Christ did not rise from the Cross. He died on the Cross and rose from the tomb.
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No thanks for me taking the time to post pictures for you , while all bleary-eyed in the early hours of the morning? 😦
 
TrueLight said:
No thanks for me taking the time to post pictures for you , while all bleary-eyed in the early hours of the morning? 😦
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Thank you, True Light! I was worried someone wouldn’t know what I meant. Although the ones my diocese has over the altar are all without a cross behind Jesus. I wanted to give an example, but I’d also give away the diocese…oh, what the heck… Look at the Welcome and About Us pages to see the Risen Lord statue above the altar. This statue is identical in most of the parish churches here. 😦

olqu.org/home.php
 
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