The Cross is folly to some!

Flag on the stage?

Hmmm...maybe.

For what?

I don't know.

But this is not a church.  It's an auditorium.  Schools are always guilty of doing this.

They have a chapel or a church and they decide to hold Mass at the "comfier" auditorium, where the people relax comfortably in their La-Z Boy "chairs" while the priest offers the same Sacrifice of Calvary.

But when you look at this picture....there is actually more!

See that corpus-less cross?

You would think that Anglican or some Episcopalian churches look more Catholic than this "catholic" setting, no?

Yes.

When you see "altars" set up this way...

When you see our chapels designed this way...

You know that it is not really about Christ that is the center.

They hate to see the suffering Christ on the cross, reasoning that Christ has already risen and that the Catholic Faith is anchored on the resurrection of Christ.

But the fact of the matter is, the Mass IS the same Sacrifice of Calvary, and the crucifix, not the cross, reminds us of that.

Why o why do our priests and nuns HATE the crucifix???

Before Vatican 2, all religious priests and nuns and brothers carry a profession cross like this.

Now?

Nah.

They'd have tables and smartphones than this one.

More of keeping with times.

Not even these papal words of wisdom would mean anything to these liturgists!

For St Paul the Cross has a fundamental primacy in the history of humanity; it represents the focal point of his theology because to say "Cross" is to say salvation as grace given to every creature. The topic of the Cross of Christ becomes an essential and primary element of the Apostle's preaching: the clearest example concerns the community of Corinth. Facing a Church in which disorder and scandal were disturbingly present, where communion was threatened by internal factions and ruptures which damaged the unity of the Body of Christ, Paul did not present himself with sublime words or wisdom but with the proclamation of Christ, of Christ crucified. His strength is not in the use of persuasive language but, paradoxically, in the weakness and trepidation of those who entrust themselves solely to the "power of God" (cf. 1 Cor 2: 1-5). The Cross, for all it represents, hence also for the theological message it contains, is scandal and folly. The Apostle says so with an impressive force that it is good to hear directly from his words: "for the word of the Cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God... it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles" (1 Cor 1: 18-23).

-  Benedict XVI

"The desire to restore everything indiscriminately to its ancient condition is neither wise nor praiseworthy. It would be wrong, for example, to want the altar restored to its ancient form of a table, to want black eliminated from the liturgical colors, and pictures and statues excluded from our churches; to require crucifixes that do not represent the bitter sufferings of the divine Redeemer"

 -  Pius XII

"Thus, to cite some instances, one would be straying from the straight path were he to wish the altar restored to its primitive tableform; were he to want black excluded as a color for the liturgical vestments; were he to forbid the use of sacred images and statues in Churches; were he to order the crucifix so designed that the divine Redeemer's body shows no trace of His cruel sufferings; and lastly were he to disdain and reject polyphonic music or singing in parts, even where it conforms to regulations issued by the Holy See."

-  Pius XII Mediator Dei

And even our own liturgical books, published after Vatican II speaks specifically about it!

"No 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."  General Instruction of the Roman Missal

In my next blog posts, I'll show you more horrifying pictures of "crucifixes".

No.  Not the one that will lead you to true sorrow and remorse for your sins...

The one that would lead you to curse who ever thought of making that and putting that one up.  The kind that would lead you to....oh well...