Posted on 01/05/2010 9:46:47 PM PST by the_conscience
Now zoom wayyyyy out and observe that the floor plan of the Basilica is the form of a cross with the location of the central altar representing the position of Christ on the cross.
You say:
Catholicism proposes that God is not sovereign in many ways. Then you cite a passage from the writing of a Fr. John O’Brien. Is Fr. O'Brien "Catholicism?" Does he speak, as a competent theologian, for Catholicism? Is this excerpt from a theological work examining the relationship between God's will and Man's?
And on a more open scale: Can a sovereign not make a promise? Does keeping the promise He made limit His sovereignty?
Analogy: when one gets married, does s/he lose freedom or exercise it? The SIMPLE view is that freedom is lost, because the SIMPLE view is that freedom is about choosing without hindrance. To a person with such a view, life is a pretty pickle because we are constrained by our mortality and the approaching end of life is the end of choice, of the possibility of choice.
But that turns out not to be the only idea of freedom. For me, I manifest, ripen, strengthen, my freedom by keeping my wedding vows. Pledges are the fullness of freedom, not its loss. Christ on the cross and in the tomb is free. My goal is not to exercise freedom while I may, but to bring it to ripeness, as much as I can, before I die.
I wonder, if I ask something, will you respond honestly. Where did you find this quote? Was it browsing around sources of Catholic thought, or was it from some other place?
You have struck upon an important facet of who the Catholic Church is. The relationship of God and the Church with mankind is based upon the universal truth of the family unit. God is the symbolic father. He is paternal, the progenitor and the protector, the source of our laws and our strengths. The Church is the symbolic mother. It is maternal, the teacher, the nurturer and the source of service and comfort. In this Mary provides an excellent role model and is deserving of special veneration.
'cept it is so partitioned you really can't see that.
Consider that it was designed to be observable from 30,000 ft. 500 years before the invention of aircraft. It is a tribute to God, not those inside the building.
An imprimatur, according to you, means the statements are not inconsistent with the views of the Catholic Church.
I have the book. There is an Imprimatur. It is used for evangelistic purposes. See page 303.
It has the imprimatur of the Catholic Church. You can see it here:
Vladimir998 now also says he/she has seen a couple of these before. So I guess it is safe to assume it was not altered by anyone. Right!
See post 5193.
Vladimir998 now also says he/she has seen a couple of these before. So I guess it is safe to assume it was not altered by anyone. Right!
That’s interesting, but we were talking about the average person standing inside who sees a huge painting of Mary and a cross tucked away in the corner.
I actually have the book, but you can do a search and you will find at least part of the quote at page 256:
I’m beyond being surprised by just about anything she might do. As OldTax-lady said, when I joined the Catholic Church, “I always knew you would do something really weird, as this isn’t nearly as bad as some of the possibilities.”
I suppose I should act shocked and disapproving at some point, though, or she’ll run amok trying to impress me.
Sometimes (often?) there’s nothing worthwhile to say except, “Have a nice day.”
Pages available for view skip from 254 to 258, in-between is not available for view.
Whats your point? The altar is dwarfed by the architecture, the carved stone, the stained glass, the lighting, etc. None of that diminishes Christ's central role in the Church or the mass.
An average joe's description of the painting here.
The main focus of the painting is Mary (or Queen Mary as Catholics infer)... she is the centerpiece of the painting, the most highlighted and the whole painting is built around her. The very brightest area seems to illuminate right about Mary's left eye and a few cloud areas around her feet almost forming a halo around her...Mary is lifted on a cloud above everyone else. Almost like a Queen.
If Benedict XVI writes a book about his love of Mozart, that does not make Amadeus into Catholic doctrine.
The Imprimatur does not carry the weight you want to stack on it.
I don’t think you quite understand what the Imprimatur means or how the Catholic Church works.
The nihil obstat and imprimatur are not an endorsement and don’t guarantee that the entire contents of a work are true.
http://www.cuf.org/faithfacts/details_view.asp?ffID=268
Catholic parish churches have crosses —often several—in plain view.
My parish church has a huge cross behind the altar, there is one always displayed during Mass, the procession into the church for the liturgy of the Mass is preceded by a cross-bearer. The mulitple stained glass windows in my parish church have at least a dozen small Celtic crosses embedded in them, as well as the actual depiction of Jesus crucified.
My parish church is also built as a Cruciform.
One of the antiphons the people offer together, vocally, during the Mass is as follows:
“Lord, by your cross and resurrection You have set us free; You are the Savior of the world”
(Another antiphon is: “Dying You destroyed our death, rising You restored our life; Lord Jesus, come in glory”)
The steeple and the cross atop it can easily be seen from points of our valley.
The “average person” may not get to Rome, but if they are Catholic they will certainly encounter the cross often in their own parish where they regularly worship..
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