Should common churches have crucifix with very graphic\ realistic wounds, blood, scars, etc? or only more private settings like private chapels, monasteries, congregation or seminar churches, etc? images like this: I noticed how few of the churches I go to pay attention to this aspect, and also the modern-day precious blood devotion has the "agonizing crucifix" in the same style (it's not the pictured one, tho). Are there any rule for this? I see the possible criticism of "it's not a competition to make the most gruesome sculpture" but also, repentant mysticism and redemptive suffering must be rooted on the historically brutal method of crucifixion. Omitting its violence renders the Sacrifice less awe-inspiring for new church goers.
Personally, the more bloody the better for meditation. We can’t hide what he went through. I actually struggle seeing cleaned up crosses.
I think for the first few centuries there were no depictions of Christ's death. They knew what it meant. Even now there are very. Very few depictions that are exact. For example His both shoulders were dislocated and the nails through the wrists are epic pain centers. Shoulder dislocation is up there with the three worse pains. Which include birth pangs and burns.
But for myself the worst pains were Spiritual . I always come to attention at the agony in the Garden
Was it not Constantine the Great in the 4th century AD who ended crucifixion as capital punishment in the Roman empire? If true, then the early Christians could still see the evidence of the horror of a crucifixion.
The Miraculous Crucifix of Limpias I don't know how many of you are familiar with this phenomenon and miracle at the beginning of the 20th century that happened in Spain... To me, it is one of my favorite modern miracles that left a mark on the masses of people, scientists, priests and in a deeper way shook many who actually witnessed the calvary and suffering of the cross. This is that book: https://archive.org/details/thewonderfulcruc00kleiuoft/page/114/mode/2up?view=theater I will only present some reports, so maybe someone will be interested and read the book The Miraculous Crucifix of Limpias is located in the 16th century Church of St. Peter in Santander, Spain, The Crucifix is a beautiful 6 foot life-size figure of the crucified Jesus, and is located directly above the main altar. Arranged on either side of the crucifix, and somewhat below it, are life-size figures of the Sorrowful Virgin Mary and the Apostle John. The miraculous crucifix is believed to have been the work of Pedro de Mena, who died in 1693, and the crucifix was given to the church by Father Diego de la Piedra Secadura, who had been born at Limpias in 1716. The crucifix is a meditation on the sufferings of Our Lord portraying Him in the final moments of His agony. Measuring six feet tall, the corpus is clothed with a loin cloth that is held in place with a rope. The feet are one atop the other and are pierced with a single nail. The index and middle fingers of both pierced hands are extended as though giving a final blessing. The face of Our Lord is of particular beauty, with its glass eyes looking toward Heaven so that, for the most part, only the whites of the eyes are visible. Testimonies; An extraordinary revelation was observed by Dr. D. Pedro Cuesta in August, 1920. The doctor first tells that he was in the company of a priest, a doctor and a married couple. In the morning, during Holy Mass, his companions saw the miraculous movements but he did not, even though he moved from one position in the church to another. That afternoon he was persuaded to return to the church and saw this astounding revelation. "When I fixed my gaze for the third or fourth time on the figure I noticed that the fleshy parts entirely disappeared, so that only the skin still remained, a skeleton on which I could have made anatomical studies. The head was completely dried up, until it, like the skin that I had seen, totally vanished. After I had not seen the figure at all for some time it reappeared, but as if mummified, until later on it was also restored by degrees in its fleshy parts. Yes, I observed clearly the formation of a hypertrophy (enlargement) of the head, which then also extended to the remaining parts of the body. Each of these apparitions was repeated twice. "At the last stage of the second development I could no longer control myself, but cried out in terror and fled out of the church. A cowardly fear had taken possession of me, whereas I had never before known fear-let my description not be set down to exaggeration ... I, who was never ill, thought I should die on the spot. The instinct of self-preservation drove me out of the church or I should have had to be carried out as a corpse. So I stumbled out of the church and confessed with my whole heart to the people standing outside: By my reputation as a physician and on my word of honour, I take my oath to what I state herewith, and which I will also certify and ratify with my blood." So emotionally spent was the doctor that he went on to say: "I felt the necessity of taking some restorative [a tranquilizer]," which he did. Dr. D.Eduardo Perez y Perez gives us a graphic medical report of what he saw on October 6, 1919: “As I was praying before the crucifix of the Santo Cristo, He looked at me lovingly for nearly a minute ... then Christ raised His head, which then remained in quite a peaceful attitude. The muscles of the neck relaxed ... the eyes were at the same time wide open and turned upwards ... there ensued a violent inhalation with straining of the muscles of the neck, whereby the musculus cleidomastoideus especially stood out, and furthermore the musculi pectorales, the scalenus anterior, and the accessory respiratory muscles, with a considerable dilation of the intercostal spaces, as in the case, for example at the last struggle after mortal wounds ... For a moment He appeared on the point of death ... then He resumed His customary expression, as the artist had given it to the figure ... I must add that during the whole of that afternoon I saw the figure a reddish colour. The following day it was a yellowish or lead colour, as with a dying person ...” There is also a report of a non-believer who was a medical student named D. Heriberto de la Villa. His testimony was published in the paper “Del Pueblo Astur” on July 8, 1919. He first strongly declares that: " ... auto-suggestion is quite out of the question, for I did not believe in the miracle when I went." He later went into the church at the urging of a friend and saw the movement of the eyes and mouth. Doubting what he was seeing, he changed his location in the church to better study the movements and then saw the crucifix of Limpias: “. . . gaze upon me with a terrible look full of anger, which makes me shudder, and I cannot help but bow my head ... I look up again and see how He is looking to the right, bowing His head, and turns it to the right, so that I can see the crown of thorns from behind ... Once again he turns on me the same angry look which makes such a deep impression upon me that I see myself obliged to leave the church." Later that day he returned to the church and saw that, “... little by little the breast and face became dark blue, the eyes move to the right and left, upwards and down, the mouth opens somewhat, as if He were breathing with difficulty. This I saw for fifteen to twenty minutes ... I also noticed that above the left eyebrow a wound formed, out of which a drop of blood flowed over the eyebrows, and remained stationary by the eyelids. After that I saw another drop of blood fall from the crown of thorns and flow over the face. I could distinctly discern it, for it was very red and contrasted with the dark blue colour of the face. Then I saw a quantity of blood drip from the crown of thorns onto the shoulder, but without touching the face. He opened His mouth wide, out of which a white matter like froth welled. At this moment a Dominican priest mounted the pulpit, whereupon Christ gazed steadily at him for five or six minutes ..." "When the preacher ended with the words: "and now, Santo Cristo, give us Thy blessing," Christ opened His eyes and mouth, smiling, and bowed His head, as if He wished to give the benediction in reality. At this moment someone who was standing near me asked me if I would venture to swear on oath to what I saw ... Then I recognized that Christ wanted to prove to me the truth of what I saw; He opened His mouth again, out of which froth and blood streamed in great quantity and flowed out of the comers of the mouth quite distinctly ... Thereafter I believed that it was now my duty to swear upon oath to what I had seen, and I did so in the sacristy of the church.”
Miraculous events like these remind me so much of the Transfiguration. Ever time I pray this mystery on the Rosary the words, 'Lightning from heaven ', springs to mind( just at at the Mystery of Jesus Being found in the Temple the words, 'Cry of Joy' comes to mind and the Crowned with Thorns the words, 'Crowned with Stars' sand at the Presentation the word, 'Family'). They say the reason why the Transfiguration happened was to give the Disciples hope during the upcoming Passion and Death. I think its the same with these miracles, they too are lightning from heaven to give us hope. So as things get darker and darker we will get more and more and greater and greater miracles up to the Great Sign in Heaven and the Illumination of Conscience. Revelation 12:1-12 A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth. Then another sign appeared in the sky; it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadems. Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky and hurled them down to the earth.
