Kitty Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 I hate to say it but it creeps me out. Especially when you hear accounts of eyes opening and closing by themselves, the the skin eventually darkening or degrading over a very long period of time. Makes me jumpy and is enough to give me nightmares. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 [quote name='Kitty' post='1612338' date='Jul 30 2008, 12:09 AM']I hate to say it but it creeps me out. Especially when you hear accounts of eyes opening and closing by themselves, the the skin eventually darkening or degrading over a very long period of time. Makes me jumpy and is enough to give me nightmares.[/quote] Hehe, I do understand what you mean. Although I think you'd be thinking too much about zombies and not enough about saints! Understandable, of course. Dead things are always slightly creepy. To me it's just a very potent, very visible sign of the right direction of our Church. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misereremi Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 [quote name='Nihil Obstat' post='1612311' date='Jul 30 2008, 05:59 AM']WOULD THIS NOT BE AWESOME?? I sure think it would be.[/quote] I hadn’t thought of that. Yeah, it would be amazing. [quote name='Kitty' post='1612338' date='Jul 30 2008, 07:09 AM']I hate to say it but it creeps me out. Especially when you hear accounts of eyes opening and closing by themselves, the the skin eventually darkening or degrading over a very long period of time. Makes me jumpy and is enough to give me nightmares.[/quote] Yeah, I can understand that. My parents influenced me into venerating relics since I was a toddler, and I did freak out sometimes, but now it isn't as creepy. My hubby (not yet Catholic) is VERY creeped out by it. In Padova he saw St Anthony’s tongue and he thought it was just really wrong to expose body parts of the deceased for people to venerate. I explained how St Bonaventura found the saint’s body reduced to dust except for the tongue, which was still red. I often pray with my kids next to the body of St John Southwarth. If you ever visit Westminister cathedral in London, you can read about his martyrdom and then see his small body lying there enshrined in a glass casket. It is awesome. I get so many odd stares from tourists. Perhaps some think it’s wrong to expose children to dead bodies like this. I think it is a healthy way to look at death and contemplate the afterlife, rather than the way modern Western society portrays death and mortality. I think some people will find it creepy regardless, but the fact is they are saints, and miracles come from venerating their remains. I keep the oil of St Charbel in my first aid kit, because you never know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puellapaschalis Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 [quote name='misereremi' post='1612369' date='Jul 30 2008, 09:50 AM']I often pray with my kids next to the body of St John Southwarth. If you ever visit Westminister cathedral in London, you can read about his martyrdom and then see his small body lying there enshrined in a glass casket. It is awesome. I get so many odd stares from tourists. Perhaps some think it’s wrong to expose children to dead bodies like this. I think it is a healthy way to look at death and contemplate the afterlife, rather than the way modern Western society portrays death and mortality.[/quote] Every time I'm in London I try to visit St. John Southworth! It's great to pray by his body, especially for England, which he did so much for. I once took a Confirmation group there to see him...I think it creeped them out a bit, being silver and all that With regards children and death: I don't think they should be "sheltered" - at least not from non-violent deaths. When my grandfather died (I was 5) my uncles tried to tell me he was just sleeping, which I wasn't buying at all. Kids aren't stupid. Besides, denying death is denying the Resurrection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archaeology cat Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 [quote name='Nihil Obstat' post='1612340' date='Jul 30 2008, 06:14 AM']Dead things are always slightly creepy.[/quote] I disagree. Then again, I'm an archaeologist - I like dead things. [quote name='misereremi' post='1612369' date='Jul 30 2008, 07:50 AM']I often pray with my kids next to the body of St John Southwarth. If you ever visit Westminister cathedral in London, you can read about his martyrdom and then see his small body lying there enshrined in a glass casket. It is awesome. I get so many odd stares from tourists. Perhaps some think it’s wrong to expose children to dead bodies like this. I think it is a healthy way to look at death and contemplate the afterlife, rather than the way modern Western society portrays death and mortality.[/quote] I'll have to remember that the next time I'm in London. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selah Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 (edited) Today is a day of rememberance concerning St. Silvan, one of the seventy apostles! [url="http://orthodoxwiki.org/Apostle_Silvan"]http://orthodoxwiki.org/Apostle_Silvan[/url] He was a bishop in Thessoliniki (sp?) and is mentioned in St. Paul's letters. I wonder if that St. Silvan is this one: (Scroll down): [url="http://www.rameysrealm.com/saint.htm"]http://www.rameysrealm.com/saint.htm[/url] He was a Bishop as well, but was martyred by being beheaded. His body is still in perfect condition, and he is 1600 years old! Isn't that amazing? Edited July 30, 2008 by Selah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeniteAdoremus Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 [quote name='puellapaschalis' post='1612384' date='Jul 30 2008, 11:17 AM']Every time I'm in London I try to visit St. John Southworth! It's great to pray by his body, especially for England, which he did so much for. I once took a Confirmation group there to see him...I think it creeped them out a bit, being silver and all that With regards children and death: I don't think they should be "sheltered" - at least not from non-violent deaths. When my grandfather died (I was 5) my uncles tried to tell me he was just sleeping, which I wasn't buying at all. Kids aren't stupid. Besides, denying death is denying the Resurrection.[/quote] We have the skull of St. Willibrord in a silver head-shaped reliquary in our cathedral. We always processed passed him with the choir, to get from the choir room (in the crypt) to the church, and he always freaked me out. But thinking about it now, I think a shining silver head (with mitre) is still less creepy than a skull, so I should be grateful Carmelites used to (some still do) have a skull on the table (I think in the refectory, or the chapter room, I'm not sure), as part of the whole "memento mori"-thing. And my old parish priest told me that Bridgittines meditate over a puppet that looks like a corpse and then bury it. Personally, I don't really like the digging up and stuff. To me it would be a far more powerful thought that you're praying at the place where this saint was first laid to rest after he was born to eternal life. So why can't we just let them where they are? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pio Nono Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 JMJ 7/30 - Seventeenth Wednesday [quote name='CatherineM' post='1572743' date='Jun 16 2008, 12:24 PM']Ever since this thread started, all I can think of when I think of St. Catherine is one of those heads in a jar on Futurama. If I thought there was a chance that someone would want to disinter me someday, and stick me in a church to be adored, I'd freak. Most of the saints were very humble and modest, so I would think it would upset them. I'm going to give cremation serious thought.[/quote] You want a head in a jar? I gots one for ya. For those who aren't used to seeing body parts, especially recognizable ones, this is ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING - which is why I'm not hotlinking a photo. In the parish church of Vatican City - Sant'Anna - is the head of St. Lawrence the Deacon. He was the man who was grilled alive, which is why he's the patron saint of cooks. He's reported to have said, after being on the grill for a while, "Turn me over - I'm done on this side!" At any rate, after he died, his head was preserved in a jar filled with some sort of "mystery goo" (to use some holy irreverence). This head is about 1,750 years old, which says something about the liquid it is contained in. Here's the link - but make sure you've got your lunch down before you click it. [url="http://bp2.blogger.com/_WB_ylZsXyk4/Rr1ZxEMXRHI/AAAAAAAACgg/cHEsSiU6ji8/s1600-h/IMG_7444.jpg"]The Head of St. Lawrence[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selah Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 (edited) Oh heck no...I am not clicking on that link...no no no... *clicky* meh...I've seen worse...but I still think it's very irreverant...Some of the incorruptibles I have seen on certain websites are not incorrupt at all, but slowley decaying...like a priest I unfortunatly clicked on...he is pertrified... [url="http://www.angelfire.com/nv2/1954/beati/i.html"]http://www.angelfire.com/nv2/1954/beati/i.html[/url] Scroll down...he was an orthodox priest...warning, tho, he's in an advanced state of decomposition. I just don't understand that. Or the dismemberment thing. If the body is intact fine, but don't dismember it and put a decaying body on display. I just find it to be a little disrespectful if the body is in the decomposing state or dismembered. If it actually is incorrupt, fine. Okay, tangent over...back to work Edited July 30, 2008 by Selah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lounge Daddy Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 [quote name='StColette' post='1570739' date='Jun 13 2008, 04:03 PM']I suggest reading The Incorruptibles by Joan Carroll Cruz[/quote] I am going to check that book out for sure. One of my daughters is very interested in mummies and the like and has been for a few years now. I think that this subject would be right up her ally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lounge Daddy Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 [quote name='Selah' post='1612482' date='Jul 30 2008, 10:24 AM']Oh heck no...I am not clicking on that link...no no no... *clicky* meh...I've seen worse...but I still think it's very irreverant...[/quote] ...different cultures. However I did find it interesting when some in Spoin, including some family members, made a very big deal of Padre pio's body being dug up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picchick Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 [quote name='Selah' post='1612482' date='Jul 30 2008, 10:24 AM']Oh heck no...I am not clicking on that link...no no no... *clicky* meh...I've seen worse...but I still think it's very irreverant...Some of the incorruptibles I have seen on certain websites are not incorrupt at all, but slowley decaying...like a priest I unfortunatly clicked on...he is pertrified... [url="http://www.angelfire.com/nv2/1954/beati/i.html"]http://www.angelfire.com/nv2/1954/beati/i.html[/url] Scroll down...he was an orthodox priest...warning, tho, he's in an advanced state of decomposition. I just don't understand that. Or the dismemberment thing. If the body is intact fine, but don't dismember it and put a decaying body on display. I just find it to be a little disrespectful if the body is in the decomposing state or dismembered. If it actually is incorrupt, fine. Okay, tangent over...back to work [/quote] Some of the dismemberment happened due to the reasons they died. Some of the martyrs in Rome have heads and such in one place and the body in another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlesister Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 The first time I saw St. Catherine Laboure, I was almost as stunned as I was thrilled to finally be at the Rue du Bac. The statue in our parish, that we had prayed before for a lifetime, was an exact replica. It must have originated with her death mask. We never expected the resemblance to be so perfect. It was like seeing an old friend. Then again, that was all of her. Finding St. Vincent's heart on the other side altar was perhaps fitting but not quite so inspiring, since the rest of him is in a church around the corner, not incorrupt but certainly lifelike! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitty Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 I have a very hard time believing that St. Silvan's body is real. It looks like an old, poorly painted wax dummy. I would only believe it was real if a doctor cut open the skin to reveal flesh and muscle. I saw the below picture of Saint Virginia Centurione Bracelli and it creeped me out. I definitely don't feel any sort of awe by looking at it... [url="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Virginia_Centurione_body.jpg"]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm...urione_body.jpg[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 [quote name='Lounge Daddy' post='1612493' date='Jul 30 2008, 09:39 AM']...different cultures. However I did find it interesting when some in Spoin, including some family members, made a very big deal of Padre pio's body being dug up.[/quote] Wow, is it bad that I read an entire book about Padre Pio and still thought he was from Italy? Either way, love that guy. He was amazing. One of my top ten favourites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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