The Blood of Christ

[_zeezrom]

Chap,

Your art selection depicts a victim. Maybe Jesus (in my selection) is like Bella Swan: not necessarily a victim.

[_Chap]

Chap,

Your art selection depicts a victim. Maybe Jesus (in my selection) is like Bella Swan: not necessarily a victim.

Vampire kitsch - who needs it?

Anyhow, Jesus is frequently referred to in some strands of Christian thought as a victim, in the sense of the entity whose death is central to a sacrifice:

LITANY OF OUR LORD Jesus Christ PRIEST AND VICTIM

Jesus, High Priest, Who by Your own Blood entered the heavens, Have mercy on us
Jesus, High Priest, who opened us a new way for us, Have mercy on us
Jesus, High Priest, who loved us and washed us from our sins in Your Blood, Have mercy on us
Jesus, High Priest, who offered Yourself to God as an oblation and sacrificial Victim, Have mercy on us
Jesus, sacrificial Victim of God and men, Have mercy on us
Jesus, holy and immaculate sacrificial Victim, Have mercy on us
Jesus, pleasing sacrificial Victim, Have mercy on us
Jesus, peace-making sacrificial Victim, Have mercy on us
Jesus, sacrifice of propitiation and praise, Have mercy on us
Jesus, sacrificial Victim of reconciliation and peace, Have mercy on us
Jesus, sacrificial Victim in whom we have confidence and access to God, Have mercy on us
Jesus, sacrificial Victim living forever and ever, Have mercy on us

[_madeleine]

for cryin' out loud. It's art.

But isn't that exactly why it has evoked such thought and emotion? It is an evocative piece.

Sure. In a Catholic context, the emotions are different.

I understand different emotional reactions to it. :)

This conversation reminds me of this past summer. I was in a human biology course, studying like mad, and in the middle of my studies, I went to a Catholic retreat that was over two days. The person leading the retreat asked, "What are the properties of blood?" I was sitting there listing off the biological properties of blood in my head. Specialized tissue, carries oxygen to cells, picks up waste from cells, etc. When, someone raised their hand and said, "It's salvic." OHhhhhh.

For sure, the salvic nature of blood in Christianity (and other religions) is odd. I have no disagreement there. This particular painting...kitschy.

[_krose]

Isn't the ritual consumption of blood and flesh a remnant from early pagan religions honoring the life cycle, where plants die and decompose, becoming food for other plants?

[_Chap]

Isn't the ritual consumption of blood and flesh a remnant from early pagan religions honoring the life cycle, where plants die and decompose, becoming food for other plants?

I don't think this is about plants at all - at least not in the Judaic tradition from which the Christian obsession with blood may in part have stemmed. It is more about the mysterious source of animal vitality:

Leviticus 7

10 “If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people. 11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. 12 Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, No person among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who sojourns among you eat blood.

13 “Any one also of the people of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who takes in hunting any beast or bird that may be eaten shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth. 14 For the life of every creature[a] is its blood: its blood is its life.[b] Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off. "

[_msnobody]

St. Catherine seems to have a nail-pierced hand in the painting/picture.

[_Sethbag]

Stigmata.

I am repulsed by the art in the OP. Christianity is a cult of human sacrifice, or at least of one human sacrifice. No thanks.

[_madeleine]

St. Catherine of Siena was a mystic. The painting is attempting to portray one of her mystical experiences. Difficult to do if you are the person having the experiences. Always seen in a mystic's writings, sometimes as poetry. It is near impossible for someone else to do it for you.

It's a kitschy painting, but full of deep meaning. :) Vanni was a painter in Siena, so no doubt, he painted more than one painting of the Patroness of that city. This particular one is meant to show a vision she had of Jesus. It isn't literally what occurred. Rather, to show how intimate her relationship was, in very strong religious tones.

Old Testament sacrifices were tied to atonement. In Christianity, these sacrifices prefigure Jesus. Jesus, being God's Perfect sacrifice. The intimacy in this painting is that of St. Catherine, to the atonement of Jesus. The receiving the blood of Christ symbolic of the Eucharist.

Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. John 6 is very clear.

It isn't that we're obsessed with blood. We aren't. :) We just accept what we view as God's Final and Perfect Revelation: Jesus Christ.

[_zeezrom]

Quite lovely.

That means a lot, coming from you.

[_zeezrom]

St. Catherine of Siena was a mystic. The painting is attempting to portray one of her mystical experiences. Difficult to do if you are the person having the experiences. Always seen in a mystic's writings, sometimes as poetry. It is near impossible for someone else to do it for you.

It's a kitschy painting, but full of deep meaning. :) Vanni was a painter in Siena, so no doubt, he painted more than one painting of the Patroness of that city. This particular one is meant to show a vision she had of Jesus. It isn't literally what occurred. Rather, to show how intimate her relationship was, in very strong religious tones.

Old Testament sacrifices were tied to atonement. In Christianity, these sacrifices prefigure Jesus. Jesus, being God's Perfect sacrifice. The intimacy in this painting is that of St. Catherine, to the atonement of Jesus. The receiving the blood of Christ symbolic of the Eucharist.

Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. John 6 is very clear.

It isn't that we're obsessed with blood. We aren't. :) We just accept what we view as God's Final and Perfect Revelation: Jesus Christ.

I'm so glad you are here, Maddie.