Literally, from the Greek:
“You are the salt of the [ground] … You are the light of the [cosmos.]”
A Christian’s ordinary life on earth reveals the divine light responsible for the universe.
Archive for February, 2014
Of Earth & The Universe — 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time—Year A
February 9, 2014Stained Glass Symbols — The Dove
February 9, 2014
A Symbol of the Holy Spirit
From the Ark, at the time of the Flood, Noah released a dove three times to scout for land. The bird’s return with a fresh olive leaf in its beak signaled an end to the deadly judgment and the beginning of new life. Noah’s dove revealed that peace was restored between heaven and earth. When Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist, they saw the Holy Spirit descend in bodily form, like a dove, and land upon Christ. By receiving Christ’s baptism, the Holy Spirit comes to rest on us, pouring into us the new life and graces of the Trinity.
Stained Glass Symbols — The Host & Chalice
February 8, 2014
A Symbol of Christ’s Death
Jesus Christ is really and truly present in the Eucharist Host and chalice, yet the Host and chalice are symbolic as well. At the Last Supper, Jesus took bread, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which will be given up for you.” Then he took a chalice of wine and said, “This is the chalice of my blood… which will be poured out for you…” When a living creature’s blood is separated from its broken body, death naturally follows. Though Christ’s Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity are fully present in every fragment of the Host and in every drop of the chalice, the symbolic separation of Jesus’ body and blood points to his sacrificial death.
Stained Glass Symbols — The Ten Commandments
February 7, 2014
A Symbol of God’s Laws
The two stone tablets Moses brought down from Mount Sinai were not inscribed with Roman numerals, but this is how God’s Ten Commandments, the Decalogue, are often symbolized. Why are #1 through #3 (I, II, III) on one tablet, while #4 through #10 are depicted on the other? This is because the first three commandments relate primarily to God, while the latter seven relate to our neighbors.
Stained Glass Symbols — The Temple Menorah
February 6, 2014
A Symbol of Christ
Menorah is the Hebrew word for “Candlestick.” You may be familiar with the nine-branched menorahs Jews employ to celebrate Hanukah, the “Festival of Lights,” however the menorah above features seven branches. This is the design God gave to Moses when commanding him to have a lampstand fashioned to stand within His tabernacle in the desert. (Exodus 25) Later, this pure gold lampstand lit the sanctuary of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. Christians see in the temple menorah a sign of Christ, the Light of the World, who is always in the Father’s presence.
It is from a story about the temple menorah that the feast of Hanukah comes. In the second century BC, the Greeks profaned the temple with pagan sacrifices and tried to force the Jews to abandon their faith. One family, called the Maccabees, rose up against their Greeks oppressors, defeated them, and rededicated the Jerusalem Temple in 165 BC. When those Jews relit the temple’s sanctuary lamp they could supply it with only one-day’s worth of olive oil and it would take a week to prepare more. Yet, the temple menorah kept miraculously burning for eight days until the new oil was ready. Rather than olive oil, Hanukah menorahs burn nine candles: one for each of the eight nights and one central candle from which the others are lit.
Stained Glass Symbols — The Sailboat
February 5, 2014
A Symbol of the Church
Like Noah’s Ark, the Church carries God’s people through the world’s deadly and chaotic waters. The Holy Spirit fills the sails of this “barque (boat) of St. Peter,” guiding her course through time and leading her safely to the distant shore of Heaven.
Stained Glass Symbols — “IHS”
February 4, 2014
A Symbol for Jesus’ Holy Name
In Greek, the name “Jesus” is spelled “ΙΗΣΟΥΣ.” These first three Greek letters were Latinized into “IHS,” forming a symbol for the Holy Name of Jesus.
Stained Glass Symbols — The Ichthys Fish
February 3, 2014
A Summary of Our Faith
The early Christians used the fish as a symbol for Christianity. The Greek word for fish is “Ichthys,” or using the Greek letters: “ΙΧΘΥΣ.” The letters of this word were an acronym for a phrase summarizing some of our core Christian beliefs: “Jesus Christ, [is] God’s Son, [and our] Savior.”
Stained Glass Symbols — The Lily
February 2, 2014
The Fleur-de-Lis (“Flur-d-lee”)
The Fleur-de-lis (French for “Flower of the Lily”) has had many Christian meanings. This image was adopted as a royal symbol by the kings of France, and thus it symbolizes royalty. The lily is also an ancient symbol for purity, and so the Fleur-de-lis represents our most-pure queen, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Finally, the three petals of this single flower symbolize the Holy Trinity: three divine Persons united in one God.
Stained Glass Symbols — The Star
February 1, 2014
A Symbol of Christ’s Coming
In ancient Old Testament times, a prophet declared, “I see him, though not now; I observe him, though not near: A star shall advance from Jacob, and a scepter shall rise from Israel…” (Numbers 24:17) Later, a psalmist mused to the Lord, “When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars that you set in place—What is man that you are mindful of him, and a son of man that you care for him?” (Psalm 8:4-5) Then in the fullness of time, the God who cares for man and who set the stars according to His plan, gave a Savior to the world and announced Him by a star: “Behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.'” (Matthew 2:2)
Parishable Items 