Celebrating 100 years
in Irondequoit
Clustered Worship Sites:
Individual Worship Sites:
Irondequoit Catholic Communities:
The use of signs and symbols in Catholic worship is rooted in the very action of the liturgy as a means of relating to God, and of our response to God's relationship to us. Particularly in light of the Incarnation, the fact that God became human in the person of Jesus Christ, human signs and symbols are capable of becoming vehicles of our interaction with God.
The experience of mystery which liturgy offers is based on a consciousness of God and is centered on God. This requires a sense of contemplation based on faith - seeing beyond the face of the person or the thing, a sense of the holy.
"One should be able to sense something special (and nothing trivial) in everything that is seen and heard, touched and smelled, and tasted in liturgy." (Environment and Art in Catholic Worship, national Conference of Catholic Bishops, no. 12.)
Throughout the history of Christian art there have been many symbols used to portray a variety of truths. Especially for people who were largely unlettered, the use of symbols was an important tool for teaching the truths of the faith. Christian art in churches may have been decorative, but its prime purpose was to educate the faithful. All the decorative arts were employed toward this end. What may seem to us mere decoration, has a purpose and a deeper significance.
The Principle Sacramental Signs:
Other Christian Symbols:
