Sacred images enhance devotion to our God
Different people have a perception of what the different images signify in the Catholic Church. Photo | Net
What you need to know:
- Did you know? Although the Catholic Church has always defended the use of sacred images, encouraging their veneration, it condemns anyone who would worship them as if they were gods themselves, writes Msgr John Wynand Katende.
Sacred images are everywhere in the Christian world. We find them in windows, icons, statues, mosaics and in holy cards. A single image can call to mind an entire history and the virtues embodied in that history and offered for imitation. But many modern Christians seem to have forgotten how to appreciate this kind of culture.
The ongoing destruction of religious images in Europe and America, in “Black Lives Matter” protests, following the brutal murder of George Floyd, by a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, is of great concern. The protestors contend the imaging of Jesus as a “white man” is a form of white supremacy and should “come down”.
Such reaction sadly, happens to be a comeback of iconoclasm or attacks against the Church’s use of religious statues or pictures, which has been part of the history of the Church. During the rise of the 16th century Protestant movement, Calvin, in particular, declared observance of sacred images as the devil’s invention and idolatry.
Iconoclasm arises from a misinterpretation, by fundamentalists, of the clauses following the First Commandment: “I, the Lord, am your God…. You shall not have other gods besides me. You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or worship them” (Ex 20:2-5). The Catholic Church classifies the interpretation under heresy.
The commandment does not forbid the mere making of images, but the adoring of them after they are made. We may venerate the holy images because they represent the holiness of God; they increase our faith and devotion to God.
The making of sacred images is biblical. In Exodus 25:18 God commands the making of the images of two cherubim Angels at the two ends of the Ark of the Covenant. In Luke 3:22, the Holy Spirit appears in the form of a dove. In Acts of the Apostles 2:3 the same Holy Spirit appears in tongues of fire. Christians continue to use these same images for the Holy Spirit. They use the symbol and sign of the cross with reference and reverence to the original Cross on which Jesus was crucified to save the sinful world.
When Jesus Christ, true God and true man, took on our own human flesh, the incarnation, He became the visible image of the unseen God (see Colossians 1:15). So, we can now make an image of God, and contemplate the glory of His unveiled face. Since the earliest days of the Church, we have evidence of depictions of our Lord, of scenes from Sacred Scripture, or of the saints.
Though the Catholic Church has always defended the use of sacred images, encouraging their veneration, she condemns anyone who would worship them as if they were gods themselves. That would tantamount to idolatry.
Sacred images help us human beings in our contemplation of Jesus, of His deeds, and of the saints, so that we may draw closer to Him and be more fully joined to the Communion of Saints.
Sacred images are considered an essential part of the Church and are given special liturgical veneration, because they help to create a sense of the transcendent. They greatly serve as medium of instruction for the faithful, especially the illiterate. In a nutshell, sacred images help believers to enhance devotion, in anticipation of the beatific vision of God.
Iconoclasm infringes on people’s freedom of worship and interreligious/intercultural/inter-civilisational dialogue. As a matter of fact, the Catholic Church advocates for the portrayal of Jesus and His Mother Mary, in as many ways as there are cultures, languages and understandings.
FYI Nugget
Sacred images help human beings in our contemplation of Jesus, of His deeds, and of the saints, so that we may draw closer to Him and be more fully joined to the Communion of Saints. Sacred images are considered an essential part of the Church and are given special liturgical veneration, because they help to create a sense of the transcendent.
