SYMBOLS IN THE
Citation reference:
Rev. Paul W. Kelly. 2011.
SYMBOLS IN THE
Major symbols found in a Catholic Church.
The church building itself is a powerful
symbol. The actual building is a visible expression of God’s abiding presence
amongst us. The church gets its name from the people who gather in it. The
‘church’ is actually the People of God gathered, and the building is the place
the People of God gather to worship and encounter God in the special sacraments
and rites celebrated inside.
We have a symbol that relates to the particular
history of our own church here at Maryborough. it is
the symbol of the Rooster. a statue of a Rooster was placed on the top of the
St Mary’s Church in 1936 as a tribute to the First Parish Priest, Fr Paul Tissot (who was Parish Priest of Maryborough from
1861-1875). Fr Tissot was a Frenchman and the Rooster
is a symbol of
And now we move to the universal symbols of the church :
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Lectern (also known as an Ambo): The word lectern comes
from the Latin word meaning ‘to read’.
The lectern is a reading table, especially that in a church from which
the readings of the Holy Scriptures (the Bible Lectionary) are read. This is
also known as the “Table of the Word (of God).” The alternate word for this table is the
“Ambo” (coming from the Greek word meaning a Pulpit (which itself is a Latin
word meaning ‘a platform or stage’ from which a sermon or homily or reading is
proclaimed). We believe that the Bible
is the Word of God and that it is a collection of writings detailing the
journey of God’s relationship with God’s people across generations. It is the Sacred story of our faith and every time we gather to
celebrate a ritual or a sacrament in the church, the word of God is central to
that celebration.
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Altar (also known as the
Table of the Eucharist). This is a special table on which the sacrifice of the Holy Eucharist
is celebrated. The bread and wine are placed upon this altar and here they are
blessed as we recall the Last Supper where Jesus took bread broke it and shared
it, took a cup of wine and handed it around and said “this is my body, this is
my blood” do this in memory of me. We gather to do this action in memory of the
Lord and we believe that as we do this, Jesus becomes present again to us, in
the form of this meal, which we share and gain spiritual strength and grow in
love for our Lord.
·
Connected
to this symbol, there are sacred vessels such as a communion cup, called a
chalice. This cup is often of exquisite beauty and design and is to hold the
wine that will become the Blood of Christ in the celebration of Eucharist. A
bowl or beautifully designed plate or bowl with a lid (called a ‘ciborium’)
holds the bread that will be blessed to become the Body of Christ. Worthy and
beautiful objects are suitable to show the importance of the things they
contain. The cup symbolises the covenant God makes between humans and
God’s-self.
There is a saying:
“We are fed at the table of the Word, by hearing and gaining strength
from the Scriptures, and then we are fed with the Body and Blood of Christ at
the Table of the Eucharist.” Two tables, one Lord who nourishes us at both !
( For more detail about the
Eucharist and the structure and meaning of the Mass, please see the following
link:
http://www.parishes.bne.catholic.net.au/maryborough/massguide.htm
)
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Presider’s Chair. This is not merely a convenient place where
a priest sits when not doing an element of the ritual. The chair represents the
role of the priest as the leader of the worship of the community, and his
pastoral care and responsibility for the people. All priests are co-workers
with their superior who is called a Bishop. The bishop is the head priest of a
particular area. The bishop has a special chair in his main church and this
chair is called a Cathedra (Greek for ‘Chair’). This chair symbolises the
leadership the Bishop has over the whole area and his care for the people and
his authority. The church where the bishop has his chair is called a
“Cathedral” (which literally means ‘the place of the chair’). So a cathedral is
not defined by its size or impressiveness but actually by the fact that it is
the church where the ‘seat of authority’ of the Bishop (the Bishop’s chair) is
located (literally !). The primary church for the
whole region (in our Diocese here, our Bishop is Archbishop John Bathersby, and the primary local church is the Cathedral of
Saint Stephen, in
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Crucifix:
The Crucifix, (that is a timber or metal cross with the image of the
Crucified Lord Jesus on it) is an integral visual symbol of almost every
Catholic Church. The Crucifix is often
positioned in a very central position somewhere over or near the Altar, or on
the sanctuary area. Ideally, the Crucifix is big enough but also light enough to be able to be carried in, in the entrance
procession at the start of a ceremony. When the crucifix is brought in as part
of the procession it leads the procession. The Crucifix is a central symbol
because it is a visual reminder that God loved us so much that he sent his only
son to die for us, so that we might have life through him. The suffering and
death on the cross is a profound mystery of God’s love, God’s justice, God’s
forgiveness. We Christians believe that the Crucifixion of Christ, which seemed
to be a humiliating defeat in the eyes of the world, is actually the victory of
God over sin and death. God (in Jesus) took onto himself everything bad that
the world had to throw at him and crucified it, defeating it with the
self-sacrificing love of the cross.
Other churches also venerate the symbol of the cross, doing so by
emphasising the symbol of the wood of the cross. Such images are simply plain
crosses made of wood or metal. Ultimately though, the symbolism is the same.
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Liturgical Colours:
Different coloured vestments, altar cloths,
banners and drapery is often used in the Church to reflect the fact that,
similar to the seasons in a calendar year, there are different seasons in the
Church year. These church seasons reflect different times and areas of focus.
Set colours have been given for the different church seasons, and these try to
reflect the mood of the season. Light and bright colours represent Feasts of
great joy and hope and darker colours represent sorrow, penitence, reflectiveness.
The main liturgical colours are these:
White: For
Christmas and Easter seasons. Also white is used for feasts of saints who did
not die a martyrs death. This colour represents joy,
hope, light.
Red: For Pentecost, Good Friday, and for the
feasts of Saints who were Martryed (had their blood shed for witness to the Gospel). The red represents
the Fire of the Holy Spirit and for blood shed in faithfulness to the Gospel of
Jesus.
Purple (or Violet). This is used for the
rather subdued and penitential season of Lent and the quiet, preparatory time
of Advent. The darker colour represents quiet, sorrow for sins, penitence and
waiting.
Green: Used
for the ordinary times of the year. This represents life and abundance and ‘the
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Vestments. There are special clothes
worn by the priest as a symbolic sign of the importance of the events
celebrated. Here are the main ones:
The major vestment is the white gown called an
Alb. The name derives from the latin “albus”
meaning white, and has the same derivation as the word “albino’
meaning white. It is a white garment reminding us of our Baptismal garment and
that in Baptism each of us ‘put on Christ, like we put on a new white garment.’
Below is Fr Paul wearing the Alb:
Over this, the priest puts on a scarf-like band of
cloth that hangs over his neck. This is called a stole. This is the ‘badge’ of
the priest’s ministry. It used to be a cloak, and the word stole means ‘cloak’
but centuries of development has reduced it to a thin band of cloth.
Below is Fr Paul wearing the Stole: (this is a red
stole, which would be worn for a Feastday of a
Martyr, or a Good Friday Liturgy, or Pentecost).
At the celebration of Eucharist the priest puts on
another vestment on top of the Alb. This is a poncho-like garment which is
basically a large round cloth with a hole for the head and not attached at the
sides. This is the vestment to be worn for Mass (also known as Eucharist). This
is a priestly garment symbolic of the priest offering the sacrifice of the Holy
Mass, in which Christ, the Paschal sacrifice
re-presents himself on the altar in his one and only sacrifice (re-presented
through time via this sacrament).
Below is Fr Paul wearing the Chasuble, over the
white alb. Note that he is wearing a white/gold chasuble, with a white/gold
stole over the top of it, and underneath is the white alb and which has a cord
belt tied around the waist. This colour is worn in the Easter season or in the
Christmas season or Feastdays of Saints who did not
die by martyrdom but died of natural causes. This colour could also be worn at
weddings – as sign of joy and festivity and also funerals - as a sign of hope
in the resurrection).
The priest also wears a belt of cord, called a
‘cincture’ around his waist. This also is described as a symbol of chastity.
This is a picture of the cincture (cord belt) :
Below, Fr Paul is wearing the cincture (cord belt)
around the waist and the Alb (white garment).
The outer vestments (stole and chasuble) are worn
in the colour matching the season, as mentioned above, except the Alb should
always be white, reminding us of the baptismal garment. Sometimes the stole is
worn over the chasuble and other times under it, depending on the design of the
vestment and the area and policy.
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Tabernacle:
This word comes from the Latin meaning “tent” or “little booth.” In Roman Catholic
churches, the ‘tabernacle’ is a beautiful, ornate box or container, (usually
made out of brass or another strong and worthy metal), which ought to be
securely bolted down and locked. This container is where the remains of any
blessed and consecrated hosts (communion wafers) are stored. The Catholic
Church teaches that the bread and wine used at Eucharist, (Mass), once blessed
and consecrated in the ceremony, is and remains the Body and Blood of Christ,
in the form of what looks like and tastes like and has the chemical make up of
bread and wine. Since it remains the body and blood of Christ, any unconsumed
hosts (bread) and precious blood (the blessed wine) must either be consumed
after mass or the hosts can be stored in the tabernacle. When there are blessed
hosts in the tabernacle there is usually a red light beside it to indicate that
there is the presence of the consecrated elements within – that Christ is present
in the sacrament. People pray before this tabernacle and reflect quietly on the
mystery of Christ’s presence in the Eucharist. This secure tabernacle is a
proper place to store the blessed hosts so that they can be accessed and taken
at any time to give to someone who is sick and in need of the Eucharist for
spiritual strength. The tabernacle used
to be positioned on the high altar at the very centre of the sanctuary. Some
churches still do this. Other places have a special side altar, or sacrament chapel
specially designed for private prayer and reflection and people can sit or
kneel in front of the tabernacle and pray and meditate.
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Baptismal Font. This is a really
important object. It is a large ornate pool or majestic bowl and stand that is used for Baptisms. It ideally should be near the entrance
to the church to symbolise that Baptism is the way we ENTER into the Church by
being made children of God. But wherever the baptismal font (font: derived from the word ‘fountain’) is located.
It symbolises our dying and rising with Christ to new and everlasting life.
The Paschal or Easter
candle.
The word paschal derives from the word “Passover”. We have an enormous candle
that we use for various occasions. A new Easter Candle gets blessed for use for
the following year every Holy Saturday night (the night before Easter
Sunday).The candle reminds us of Christ, who is the light of the world, who
came into the world to show us the way, and give us light and hope. The Paschal
candle reminds us that Jesus is the Passover lamb sacrificed for our sins and risen again and now is the light of the world. It has rich
meaning. We use this candle for various rituals in our church. The candle, or at least the large and long Candle stand usually
stands next to the baptismal font and serves as a reminder of Christ our light
in times of darkness, Jesus Christ is our guide along the path.
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Genuflecting. This is a symbolic
gesture of great solemn reverence. This is when one touches one knee to the
ground in a profound kneel of reverence and honour.
The usual time that one genuflects is in the presence of the exposed sacrament
of the Body of the Lord and / or the Blood of the Lord (the blessed and
consecrated Bread and Wine – which is the real presence of Christ). People also genuflect towards the tabernacle
to acknowledge the presence of Christ in the sacrament inside it. The red light
indicates if the Eucharist is present in the tabernacle.
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Bowing. This is a symbolic
gesture of general reverence. One bows to the altar as a sign of respect to its
significance. One can bow towards the Crucifix as a sign of respect for its
meaning.
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Holy Water:
because water is the main symbol of baptism, which is a rebirth in
Christ, a dying to old sinful ways, the sign and symbol do water is very
important in the church. At the entrances of a Catholic Church one will often
find little decorative bowls of water attached to the side of the wall, for
people to dip their finger in and use to make the sign of the cross. People do
this symbolic action to remind themselves that they have been reborn and washed
clean of sin by Baptism, and called to live in the new life of discipleship of
Christ. Holy water thus is a reminder and symbol of eternal life, of God’s
protection and care for us and of course God’s forgiveness.
Symbolic Gestures:
Along with symbols, the church has special
gestures or actions that symbolise religious realities:
For example. One of the most ancient
and simplest prayers is the action of saying the following words, accompanied
by the action of the ‘sign of the cross’:
The Sign of the Cross:
“In the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
|
In the name of the Father.. |
..and of the Son… |
…and of the Holy. |
…Spirit. Amen |
|
|
|
|
|
|
forehead |
chest |
left
shoulder |
Right
shoulder |
Another
“symbolic” moment
is in official liturgy. There is an ancient greeting that the priest says to
the people and they respond. It is old
language that recalls the greetings used by Christ after his resurrection and
also the greetings of St Paul in his various letters. It also recognises that,
through baptism, we have the Lord living in us and we have received the Holy
Spirit, and the priest has also been given the gift of the Holy Spirit for
leadership in the church. So, the priest says:
“The
Lord be with you” or “the Peace of the
Lord, be with you always,” and the people reply: “And with your Spirit”.
When
the priest (or Deacon) reads the Gospel in Mass or a Liturgy, there is a
special greeting too, with special words and gestures:
Gospel
(Read by
the priest)
Priest: The
Lord be with you.
All: And with your Spirit.
Priest: From
the holy Gospel according to Luke
All: Glory to you, O Lord.
(as the people are saying “Glory to
you, O Lord” above, they copy
what the priest is doing, namely, they use their thumb to trace the sign of the
cross on themselves like this…)
|
Forehead
(+) |
lips
(+) |
heart
(+) |
|
|
|
|
|
Silently praying words to
this effect: May the Lord be on my mind….. |
.. and
on my lips… |
….And in my heart.So that I may hear God’s word and live it… |
(The people, in doing this action, are copying the action of the Priest who
is also doing this gesture whilst silently praying: “Cleanse my heart and my
lips, almighty God, that I may worthily proclaim your holy Gospel”).
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STATUES:
There is a lot of ignorance, misunderstanding and
fear (from people who are not Catholic) about the use of Statues in the Church
depicting holy women and men or even depicting Our Lord. Some of the things said about Catholics by
people who are not Catholic, about the presence of Statues in our Churches and
our devotion to Mary the Mother of God, are downright wrong and repugnant. No
truly Christian person would wish to perpetuate lies or distortions about the
meaning of them in the life of the church.
Statues are simply helpful visual reminders,
symbols representing of our membership in the communion of the saints, which
involves all the holy women and men that have ever lived: the saints. We do not
‘worship statues’. We worship the Lord God alone. We do not ‘pray to statues’
we pray to God alone.
Statues serve the same function as photographs of
loved ones kept in our homes. Just as the mere presence of a
photograph of a loved one or friend is perfectly good, so too are statues and
pictures of saints. They are symbols which serve as a reminder of the
lives of holy people throughout Church history. They recall aspects about their
lives to inspire us to imitate their virtues which of course come from God’s
grace. Popular statues in Catholic Churches include statues of Mary the Mother
of God, St Joseph, and other Saints. A church will often have a statue of the
patron saint of the church. So, for example, if the Church is named “St
Peter’s” it will probably have a statue of ST Peter somewhere in it and so
on.
Mary the Mother of God has a very special place in
the life of the Church but, again, we neither worship, nor do we pray to her
statue. People often pray whilst looking or kneeling at statues as it helps
them visualise and focus their prayer, but they are not worshipping graven
images or anything like that.
We don’t even pray TO Mary, nor do we pray TO any
other saints but we pray TO God alone. We do believe that the communion of
saints can be asked to “pray for us” to the Lord, in whose presence they stand.
The saints continue to pray for us to the Lord Our God and so they act as
intercessors the same way that we can pray to God for a loved one or friend
when they ask us to pray for them. The Lord is God of the living, not the dead, all people are alive to God. The dead, who have lived
lives of holiness and virtue, live on in the presence of God and continue to
pray for us to the Father. Naturally we can and do pray and make petitions
directly to God. It doesn’t stop us from also asking all holy people (alive on
earth or in God’s presence), to keep us or our intentions in THEIR prayers
which is their conversation and praise and petitioning of God.
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Stations of the Cross: These are a series of usually fourteen
pictures of images depicting the final journey of Jesus towards the Cross and
his suffering and death. They are called stations because people go to each
image, which are spread around the church, and stop (remain stationary) at each
picture and pray, meditate and reflect on the significance of what this image
depicts in the journey of Jesus to Calvary hill and his criucifixion.
Traditionally there are fourteen stations, that depict
the following:
1.
Jesus is
condemned to death
2.
Jesus
receives the cross
3.
Jesus falls
the first time
4.
Jesus
meets His Mother
5.
Simon
of Cyrene carries the cross
6.
Veronica
wipes Jesus' face with her veil
7.
Jesus
falls the second time
8.
Jesus
meets the women of Jerusalem
9.
Jesus
falls the third time
10.
Jesus is
stripped of His garments
11.
Crucifixion:
Jesus is nailed to the cross
12.
Jesus dies
on the cross
13.
Jesus' body is removed from the cross (Pieta)
14.
Jesus is
laid in the tomb
or
an alternative set, based on
incidents directly depicted in Scripture, are as follows:
1.
Jesus in
the Garden of Olives,
2.
Jesus is
betrayed by Judas and arrested,
3.
Jesus is
condemned by the Sanhedrin,
4.
Jesus is
denied by Peter,
5.
Jesus is
judged by Pilate,
6.
Jesus is scourged
and crowned with thorns,
7.
Jesus
takes up his cross,
8.
Jesus is
helped by the Cyrenean to carry his cross,
9.
Jesus
meets the women of
10.
Jesus is
crucified,
11.
Jesus
promises his kingdom to the good thief,
12.
Jesus and
his mother and disciple,
13.
Jesus dies
on the cross,
14.
Jesus is
laid in the tomb.
Or……and
another version, called the Way of the Cross, are as
follows:
1.
Jesus institutes the Eucharist
2.
Jesus
prays in Gethsemane
3.
Jesus
before the Sanhedrin
4.
Jesus is scourged and
crowned with thorns
5.
Jesus
carries the cross to Calvary
6.
Jesus
falls under the weight of the cross
7.
Jesus is
helped by Simon of Cyrene
8.
Jesus meets
the pious women of Jerusalem
9.
Jesus is
nailed on the cross
10.
Jesus
promises Heaven to the repentant thief
11.
Jesus
entrusts Mary and John to each other
12.
Jesus dies
on the cross
13.
Jesus is
laid in the tomb
14.
Jesus
rises from the dead
The stations developed as an act of popular
devotion by ordinary people, and is still extremely popular as a private time
of prayer or as a group gathering, especially in Lent, and on the Fridays of
Lent and Good Friday particularly. There
is not just one ceremony that goes with these stations, there are many
versions. It is not an official ritual of the church, hence the greater
flexibility, but it is nevertheless very popular and important.
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Organ: Many
churches have a musical instrument such as an organ. Organ music has been part
of church liturgy for centuries. Other types of music are allowable, but there
is quite a tradition for organ music. The very visible presence of an organ or
other large musical instrument is there to support people in their worship by
singing or assist in their worship and prayer by uplifting music to raise one’s
soul and mind and heart to God.
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Collection plates and charity boxes: Collection plates are handed around one or
two or three times (depending on the event) and people place coins or money on
these plates to contribute to the upkeep of the church and the upkeep of the
priests and religious and also donate to needy causes. Collections are taken up
in the ceremony because they are part of the symbol of the fact that we give
our lives, work and treasure to God for the benefit of those in need and to
sustain the missionary work of the church in the world.
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Stained Glass windows: These style of
beautiful artwork date back to the middle ages and earlier. Many people could not
read or write back in the early centuries of the church, so they passed on
stories and messages about God and their faith in spoken stories and also
pictures. The stained glass and leadlight windows are designed to inspire and
uplift people’s minds and hearts to contemplate God’s love and goodness. The
images in the stained glass tell stories from the bible, from church history
and from liturgy to teach and inspire people about aspects of their faith,
without need of words.
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HOLY OILS:
(In various Catholic
ceremonies, the priest uses oil as a symbol, it is
olive oil that has been blessed by the Bishop, the leader of the church in a
particular region.
we call
these various oils: HOLY OILS
each year,
a week or so before Easter, the bishop gathers with his priests and
representatives of all the parish communities of the area for a Mass with the
blessing of the oils which will be used in the sacraments for the coming year.
These blessed oils (of which there are three different uses) is taken back by
each community ready for use in the sacred rites of our church.
THE OIL
OF BAPTISM… also known as Oil of Catechumens. This
oil is used to anoint people before they are baptized,
it is a physical prayer that God will protect and strengthen the one to be
baptized to enable them to live as good Christians… (we
trust and pray that God will shield them from harm)…….anything bad in life will
slip off them…. Unable to grab hold…. “ When the
priest uses this oil he prays: “May
Christ strengthen you with his power.”
THE OIL OF THE INFIRM.. or oil of the sick…. Blessed and
used just as it was said in the letter of St James in the Scriptures: …. “are
there any sick among you, then call for the priests who will pray over them and
anoint them with oil…” …When this oil is used, the priest prays that “through
this holy anointing, may God in his love an mercy help you with the grace of
the Holy Spirit. May the Lord save you, and raise you up.”
THE OIL OF CHRISM.,….
Symbol of royalty……..used to anoint the heads of Kings and
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An important liturgical principle is to ensure
that any symbols we use in our worship are strong. That is, if we use a symbol
at all, it should be clear and unambiguous and strong. One sees this
particularly in the Baptism ceremony. The symbols of Baptism are Oil of Catechumenate, Water, Candle, Baptismal Robe and Oil of
Chrism. One could be forgiven, however, for remembering only the pouring of the
water and not noticing the anointing of the chest and head with oil. This is
because these other symbols are often featured so slightly as to go unnoticed.
The minister of baptism may have a miniature container of oil and swiftly daub
a slight amount on the person to be baptised. Why do something at all if one is
not to do it strongly and clearly? So, in this parish, we have large, worthy
containers for the oil, and we take a goodly amount of the oil and anoint with
a sense of purpose.
Symbols are so important that they can actually be
watered down by multiplication. It is not acceptable to have a main crucifix in
the sanctuary and also have a crucifix on the altar and another crucifix nearby
as well. The symbol of the cross is so central that one strong expression is
more than enough. Also, as we said a few weeks ago, since the altar itself is a
symbol of the abiding sacrifice and presence of Christ, using it as a “stand”
for a crucifix diminishes both symbols in themselves.
Use of disposable paper booklet to proclaim the
Word of God in liturgy is also discouraged. Since the Word of God is something
important, powerful and permanent. It is best to always proclaim scriptures
from the proper lectionary or bible. The Bible itself is given special
reverence. However, you may notice that the Presider,
(the priest), at the end of the Gospel, does not lift the gospel up to say “The
Gospel of the Lord”, since after proclaiming it, the Gospel is no longer to be
found merely in the printed words of the book, but in the hearts and minds of
all who have heard it.
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THE SYMBOLS USED IN THE BAPTISM CEREMONY
There are a few symbolic
elements used in the Baptism ceremony. Here is a quick summary, to help explain
the meaning of them.
1. OIL OF BAPTISM: Your child will be anointed on the chest (older
children and adults we anoint on the forehead) with the oil of Baptism. This is
ordinary olive oil that has been specially blessed by our Bishop in an annual
ceremony just before Easter. This oil is a symbol of preparing the child for
Christian living. Just as an athlete is rubbed with oil to prepare their
muscles for the race, this oil is used to strengthen and prepare the child to
live a good Christian life. The oil also symbolises protection. Just as it is
hard to grab hold of someone who has oil rubbed on them, they slip away from
one’s grip, so too we pray that this child will be protected from harm and
temptation; nothing bad in life can grab hold of them, it will just slip away.
2. WATER: This is the main symbol
of baptism. Water represents washing clean and re-birth and renewal. Water is a
perfect symbol, it contains so many meanings: Health and life, recreation,
danger and threat, power and gentleness, washing and renewing. It is a
wonderful way of showing that by following Jesus we want to ‘immerse” or
“plunge” ourselves into Jesus’ way of life. Baptism is a word that literally
means “Plunge” and we believe that Baptism is not just a sign of following Jesus, Baptism connects us to Jesus and makes us one with
his life and with the life of all other believers in Jesus.
In ancient Christian churches
there was a special separate room or even separate building where the Baptismal
font was located. .. // People would be welcomed into the life of Christ.,.. and become members of
the church in this Baptistry… and then be led into
the church… to take their rightful place around the altar of the Lord…for the
first time. There were a couple of major styles of Baptism font…..
One
type (pictured above) was a rectangular pool with steps going in one side and
coming up the other….. These kinds of fonts look very much like a water-filled grave……. People would be led down into the pool, leaving
behind their old clothes and old ways of living… and any sins they committed…
and came up out of the waters…. Putting on the new white baptismal robe….// . The power of the symbol was strong…. One could see the
symbolism of going into the tomb with Christ (dying with Christ, to our old
ways) and rising from the tomb with Jesus to a new way of living.
If you
have ever visited 
“All who have been baptised -have died with Jesus
in the waters of Baptism and now we walk in newness of life…. Being ‘dead to sin’. (NRSV Bible).
The
other style of font was circular…… It seemed to pick up the powerful image of
renewal and re-birth….
The
Brisbane Archdiocese’s
pre-eminent church… where the Archbishops’ chair is located… the
Cathedral of St. Stephen…. Has a magnificent font that cleverly incorporates
both images… with the pool and the steps… and the mural and bowl representing
rebirth in Christ Jesus.
The beauty of the Baptismal image of ‘water and
washing’ is that it picks up so many different facets of Jesus and his
message….. Life, death, joy, suffering, forgiveness,
cleansing, new life, re-birth, and danger, even death. It is a reminder that all who dare follow
Jesus into the pool must be prepared for both fullness of life and the real
possibility of suffering - of being outside our comfort zone. Baptism
into Jesus makes us one with Jesus in his life, death and resurrection. We say
“yes” to the deep mystery of dying and rising that is
found in all aspects of life. Each time we recite the Creed at Mass, we renew
the promises made at our Baptism, when we dared, or our parents loving dared on
our behalf, to follow Jesus into the (often cool and uninviting) waters of
Baptism, so as to rise to a new – albeit challenging – way of life. Thank
goodness Jesus always has gone before us to lead us through these waters.
3. OIL OF CHRISM: The name “Christian” comes from the name
“Christ” who we follow. The word “Christ” literally means “Anointed One.” Jesus
is the Anointed and Chosen one of God who was ‘anointed’ by God to be THE
Priest, Prophet and King. Oil of Chrism is again ordinary olive oil that has
been mixed with beautiful perfumes. This oil symbolises royalty and vocation.
This oil is anointed onto the crown on the head of the newly baptised child.
This is the same oil that is used to anoint the heads of Monarchs at their
Coronation, to anoint Priest’s hands at their Ordination, and is the same oil
that is used in Confirmation, which seals and confirms the baptism of the child
later in life. This second anointing makes it clear that your child is a royal
member of Jesus’ kingdom, as all Jesus’ followers are. The child will be
connected and part of Jesus, and share with Jesus in his vocation to be
“Priest, Prophet and King” in the world.
4. WHITE BAPTISMAL GARMENT: There is a Bible reading
where
5.
CANDLE: We believe that Jesus is the “light of the world.” Jesus is the light who shows us the way, and
helps us in life, especially when we feel we are in darkness of difficulty or
temptation or confusion. Every Easter a very large candle is blessed called the
“Easter Candle” or “Paschal Candle” (a word meaning Passover: Jesus is the “Passover
Lamb” who was sacrificed to save us from sin). This candle represents Jesus who
is a light to all in darkness. When a child is baptised, they are said to be
“enlightened by Christ” and they have become a “Child of the Light.” A
Baptismal candle is lit from this Easter candle and is presented to the family
as a sign that this newly baptised person has received Jesus’ light and now
must be a ‘light of Christ’ to all they meet in how they live and behave. Just
as the big light does not lose any of its brightness or power by having other
candles lit from it, so we become a carrier of Christ’s light without taking
anything from the greatness of the true light who enlightens and guides us all:
Jesus Christ.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Funeral ceremony symbols:
A Pall
The name “Pall”, (pronounced “Pawl” - same as
“Paul”), comes from the latin
word pallium, meaning ‘a cloak.’ A Pall is a large
white cloth that is placed over a coffin in a funeral ceremony. It has a special significance. In a funeral
ceremony, there are a lot of symbols used to remind us of Baptism. This is
because, in Baptism, God makes to us unbreakable promises. In Baptism, we are
made forever children of the living of God. We are made ‘children of light’ and
it is as if we have “put on living as part of Christ like one puts on new
clothes,” (to paraphrase
Remember that in the early days
of Christianity, Baptismal fonts often looked like this type:
This picks up on what
(Baptism: a
sharing in Christ’s death and resurrection)
“When we were Baptised in
Christ Jesus we were Baptised in his death; in other
words, when we were Baptised we went into the tomb
with him and joined him in death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by
the Father’s glory, we too might live a new life. If in union with Christ we
have imitated his death, we shall also imitate him in his resurrection. “
Very powerfully too, the coffin has a white cloth
placed over it as a reminder of the white garment worn when they received the
new life of Baptism. The garment is a symbol of the Christian dignity that we
received and how we are to bring that dignity unstained into the everlasting
life of heaven.
These beautiful symbols, including the Pall, all
serve to speak, silently but strongly, of the hope we have that “just as we
have already died with Jesus in the waters of Baptism, so will we rise with
Jesus on the last day.”