Even the poorest Catholic Church possesses some representation of Our Lady, of Our Lord, or one or other of the Saints. There is always a crucifix (with the figure of the crucified Jesus represented on the cross) on or above the altar, and there will always be a cross somewhere on the Church building. Usually the 14 Stations of the Cross adorn the walls, either in the form of icons, statues, or frescoes, and sometimes there will be a grotto with statues of Mary, St Bernadette or the children of Fatima.
The making of images was plainly condemned by the Second Commandment (Ex. 20,4) because of a fear of idolatry. But Moses himself, to whom the commandments were given, had a brazen serpent made (Numbers 21,9); there were images of the Cherubim actually standing over the Ark of the Covenant (Ex. 25, 18-22) and Solomon?s Temple was ornamented with carvings of palm trees, open flowers and cherubim (I Kings 6, 23-25).
From this it is clear that the question of the making of images was regarded by the ancient Hebrews as quite distinct from the prohibition against worshipping them.
That some early Christians thought that the second commandment extended also to the making of images emerges from the writings of Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen and others. That the worship of images was banned from the outset is universally acknowledged.
But from the beginning, Catholics used images as reminders of their Saviour, of his saving death and of the holy men and women who lived and died out of love for him.
The earliest of these ?images? was the ?Sign of the Cross? made with the hand in the air, or on various parts of the body. This was made, as Tertullian (160-220) said, ?at every coming in and going out, at the putting on of our clothes and shoes, at baths, at meals, at lighting of candles, at going to bed, at sitting down, whatever we are doing, we make the sign of the cross on our foreheads.? (De Cor. Mil. C.iii)
The first public representation of the cross was as far as we know that set up in Rome beside the statue of Constantinople after the defeat of Maxentius in 312 (Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. 1x,9)
Eusebius (265-339) also tells us that Constantine had an image of the holy cross ?composed of various precious stones set up? in a room in his Palace. (De Vita Const. iii,49) and the same emperor had the sign of the cross engraved on his soldiers? weapons, in much the same way that today, Arab or Lebanese Catholics and other Christians will have the cross tattooed on their foreheads, or the back of their hands, or on their fingers.
The emperor Julian (361) accuses Christians of making ?shadowy figures of the cross on your foreheads, and painting it at the entrances of your houses?, and in reply St Cyril of Alexandria justifies the painting of ?the sign of the precious cross?. 9Lib. Vi ad calc. Opp Jul. 194)
St John Chrysostom describes who commonly the image of the cross was displayed in his day (347-407): ?This (image) shines at the holy altar, at the ordination of priests, and with the Body of Christ at the mystic supper. It may be seen everywhere displayed, in houses, in market places, in deserts, on roads, in mountains, in groves, on hills, in ships, and on islands in the sea, on beds, on dresses, on weapons, on coaches.? (Contra Iudae. et Gentil. #9).
Writing in 403, St Paulinus of Nola speaks of the ?ensign of the holy cross?, surmounted by the crown of thorns, painted on the walls of his churches at Nola and Fundi, in Spain. A mosaic built by Paulinus at Nola represents Our Lord as a lamb, and the Holy Spirit as a dove. The 12 apostles were twelve doves around a cross, and the Church was represented by the Rock of Peter, with four streams issuing from the rock symbolizing the teaching of the four evangelists, the gift of the Catholic Church to mankind. (Epist. Paulini xxii, 10)
Why Catholics Reverence the Saints
Let us understand, once and for all, that what is greatest and most admirable in the Saints who have received visions, revelations, raptures and perhaps stigmata, and who perform miracles, is not these things, but their union with God; yes just what they have in common with us: their union with Christ through Baptism, their official enrolment in the active militia of Christ through Confirmation; and if they are Priests; the stupendous fact of their sharing in the eternal priesthood of Christ; and whether Priests or laymen, the marvelous privilege of eating the Flesh of Christ and drinking His Blood in Holy Communion. The difference lies in this that the Saints knew how to co-operate with the grace of these Sacraments and make them yield the fruits of sanctity.
Tertullian refers to images of the good shepherd painted and engraved on chalices (De Pudic. vii, 10) and paintings on the walls of the catacombs in Rome are probably the earliest Christian pictures, some of them dating from the second century.
St Augustine, writing about some spurious letters allegedly written by Our Lord to Sts Peter and Paul, says of the forgers that he supposed that ?these apostles came to mind because they (the forgers) would have seen them painted together with Jesus in many places?. (De Consen. Evangel. I,x,16) St Augustine also writes of the sacrifice of Isaac as ?a noble deed painted in so many places?. (C. Faust, xxii, 76).
St Gregory of Nyssa (330-395) says that the martyrdom of St Theodore in all its details was depicted on the walls of a Church erected in his memory (Encom. Theodori).
Paulinus of Nola, to whom I referred above, in a poem written in 402 describes scenes from the Old Testament that he had painted on his church in Nola. He explains his reasons for doing so at length. By means of these paintings he hoped to interest and instruct the uneducated converts in the neighbourhood, and especially to keep them from the excesses in which they fell on (Poem xxvii, de St Fel. Natal. carm. 9).
Asterius (died after 341) describes persons with subjects from the New and Old Testament including Our Lord, the apostles and miracles worked by Our Lord embroidered on their clothes! (De Div. Et Laz.) The same author describes the martyrdom of St Euphemia which he saw painted on the walls of a church (op cit. col. 207).
Prudentius, in 405, saw in the Forum Cornaelianum in Rome paintings of the martyrdom of St Cassianus, a school master from Imolad in 250 was put to death at the command of a magistrate because he would not worship idols. His death was unusually barbaric, because he was killed by certain of his pupils who disliked him. The schoolboys used their styli or styluses to stab him to death. The account of his martyrdom notes that ?as their efforts were puny, his suffering was bitter and his death protracted.?
The earliest account of images in England is to be found in Bede the Venerable?s Ecclesiastical History where he refers to St Augustine of Canterbury meeting Ethelbert in 597 and carrying with him a silver cross, and ?the image of the Lord and Saviour painted on a board?. ( I,25).
Bede also describes in another work, how his first Abbot, Benedict Biscop, ?brought from Rome?, in 648, ?paintings of sacred images, of the Blessed Mary and the twelve apostles, besides representations of the gospel stories and of the visions of John the Evangelist and placed them in his church so that all who entered the church, even those who were illiterate, no matter where they turned their eyes, might contemplate the ever lovely countenance of Christ, and of his saint, in an image, and might more heedfully call to mind the grace of the Lord?s Incarnation.? (Hag. Sect. 1).
The Catholic Church has ever countenanced the worshipping the images. But she wisely recognizes that icons, statues, frescoes, mosaics and symbols of whatever kind have a wonderful effect in making real to human beings the mystery of the Incarnation of their Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ.
The making of images was plainly condemned by the Second Commandment (Ex. 20,4) because of a fear of idolatry. But Moses himself, to whom the commandments were given, had a brazen serpent made (Numbers 21,9); there were images of the Cherubim actually standing over the Ark of the Covenant (Ex. 25, 18-22) and Solomon?s Temple was ornamented with carvings of palm trees, open flowers and cherubim (I Kings 6, 23-25).
From this it is clear that the question of the making of images was regarded by the ancient Hebrews as quite distinct from the prohibition against worshipping them.
That some early Christians thought that the second commandment extended also to the making of images emerges from the writings of Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen and others. That the worship of images was banned from the outset is universally acknowledged.
But from the beginning, Catholics used images as reminders of their Saviour, of his saving death and of the holy men and women who lived and died out of love for him.
The earliest of these ?images? was the ?Sign of the Cross? made with the hand in the air, or on various parts of the body. This was made, as Tertullian (160-220) said, ?at every coming in and going out, at the putting on of our clothes and shoes, at baths, at meals, at lighting of candles, at going to bed, at sitting down, whatever we are doing, we make the sign of the cross on our foreheads.? (De Cor. Mil. C.iii)
The first public representation of the cross was as far as we know that set up in Rome beside the statue of Constantinople after the defeat of Maxentius in 312 (Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. 1x,9)
Eusebius (265-339) also tells us that Constantine had an image of the holy cross ?composed of various precious stones set up? in a room in his Palace. (De Vita Const. iii,49) and the same emperor had the sign of the cross engraved on his soldiers? weapons, in much the same way that today, Arab or Lebanese Catholics and other Christians will have the cross tattooed on their foreheads, or the back of their hands, or on their fingers.
The emperor Julian (361) accuses Christians of making ?shadowy figures of the cross on your foreheads, and painting it at the entrances of your houses?, and in reply St Cyril of Alexandria justifies the painting of ?the sign of the precious cross?. 9Lib. Vi ad calc. Opp Jul. 194)
St John Chrysostom describes who commonly the image of the cross was displayed in his day (347-407): ?This (image) shines at the holy altar, at the ordination of priests, and with the Body of Christ at the mystic supper. It may be seen everywhere displayed, in houses, in market places, in deserts, on roads, in mountains, in groves, on hills, in ships, and on islands in the sea, on beds, on dresses, on weapons, on coaches.? (Contra Iudae. et Gentil. #9).
Writing in 403, St Paulinus of Nola speaks of the ?ensign of the holy cross?, surmounted by the crown of thorns, painted on the walls of his churches at Nola and Fundi, in Spain. A mosaic built by Paulinus at Nola represents Our Lord as a lamb, and the Holy Spirit as a dove. The 12 apostles were twelve doves around a cross, and the Church was represented by the Rock of Peter, with four streams issuing from the rock symbolizing the teaching of the four evangelists, the gift of the Catholic Church to mankind. (Epist. Paulini xxii, 10)
Why Catholics Reverence the Saints
Let us understand, once and for all, that what is greatest and most admirable in the Saints who have received visions, revelations, raptures and perhaps stigmata, and who perform miracles, is not these things, but their union with God; yes just what they have in common with us: their union with Christ through Baptism, their official enrolment in the active militia of Christ through Confirmation; and if they are Priests; the stupendous fact of their sharing in the eternal priesthood of Christ; and whether Priests or laymen, the marvelous privilege of eating the Flesh of Christ and drinking His Blood in Holy Communion. The difference lies in this that the Saints knew how to co-operate with the grace of these Sacraments and make them yield the fruits of sanctity.
Tertullian refers to images of the good shepherd painted and engraved on chalices (De Pudic. vii, 10) and paintings on the walls of the catacombs in Rome are probably the earliest Christian pictures, some of them dating from the second century.
St Augustine, writing about some spurious letters allegedly written by Our Lord to Sts Peter and Paul, says of the forgers that he supposed that ?these apostles came to mind because they (the forgers) would have seen them painted together with Jesus in many places?. (De Consen. Evangel. I,x,16) St Augustine also writes of the sacrifice of Isaac as ?a noble deed painted in so many places?. (C. Faust, xxii, 76).
St Gregory of Nyssa (330-395) says that the martyrdom of St Theodore in all its details was depicted on the walls of a Church erected in his memory (Encom. Theodori).
Paulinus of Nola, to whom I referred above, in a poem written in 402 describes scenes from the Old Testament that he had painted on his church in Nola. He explains his reasons for doing so at length. By means of these paintings he hoped to interest and instruct the uneducated converts in the neighbourhood, and especially to keep them from the excesses in which they fell on (Poem xxvii, de St Fel. Natal. carm. 9).
Asterius (died after 341) describes persons with subjects from the New and Old Testament including Our Lord, the apostles and miracles worked by Our Lord embroidered on their clothes! (De Div. Et Laz.) The same author describes the martyrdom of St Euphemia which he saw painted on the walls of a church (op cit. col. 207).
Prudentius, in 405, saw in the Forum Cornaelianum in Rome paintings of the martyrdom of St Cassianus, a school master from Imolad in 250 was put to death at the command of a magistrate because he would not worship idols. His death was unusually barbaric, because he was killed by certain of his pupils who disliked him. The schoolboys used their styli or styluses to stab him to death. The account of his martyrdom notes that ?as their efforts were puny, his suffering was bitter and his death protracted.?
The earliest account of images in England is to be found in Bede the Venerable?s Ecclesiastical History where he refers to St Augustine of Canterbury meeting Ethelbert in 597 and carrying with him a silver cross, and ?the image of the Lord and Saviour painted on a board?. ( I,25).
Bede also describes in another work, how his first Abbot, Benedict Biscop, ?brought from Rome?, in 648, ?paintings of sacred images, of the Blessed Mary and the twelve apostles, besides representations of the gospel stories and of the visions of John the Evangelist and placed them in his church so that all who entered the church, even those who were illiterate, no matter where they turned their eyes, might contemplate the ever lovely countenance of Christ, and of his saint, in an image, and might more heedfully call to mind the grace of the Lord?s Incarnation.? (Hag. Sect. 1).
The Catholic Church has ever countenanced the worshipping the images. But she wisely recognizes that icons, statues, frescoes, mosaics and symbols of whatever kind have a wonderful effect in making real to human beings the mystery of the Incarnation of their Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ.
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