Symbols in Church, Invisible Realities Represented

I was at church 20 years ago this evening for another monthly Confirmation preparation meeting.  After starting in the Pine Room, we went to the church.

At that time, the walls and ceilings were covered with symbols and other imagery.  In the 2 years following my Confirmation, as part of Ascension Parish's centennial celebration, much of it was painted over, partly to help the stained glass window imagery stand out.

As I reflect on that March meeting, I think about what was there and what stood out to me.  The images all had something to say about our faith.

There was an area with imagery related to the seven sacraments, which was a throwback to the December meeting.  I have a memory that the walls had images related to the virtues and the Holy Spirit.

In the Crucifixion mural above the high altar, at the base of the Cross of Christ was a stump from which water flowed and went along the walls through the entire church. That was a great image of how, from the Paschal Mystery, living waters flowed, and through baptism, we joined ourselves, through water, to Christ in death and Resurrection.

Indeed, there are many words to express what we believe as a Church, much of which I learned during Confirmation preparation.  Images offer another great dimension to help us see who we are and what we believe, even as visual elements show invisible realities.  That's the idea of a sacrament, which I experienced in a powerful way on the day of my Confirmation.

Even though some of that imagery has ceased to be there in the church, each year, I still enjoy taking my RE classes on a tour of the church to look at what's there and help them appreciate the imagery and the other elements of the church.  One area I like is the Blessed Mother Mary's statue.  She's standing on a snake.  It symbolizes that the curse that emerged because of Adam and Eve's shortcoming was reversed by Christ, Who entered the world because Mary said "yes" in obedience to God.  We remember how much God loves us by the Sacred Heart, and there's a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the transept near Mary's statue.

I also like the imagery of the four Gospel writer figures on the ambo.  And I frequently marvel at the glorious scene in the dome of Christ's Ascension.  Underneath that dome, on October 15, 2005, I experienced a glorious encounter with God when His Holy Spirit descended on me and has sent me forth to live the realities shown by the images inside Ascension Church.