Protestants sometimes characterize the Catholic use of images as idolatrous. It is not. In The Spirit of the Liturgy, Cardinal Ratzinger explains why (brief summary): The invisible God has become man and has made Himself visible to us. Even in Old Testament worship, images were not totally unknown: the ark of the covenant had two cherubim of beaten gold on the cover, as God commanded Moses. Icons (and all good sacred art) come from prayer and lead to prayer. They are intended to draw the mind and heart to God. Because of all this the Second Council of Nicaea regards iconoclasm as a denial of the Incarnation. The Catholic use of images is not idolatrous because there is no worship of images, but only of God (even images of the saints are also images of God, because in conforming themselves and their lives to the will of God, the saints become more and more transparent, so that we can see God working in them). The images are a sort of window into heaven.
On that note, here are a couple more of the image in use in our home:
A San Damiano Cross over the bed |
St. Philip Neri |
Thank you for sharing this! I will bookmark it and keep it handy for when my Protestant family members give me a hard time...
ReplyDeleteThat is very good, deep theology. Great examples and analogies. Important topic for non-Catholic friends, also.
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