Sacred Images

Arturo Vasquez discusses the mystery and meaning of the ancient tradition.

Here then we see a more foundational and human approach to religious imagery in the Catholic Church, one that takes the sacramental principle a step further. Catholicism in the end is a religion of the concrete: a religion filled with ceremony, trinkets, and daily things used for extraordinary purposes. Bread and wine, rosaries, cloth, incense, and old, worn pages come together to create a religion that you can touch, taste, and smell. At times, these things can compel us to be better than what we are now; they often lead us to repentance and to a life committed to a God who is above all human sense and thought. It can appear to be magic to the casual observer, but the real magic here is not in the plaster or the paint, but rather in faith....