Year of Faith Logo Explained

‘A picture says a thousand words’ and so a really good logo does not need a lot of explaining.  Without knowing any official explanation for this Year of Faith image, the Boat spoke to me of the ‘Barque of Peter’ which is the Catholic Church, voyaging through the ocean of life on earth, and of Christ’s soul-winning gift from the cross, the power He has to unite us into full communion with His Father, with all the Holy ones of heaven and on earth, through the power of His Holy Spirit, who lights our way.

IHS, according to the Pocket Oxford Dictionary, is an abbreviation and a representation of a Greek word for Jesus.   I love the way in which this image of Jesus the Christ, is formed by the cross...the LORD is RISEN!

It seems fitting to me that an image of the circular Sail is the LORD in the HOST, by the light of His love, is powering this Church, this boat of Peter, for the Eucharist is the source and summit of our holiness, and reconciliation through Jesus is the door to it.

The porthole can be seen as the ‘eye of the boat’...showing us direction.  The definition of all we believe lies in the Creed, it is celebrated in the liturgy of the Church and lived out in following God’s commandments in a life of prayer.

The Catholic Catechism paragraph 826 tells us that Charity is the soul of holiness to which we are all called.

“If the Church was a body composed of different members, it couldn’t lack the noblest of all: it must have a heart, and a heart burning with love.”  And I realized that this love alone was the true motive force which enabled the other members of the Church to act:  if it ceased to function, the Apostles would forget to preach the Gospel, the Martyrs would refuse to shed their blood.

 “Love, in fact, is the vocation which includes all others.  It’s a universe of its own, comprising all time and space...it’s eternal....”  This quote speaks to me of the frame of the Logo because the sail extends beyond our known perimeter...and signifies for me Eternity.  God is eternal, His love has no end. His love is patient and kind, He does not keep a record of mistakes, Love is not rude or selfish, Love is not happy with evil,  His love is forgiving and it never ends.

There are many great ways to recognise this Year of Faith, and for me the definition of it lives in the gift of the Catholic Catechism because it covers the Creed, the Sacred Liturgy, the sacraments, the Christian way of life, with the ten commandments explained for today, and finally prayer in all its forms.  It is ‘old’ in its heritage and ‘new’ in response to the challenges of our day.  The launch of this YEAR OF FAITH comes on the anniversary, not only of Vatican II, but also of the Catholic Catechism, highlighting its importance to us.

In conclusion, here is a beautiful reflection from this teaching which seems to sum up the Logo of the Year of Faith perfectly, as it speaks of the church reuniting, gathering, all into the Father’s love through the Church of His Son:

CCC Ref: 845

“She is the barque which ‘in the full sail of the LORD’S cross, by the breath of the Holy Spirit, navigates safely in this world.

She is prefigured by Noah’s ark, which alone saves from the flood.”