So You Noticed!
EDITORIAL
Yes, we’ve changed the emblem on our cover. Previously, it was a simple candle enclosed in a rectangle.
One wit noted that such a candle doesn’t cast much light. Another said it doesn’t noticeably dispel any darkness.
Another said the candle was too simple, observing that we Catholics need to recover “the great tradition of Catholic art,” and that our candle — so unadorned and generic — reflected the dumbing-down of Catholic art in the post-Vatican II era. He also noted that our candle, “so bland and timid,” fails to match the content and style of the NOR.
Amid these observations, it occurred to us that our candle was “symbolically” minimalist, whereas the NOR is maximalist — settling for nothing less than full Catholic orthodoxy.
So we decided a change was needed. We considered other candles, but none of them measured up. So we went in another direction. The combative eagle with three crosses symbolizes the Church Militant. The eagle holds flaming swords, evoking the “sword of the Spirit” (Eph. 6:17) and the flames of Pentecost. The swords also recall Christ’s words, “I did not come to bring peace but a sword” (Mt. 10:34).
You May Also Enjoy
There aren’t many words I would willingly banish from the modern vocabulary. I wouldn’t, for…
America is a formidable land in which to be in the world but not of it; its attractions are many and its lures seductive. The imperative for Christians lies in resistance.
We as a people perpetuate a bias against the same sacramental sensibilities and incarnational anthropologies upon which the original city-on-a-hill idea was founded.