tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5745814378416915364.post8506658766927493482..comments2023-12-23T00:19:35.005-08:00Comments on ADAM'S ALE: SYMBOLIC SATURDAY BY THE NUMBERSFr. Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13201561855047420853noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5745814378416915364.post-89426529621022009372007-06-18T10:14:00.000-07:002007-06-18T10:14:00.000-07:00Gyspy, I think you might be a mystic.Anytime Uncle...Gyspy, I think you might be a mystic.<BR/><BR/>Anytime Uncle Jim. That's why they pay me the big bucks.Fr. Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13201561855047420853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5745814378416915364.post-36437227857213814302007-06-17T17:56:00.000-07:002007-06-17T17:56:00.000-07:00Fr V - thanks for the lead on the book by George F...Fr V - <BR/>thanks for the lead on the book by George Ferguson.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5745814378416915364.post-70563697156162616232007-06-17T07:28:00.000-07:002007-06-17T07:28:00.000-07:00I love when you make everything point to Him, Fr. ...I love when you make everything point to Him, Fr. V.<BR/><BR/>Numbers, since they exist in time, can be used to honor God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Because of free will, however, they can also be revered as false gods. If not for numbers, we'd not have the Internet, which, because of free will, can be used to honor God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, or it can be revered as a false god. Whatever we don't use to point to God with, we allow to point to a lesser other. <BR/><BR/>Everything in the Created world points to God, yet if we develop a hybrid flower, it is named after us, for it is from "our" garden. If we raise buffalos, they are "our" buffalos..if we have amassed money hand over fist, we might name too much of a good thing "Trump Tower," et al, and that's perhaps why we have some things so large, we cannot claim them as ours but always have a true reminder of Him. Ocean, mountain, redwood. Or so tiny, like insect, or so wild and free, like deer and hummingbird. Or so present inexplicably, as in a baby's laugh, a bell ringing, a Schubert hymn. <BR/><BR/>And because of free will, God can be thought symbolic, or we can find Him hidden in a tiny Host or a sip of Life, even tho' He is 1st and last. <BR/><BR/>It's nice to find Him in everything. As Christ Himself said on what is now our Palm Sunday, "If I silence the people, the very stones will cry out!" Amen.<BR/><BR/>GypsyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5745814378416915364.post-57053460686618298482007-06-17T06:43:00.000-07:002007-06-17T06:43:00.000-07:00Adoro,Good question. I've never been asked that b...Adoro,<BR/><BR/>Good question. I've never been asked that before (and probably for good reason.) Having something be a symbol is one thing and something be proof of a superstitious belief is another. One has to do with interpreting art, the other has to do with interpreting cosmic forces. They are completely unrealted. It would be as equally untennable to say that they Church teaches math in schools and therefore it endorses numerology. Is that helpful?<BR/><BR/>Uncle Jim, I suppose you are asking where the meanings of symbols are recorded. There is no official Church document if that is what you mean. The interpretation of symbols can be picked up in your run-of-the-mill art classes and is published in many books on symbolism and art. One basic book that I return to over and over for its clarity, simplicity, and extensive collection is "Saints and Symbols in Christian Art" by George Ferguson.Fr. Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13201561855047420853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5745814378416915364.post-61016142340404782692007-06-16T20:31:00.000-07:002007-06-16T20:31:00.000-07:00Back in the day when I was into the New Age thing,...Back in the day when I was into the New Age thing, a friend of mine who claimed to be a "good Catholic" explained how the Bible endorses numerology, which of course she was using as a form of divination. <BR/><BR/>You have defined the numbers in terms of theological symbolism...what do you say to people who claim that this practice is an endorsement of divination? <BR/><BR/>(Yes, I know it's not, but it would be nice to have more info for those who are confused.)Adorohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02853244433854822731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5745814378416915364.post-11343429376320959282007-06-16T19:47:00.000-07:002007-06-16T19:47:00.000-07:00where is it written?where is it written?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com