Denver Catholic

6 MAY 16-22, 2015 | DENVER CATHOLIC Mass will be celebrated by: The Most Reverend Samuel J. Aquila The Archbishop of Denver e Knights of Columbus will be o ering hot dogs, chips & drinks, for a donation. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the Shining Stars Foundation. All are invited to attend. Please bring lawn chairs. Mount Olivet cemetery 12801 W. 44th Ave., Wheat Ridge, CO 80033 (303) 424-7785 St. Simeon Cemetery 22001 E. State Hwy 50, Aurora, CO 80018 (720) 859-9785 Please Note the New Mass Time Below: Monday, May 25th at 10:00 a.m. Gallagher Chapel at Mount Olivet Cemetery 10% OFF When Paid in Full (At pre-need time of purchase. Does not apply to headstones) 10% DOWN and Interest-Free Financing for up to 60 Months Discounts expire June 30, 2015. Hurry before rates increase! Archdiocese of Denver Mortuary • Mount Olivet and St. Simeon Cemeteries Memorial Day Mass OR Now that the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer order has successfully made her famous, they want to make sure you also hear her message. "She is more than a beautiful sacra- mental," Redemptorist Brother Dan Korn, an expert on the icon who gives talks and retreats on it across the globe, said from his o§ce in Liguori, Mo. "Icons are the Gospel in image form." "Our Mother of Perpetual Help icon is about the mystery of redemption," Brother Korn explained. "The incarna- tion, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus are proclaimed through the ele- ments in the image." Last month the Redemptorists, a mis- sionary order founded by St. Alfonsus Liguori, started a yearlong celebration leading up to April 26, 2016, which will mark the 150th anniversary of their fill- ing a pontifical mandate to protect and promote the image. Armed with new knowledge they have about the icon, they have a new mission. "For the next 150 years, we want to spread the message contained in the iconogra- phy," Brother Korn said. "We want to teach people how to read and pray the icon." THE GOSPEL IN IMAGES The Redemptorists were entrusted the image in 1866 by Blessed Pope Pius IX who told them to "Make her known throughout the world!" "We have done that very eŸectively," Brother Korn said. "But it's only since 1990 that we have understood in depth the iconography." That year, because the icon was showing signs of wear, the order had it restored by Vatican Museum experts and gained a deeper appreciation for its rich symbolism. "When we were given this beautiful piece of sacred art from the Byzantine tradition, we didn't understand it, but now we do," Brother Korn said. "Christian icons express in images the same Gospel message that Scripture communicates by words," notes the Cat- echism of the Catholic Church (1160). "Image and word illuminate each other." That's why icons are described as being "written," rather than "painted," Brother Korn said, adding that one can only understand their message if they can "read" the symbols in the image. "Reading it leads us into deep prayer," Brother Korn said. "The icon's elements are all 'windows' … into divine mystery." "(Our Mother of Perpetual Help) is a mirror of redemptive love, meaning that everything in the icon is about how we have been redeemed by Christ," Brother Korn said. READING THE ICON Our Mother of Perpetual Help's mes- sage is shared in five key elements: Mary's face, her hands, the Christ child, the angels, and the color gold. « 1 | Cover Story "Those are the five 'chapters' we read in the icon," Brother Korn said, adding that symbols were vital in the Middle Ages when most of the population couldn't read words. THE CHRIST CHILD: Jesus, as if straining toward his mis- sion to redeem humanity, is looking over his shoulder at the Archangel Gabriel who holds the cross and nails of Christ's future crucifixion. His gold san- dals represent his divinity. "This is a Greek icon and in Greek hierarchy only the prince of the king wore gold sandals," Brother Korn explained. "The falling gold sandal … is symbolic of Jesus' humility in taking on our humanity."

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