Emblem
emblem
(Greek: emblema, an insertion, mosaic)
Any object or device suggestive of something ideal or spiritual, e.g., the cross of faith or of sacrifice, the anchor of hope, the lily of purity, the palm of victory. The use of emblems is characteristic of the Catholic religion, partly in the early days to express the mysteries of faith and the ideals of the Church so as not to submit them to the ridicule or suspicion of pagans , but chiefly to give expression to the poetic inspiration of Christian faith. In Christian art various emblems are used expressive of the characteristic virtues or actions of saints, e.g., the eagle for Saint John the Baptist because of the sublime flight of his inspiration. The dove is used as an emblem of the Holy Spirit; a lamb, for Our Lord. Badges, banners, or signs distinctive of a society or rank, exhibited at burials, are also called emblems. If these emblems portray any mark of hostility to the faith or discipline of the Catholic Church , they should be removed from the church or at the grave, before the exequies allowed by the Church may be performed.
Fuente: New Catholic Dictionary
Emblem
“a device or figure employed to represent some moral notion. There are various opinions as to the lawfulness and expediency of emblems in religious matters, some considering it to be both allowable and useful thus to represent spiritual ideas to the bodily eye; others, again, holding it to be both presumptuous and dangerous, if not superstitious, to use any emblems of sacred things not warranted and enjoined by Scripture. This, at least, is certain, that it is quite as likely to lead to idolatry (answering to that of the Hindoos, Egyptians, etc.) as pictures or images giving a simple resemblance. The golden calf was meant for an emblem, but it was the occasion of gross idolatry.”
Emblems are to be distinguished from symbols. Symbols are generally intended to represent revealed doctrines; emblems are “arbitrary representations of an idea of human invention” (Walcott). Thus a sword is the emblem of St. Paul. A lion, as indicating solitude, was chosen as the emblem of Jerome as a recluse. SEE IDOLATRY;SEE IMAGE.