Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 181 - Part I.

     

YOUCAT Question n. 181 - Part I. Why are there so many signs and symbols in the liturgies?       

(Youcat answer) God knows that we men are not only spiritual but also bodily creatures; we need signs and symbols in order to perceive and describe spiritual or interior realities.         

A deepening through CCC     

(CCC 1145) A sacramental celebration is woven from signs and symbols. In keeping with the divine pedagogy of salvation, their meaning is rooted in the work of creation and in human culture, specified by the events of the Old Covenant and fully revealed in the person and work of Christ. 1145

Reflecting and meditating      

(Youcat comment) Whether it is red roses, a wedding ring, black clothing, graffiti, or aids armbands—we always express our interior realities through signs and are understood immediately. The incarnate Son of God gives us human signs in which he is living and active among us: bread and wine, the water of Baptism, the anointing with the Holy Spirit. Our response to God’s sacred signs instituted by Christ consists in signs of reverence: genuflecting, standing while listening to the Gospel, bowing, folding our hands. And as though for a wedding we decorate the place of God’s presence with the most beautiful things we have: flowers, candles, and music. In any case, signs also require words to interpret them.   

(CCC Comment)     

(CCC 1146) Signs of the human world. In human life, signs and symbols occupy an important place. As a being at once body and spirit, man expresses and perceives spiritual realities through physical signs and symbols. As a social being, man needs signs and symbols to communicate with others, through language, gestures, and actions. The same holds true for his relationship with God.       

 
(This question: Why are there so many signs and symbols in the liturgies? is continued)