Dear Parish Family,
With such a long history, I was surprised that our parish did not have a logo that reflected that rich past, as well as our bright future and our patron saint. These were the driving concepts for what you see in our parish’s new logo. Allow me to share the meaning of symbolism behind it.
- As you know, St. John the Evangelist’s symbol is the eagle. In the ancient cathedrals of Europe and other churches around the world, wherever you see a depiction of a young male saint with an eagle, you can bet that he’s St. John the Evangelist. Since he was the youngest of the Twelve Apostles, he is almost always shown as having no beard, which was a common way to depict youth in former days. His trademark, the eagle, symbolizes how the theology of St. John’s Gospel soars high above the three Synoptic Gospels.
- The eagle on our parish logo is also symbolic of the Polish heritage of St. Joseph Oratory, as the eagle is on the Polish coat of arms.
- The three crosses have the circle around them, characteristic of the Celtic cross, to recognize the strong Irish influence in the founding of St. John.
- While the three crosses on the eagle’s breast may first conjure up images of the two thieves who were crucified beside the cross of Jesus, the real reason those two smaller crosses are there in this logo is because Mary and John are often depicted at the foot of the cross. Thus, the two smaller Greek crosses symbolize these two faithful disciples who shared in the cross of Christ.
- The “J” in the shield obviously signifies “John,” since SJE stands for St. John the Evangelist. That “J” right underneath the center cross, however, was made much bigger to give the further significance of Jesus, of whose body St. John, you and I are all a part. Its central position at the eagle’s chest symbolizes how Jesus is at the heart of what all that we do here at St. John the Evangelist Parish.
Should you have any ideas for the use of our new logo, please post them on our Facebook page, or you can email Jeromy directly at jeromy@stjohnjackson.org.
“Don’t Just Survive. Conquer!”
This was the theme of my homily last Sunday, based on the second reading from Romans 8. If you were at Fr. Kurian’s Mass last week, you still catch and use it as a reflection for your prayer time some time this week: www.stjohnjackson.org/2014/homily-fr-chas-8-3-14/.
Be Conquerors!
Fr. Chas