Download In this sign you will conquer

In this sign you will
conquer
While The Year of Faith marks both the 50th anniversary of the opening of The
Second Vatican Council by John XXIII in 1962 and the 20th anniversary of the
publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, promulgated by John Paul II.
2012 also marks the 1700th anniversary of the victory of the Emperor Constantine at
the Battle of the Milvian Bridge.
On 28 October, 312,
Constantine defeated a rival emperor, Maxentius, at the
Milvian Bridge on the river Tiber, near Rome. Before the battle, Constantine saw a
cross in the sky with the words in Latin, ‘In hoc signo vinces’ (In this sign you will
conquer). This is sometimes depicted as the trigram of Christ (IHS) and forms part
of the logo for The Year of Faith.
Constantine believed that the Christian God had given him the victory. In 313, he
issued the Edict of Milan which gave Christianity legal status as a religion within the
Roman Empire. This ended the persecution of the Church.
Constantine also set about building churches particularly in Rome. These were
modelled on the Roman basilica, for example, St John Lateran (the Cathedral church
of Rome) and St Paul-outside-the walls.
Constantine also convened one of the most important Ecumenical Councils, the
Council of Nicaea in 325. At this Council the original version of the Nicene Creed,
which we recite at Mass each Sunday, was formulated.
Between 326 and 328, Constantine’s mother, St Helena made a pilgrimage to the
Holy Land. Here she identified and preserved a number of holy sites and relics
associated with the life and death of Jesus.
The logo for The Year of Faith is composed of a square, on which a boat,
symbolizing the Church, is represented as sailing. The main mast of the boat is a
cross from which sails are displayed in the form of dynamic signs which compose the
trigram of Christ (IHS). The background to the sails is a sun which, associated with
the trigram, refers also to the Eucharist.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God
invites us
to walk His way, to tell His truth, to live His life.
NCRS: Reflection and Prayer: December 2012
Prayer
Loving God,
You loved the world so much
that You gave us Your only Son
Jesus Christ to be our Saviour.
When Jesus humbled himself
to be born among us
and take on our humanity,
he fulfilled the plan You formed long ago.
Jesus opened for us the way of salvation.
In this Advent season,
we watch in joyful expectation for the day,
hoping that the salvation promised us will come,
when Christ our Lord
will come again in his glory.
Come Lord Jesus!
Jesus Christ, the Son of God
invites us
to walk His way, to tell His truth, to live His life.
NCRS: Reflection and Prayer: December 2012