St Josephs Preparatory Seminary - Yearbook (Holy Trinity, AL)

Page 102 text:

Significance of Cover Scheme T he principal tinctures of the main partition of the field are red and goldf gold, the liturgical colorforfhe Divinity, and red, the Lg- furgical color for Charity and the Holy Spirit. Red, too,as the litur- gical color for feasts of the Apostles, denotes the apostolic and mis- sionary nature of the work of the Congregation of the Missionary Ser- vants as expressed in their Constitutions. The designs on the mainpar- tition of the shield symbolize the Most Holy Trinity. The hand in the act of benediction represents God the Father. The Latin disposition has been chosen for the present shieldg itsymbolizes the Three Persons ofthe Trinity by the open fingers and the two natures Of Christ by the ones which are closed. The hand, the oldest symbol of God the Father, is derived from the Old Testament where it ismentioned G number of times. Ihe device for God the Father iscombined with the cross, the attri- bute ofGod the Son. It is interesting to note that the hand of God ob- literates the upper vertical member of the cross, so that the cross itself displays only three members, symbolic of the Tffnify- Beneath the cross is the Dove, the representation of the Third Per- son oftheBlessed Trinity, the Holy Spirit. The disposition ofthe Dove beneath the Hand of the Father and the Cross of the Son appropriately signifies that the Holy Spirit proceeds alike from the Father and the Son, as from one common principle lutroquel. The symbols ofthe Hand, Cross, and Dove afford a.moredevotional ex- pression of the Holy Trinity, avoiding as they do the coldness of the usual geometric designation ofthe triangle and theinterlaced circles. ' The upper compartment is given to emblems for those who has a part in the establishment of the yissionary Servants of the Most Holy Tri- nity. The heart, the symbol Hpar excellence' of St. Vincent de Paul, founder ofthe Congregation of the Missions, commemorates the spiritual descent of the Missionary Servants from the nFather of the Poor'. The heart and charity are synonymous in Christian art. The two escatlop shells are taken from the coat ofarms of the Judge family of Ireland. Thus the spiritual father and the founder of the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity are honored in the upper compartment of the shield, while themain partition of the coat of arms is given to symbols for the titular ofthe Congregation, the Most Holy Trinity. On a wreath of the principal tinctures of the shield, gold and red, G silver crescent encompasses a red roundle. The red roundle from the coat of arms of Pius XI honors the pontiff who reigned during the for- mative years of the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity. The crescent honors the Blessed Virgin under the title of the Immaculate Conception. The crescent as aMarian symbol received its authority from the Apocalypse 1:12:'Anda1great sign appeared inheaven:4zwoman clothed in the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.' The crescent, which is also a chare of the arms of the Diocese ofMobile, moreover, commemorates the foundationofthe Mission- ary Servants inthis diocese by Father Judge in 1921, and the later ca- nonical erection there as a clerical religious congregation of simple vows and of diocesan right, on April 29, 1929- The scroll atthe base of the shield bears the motto, 'Ad Fidem Ser- vandam', translated 'For the Preservation of the Faith.' It expresses the purpose as well as the mission of the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity in their portion of the Vineyard of Christ.

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