The four main writers of the Gospel, namely, Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and John, were known as the Evangelists. The symbols
were associated to each of them. Matthew being the man, as in
the beginning of his gospel was all about incarnation. Mark was
associated to the lion as he began his gospel with John the Baptist
whose voice was as powerful as the roar of a lion. Luke’s symbol
was an ox or in this image is a carabao, as this is a Filipino
adaptation. He was associated to an ox because the theme of his
gospel focused more on sacrifice. Lastly, John’s was an eagle
because according to St. Jerome, he achieved spiritual heights,
because of him witnessing Jesus’ divine nature.
The three stained-glass windows shown in the image
are the sixth, seventh, and eighth glass windows. The sixth
glass window, on the right, represents Jesus’s life in the
public, his teachings regarding the fulfillment of his prophecy.
The seventh glass window, the one in the middle, represents
Jesus’ crucifixion which saved us from all our sins. Lastly, the
eighth window, on the left side, is the resurrected form of the
Lord reuniting with his mother, the Virgin Mary or known as
the Salubong in the Filipino tradition. We noticed that the
images in the stained-glass windows are not the usual images
of Jesus. We see here that the images are closely related to
that of a Filipino appearance which is because the church was
built to stress that this church is of Bicol influence and that
it is really ours.
This image is familiar in all churches. This is the image of
the Holy Trinity inspired by the Bicol culture. In this image we can
see mother Mary, Joseph, and the young Jesus. From what I see,
the Holy Trinity here represents the poor people. Mary here could
represent those housewives who takes care of their children at
home while Joseph could represent as the father who works hard
for his son. Jesus here represents the children who brings
happiness to the family. I think this is a very good representation of
the holy family in a Filipino context.