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.