After many hours of prayerful discernment and creative experimentation, I am excited to share with you the new logo for IHM. Why a new logo? IHM has had various logos over the years, and there is nothing wrong with the most recent one of a blue Jerusalem cross with a background of blue and gray stained glass. But after our Mission Leadership Team discerned a new mission statement for our parish, I thought it would be helpful to have a new logo that expresses that mission more dynamically.
Our parish mission is “To proclaim the greatness of the Lord, and accompany our neighbors to the Heart of Jesus.” To express this mission, we have taken the heart and the cross from the stained glass windows on either side of the tabernacle and combined them. The red Immaculate Heart of Mary opens up to receive the Cross of Jesus. Jesus has been dwelling in her Heart since the Annunciation of the Angel Gabriel. As members of Christ’s Body, we also dwell in her Heart. From within her heart we join her in proclaiming the greatness of the Lord (Luke 1:46) and reaching out to our neighbors. This proclamation and outreach is symbolized by the beams of the Cross reaching out in four directions. These blue beams open wider as they extend from the center to the periphery, symbolizing our hearts reaching outwards to our neighbors. With its open ends, the cross also welcomes us to accompany our neighbors from the outside to the center.
The logo also sustains another level of meaning. At the center of the Heart of Mary is the Heart of Jesus. A close look into the center of the Cross reveals a white diamond shape. This can suggest the heart of Jesus, as depicted in the Divine Mercy painting in our sanctuary. His Heart is within the Heart of Mary, and we can accompany our neighbors there through the intercession of her Immaculate Heart. Then, as they are transformed by the love of Jesus and Mary, they are inspired to move out into the lives of their neighbors, proclaiming the greatness of the Lord and accompanying them to the Heart of Jesus. This inward and outward movement expresses the pulsing heartbeats Mary and Jesus filling our parish family with divine life.
A note about the colors: The Heart is a shade of red that is similar to that of a human heart, and to the color of the cross on the floor in the center aisle of the church and in the Adoration Chapel. The Cross is in a shade of blue similar to that of the previous logo. But instead of the ends of the cross being square, the new cross is open-ended, for the reasons mentioned above, and to suggest that its energy extends into infinity.
I hope and pray that our new logo inspires you to find your place in our parish mission, moving towards greater intimacy with the hearts of Jesus and Mary, or moving outwards to share their love with your neighbors. I encourage you to support our parish mission, if you are able, with some degree of stewardship of treasure. If you took a pledge card home last weekend, remember to bring it back to Mass this Sunday and place it in a basket in the sanctuary. Extra cards are in the pew if you need one. Since this is a pledge of support for the upcoming year (January to December), you may take a few more weeks to think and pray about your response. If so, you may place it in the offertory basket at a later Mass, return it to the Welcome Desk, or mail it to the parish office.
However you respond or don’t respond, please know that you are God’s beloved child and an important member of our parish family. If you are in need of some help just let me know. Our parish family will do whatever we can to help you. You are in the hearts of Jesus and Mary, and their love is free. May we all be channels of their love for one another.