LOLSaints

Havin fun yet?

The above image, taken from the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis (in the All Souls chapel), shows a motif seen often in artwork surrounding death and dying. It's a literal representation of the saying, "Time flies."

In the old days, back when people had enough brain cells and time to understand hidden meanings in pictures and artwork, someone would immediately recognize the Christian meaning of this symbol: because of the temporary and fleeting nature of this life on Earth, separated from the God who made us, we must hurry to fulfill our mission of loving God.

As we hear in Ecclesiastes 1, in the words of Qoheleth: "Vanity of vanities, all things are vanity." All the physical objects we so covet in this life (including our fleshly bodies, detached from a proper understanding of the body/soul relationship) are simply vanity. "You can't take it with you!"

But don't be too morose: you'll notice a heckuva lot more cheerful artwork throughout the rest of any Church with the 'time flies' motif. But don't forget: time flies... whether you're having fun or not!