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In the Catholic Church, sacred icons are used to help facilitate an encounter with God and to improve our own prayer lives.
These images are often called "windows to Heaven," and are specifically designed to be instruments of God's grace.
Contemplation of sacred icons
The Catechism of the Catholic Church encourages the contemplation of icons, especially when it is paired with various other devotions that lead a soul to glorify God:
"The beauty of the images moves me to contemplation, as a meadow delights the eyes and subtly infuses the soul with the glory of God." Similarly, the contemplation of sacred icons, united with meditation on the Word of God and the singing of liturgical hymns, enters into the harmony of the signs of celebration so that the mystery celebrated is imprinted in the heart's memory and is then expressed in the new life of the faithful.
Beautiful sacred images are able to evoke the mystery of God and can be very helpful in the life of prayer:
Sacred art is true and beautiful when its form corresponds to its particular vocation: evoking and glorifying, in faith and adoration, the transcendent mystery of God - the surpassing invisible beauty of truth and love visible in Christ, who "reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature," in whom "the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily." This spiritual beauty of God is reflected in the most holy Virgin Mother of God, the angels, and saints. Genuine sacred art draws man to adoration, to prayer, and to the love of God, Creator and Savior, the Holy One and Sanctifier.
Icons and other sacred images are not ends in themselves, but are instruments of God's presence and are designed to lead a soul into a closer relationship with God.
