Entering Heaven on Earth: The Signs, Symbols, and Saints of Catholic Churches

Our Catholic churches are filled with an abundance of signs and symbols, some of which you may have never noticed or understood. The sacred art, architecture, and artifacts of a church building proclaim the Real Presence of Christ, God dwelling among us in the Blessed Sacrament. The saints portrayed within a church are witnesses to Eucharistic living, and we can identify them through various symbols that tell us about their lives, their works, and their witness to the living presence of God.

In Entering Heaven on Earth, Fr. Lawrence Lew, OP, shows you how to decode the signs and symbols found in our churches and to identify the saints depicted in them. This richly illustrated book filled with photographs the author has taken in churches from around the world will help you to see the churches you worship in or visit from a fresh perspective and to remember the true purpose of a church building.

A church is a visible expression of heaven come down to earth in the person of Jesus Christ. It is always, first of all, a place for the Christian people to assemble for the sacred liturgy and celebrate the Eucharist. The beauty of nature, the creativity and craft of mankind, the good works of the virtuous and the just are all brought together in a church building to remind us of the graced activity of God, who is present to make us holy and draw us into a deeper union with him.