Guild of St. Peter ad Vincula

The Guild of St. Peter ad Vincula

It is one of the devil’s most pernicious tricks to take the things of God and pervert them to his own purpose.  We see it with the now familiar flag that turns the rainbow from a symbol of God’s covenant and union with man, to one of man’s sinful union with man.  Similarly, and many years prior, the Grand Order of Freemasonry usurped the ancient symbol of the All-Seeing Eye of God.  Today, we are tempted to cringe when we see the image of a triangle or pyramid surmounted by a large eye.  We see it everywhere, from civic buildings in our towns and cities, to the dollar bills in our pocket.  We know who is behind these displays, and we have succumbed to the idea that it is in itself an evil symbol.

We should not be so easily swayed from the original meaning of what was once a beautiful symbol of God’s benevolent omnipotence, the idea that God sees everything in the universe he created, that all we do, all we say, even all we think, is observed by God’s all-seeing eye and that we are always and everywhere in conspectu Dei—in the sight of God.

We know it is the eye of God because it is placed on top of a pyramid or triangle.  On this Trinity Sunday there is no need to point out the symbolism of this three-sided shape and its significance in Christian iconography.  The image of the eye surmounting a pyramid can be seen on the seals of many ancient Catholic cities and in literally thousands of stained-glass windows in the great medieval cathedrals of Europe, a beautiful reminder to the faithful that God is ever-present with us.

It is often known as the Eye of Providence, with the implication that God is looking down favorably on his children.  Very often the symbol contains bursts of light coming out of the eye, representing God’s illumination of our souls.  The three sides of the pyramid remind us that this illumination comes from God the Father who created us, from the Son who redeemed us, and from the Spirit proceeding from both and descending to us with his sevenfold gifts.  One could hardly conceive of a more Catholic image.

What a pity then, what a despicable crime it is, that the enemies of God chose to use this symbol to their own ends.  Let us rather revere it for what it truly is, not the illumination of our souls by the imagined light of “reason” as the Illuminati would have us believe, but as the Light of the World, our enlightenment by the truths of Christ’s life and teachings, God’s almighty and omnipresent providence.  It is better to undo the tricks of Satan and reclaim our Christian heritage and symbolism rather than surrender to the devil’s message and accept what they pretend to be true.  This is not the Eye of the Egyptian God Horus, it is not the All-Seeing Eye of Lucifer—it is, always has been, and always will be the All-Seeing Eye of the Most Holy Trinity, our beloved Creator, Redeemer and Comforter, looking down with love upon his children.