The role of religious icons in Catholic worship and liturgy in the Philippine setting

There is a vast array of venerated icons in the Philippines. These icons could be Christological, depicting Jesus\u27 life moments they could also be portrayals of Mary, the saints, and significant symbols like the cross of Christ. The main limitation of the study is that it focused mainly on visual arts, plastic or graphic in aesthetic sense, that Filipinos consider as sacred throughout its inculturation into Christianity, as well as those used in Catholic liturgies and worship, both sculpted and painted. The coming of the Spaniards in the 16th century, as well as the Chinese, American and Japanese eras in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, re-shaped the accepted wisdom among Filipinos on the use of icons in their lives and how they play a useful part in religious celebrations, particularly to Catholic liturgies and worship. The main objectives of the study is to critically assess, using the Synthetic Model of Contextual Theology, the reflections of contemporary Filipino liturgists appointed and officially involved in the liturgy and liturgical arts of different dioceses nationwide and lay persons on the role of Religious icons in Catholic worship and liturgy. As a result, the conceptualized research study aimed not only to present a dissertation paper on the character and impact of religious icons in liturgy and worship according to the views of church documents and opinions of liturgists and lay persons, but also in order to come up with recommended guidelines that can be used in schools, as well as in parishes, in instructing the faithful about the role of religious icons in Catholic worship and liturgy