In recent years, we have become aware of young people’s increasing interest in religion and in the historic churches [1]. At its deepest level, this is about longing. A new generation is searching for something that transcends the earthly and the temporal. They want to lift their gaze from the temporal toward the heavenly. In their souls, many young people are searching for a way to attain the eternal they have begun to long for. Many struggle with how to find what they are seeking. We do not know how to approach the heavenly from our earthly viewpoint.
One reason for this may be that we have lost our connection to symbols, which serve as mediators between the earthly and the heavenly. Ideally, through symbols the heavenly descends to earth without losing its heavenly nature, while at the same time they lift our minds from the earthly toward the heavenly [2].
From the very beginning, Christianity has been deeply symbolic. In the Old Testament, the Flood foreshadowed Baptism, Noah’s Ark prefigured the Church, and in the New Testament the Church is called the Body of Christ and the Light of the World. Christ Himself also often taught through parables. His listeners were expected to reflect on the story and discern its deepest meaning. This stands in contrast to today’s style of communication, which emphasizes efficiency and directness.
But could symbols and parables help us better reach those who are becoming interested in the Church? Could they also help us to combat the polarization we see within the Church itself, between traditional and progressive Catholics?
In the Gospel of Luke, Christ declares that the Kingdom of God is “in your midst” [3]. The Pharisees were unable to see the Kingdom because their attention was fixed on the outward observance of the Law. Their focus on the letter of the Law had blinded them to God’s presence among them. Yet even Christ’s own disciples did not always understand. Through an earthly perspective, they initially interpreted God’s promise of deliverance as pointing to a political liberator and an earthly kingdom. By approaching the Kingdom of God from this perspective, they were unable to recognize Christ for who He truly was.
Perhaps this speaks symbolically to us about the present state of the Church. A rigid legalism can cause us to lose our warmth and openness, making us blind to God’s presence within ourselves and in others. On the other hand, if the Church begins to view itself primarily through an earthly perspective, measuring itself by the spirit of the age, social trends, or popularity, it risks losing its true heavenly identity. The Church has always been called to see the world through the eyes of Christ, not Christ through the eyes of the world.
The Catholic faith is founded on a promise that transcends the boundaries of this world. Symbols are windows into that reality [4]. Perhaps, in the Church’s evangelization, we could draw more boldly upon the symbolic wisdom and tradition of our Church, through which, for millennia, the heavenly has been brought closer to humanity, and humanity closer to the heavenly.
Eelis Lampola
[1] Tervo-Niemelä, K., & Hannikainen, P. (2026). “Why Are Young Men Increasingly Drawn to Christianity? A Study of Finnish Young Men.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.70043 (Visit an external site. The link opens in a new tab.). Retrieved June 26, 2026.
[2] Baldock, J. (1997). The Elements of Christian Symbolism. Element Books Limited, pp. 2, 28, 34.
[3] Luke 17:20-21 (NIV).
[4] Baldock, J. (1997). The Elements of Christian Symbolism. Element Books Limited, pp. 5, 11.