A coat of arms had its origin in war! The shields of the knights would be decorated with signs and symbols that indentified them in battle. In time, when the shields were hung in the manor hall, decorations were placed around them including “the banner,” a scroll at the bottom where the family motto would be written. Today in the Catholic Church each bishop is given a coat of arms. He choses some symbols that mean something to his own spiritual identity and places at the bottom his motto, usually a scripture quote. (Although St. John Henry Newman’s very famous motto on his coat of arms, “cor ad cor loquitor” [a heart speaks to a heart] is a quote from St. Francis de Sales.) If you were to create a coat of arms for yourself what signs and symbols would describe who you are? What would your motto be? I like the one from St. Paul, faith working through love.
