Aug. 9 & 10
Music directors, accompanists, interested singers, parish clergy and seminarians: join us at St. Mark Catholic Church in Highlands Ranch for an intensive two-day conference designed to lay out the fundamentals of building a strong, faithful parish music program.
Learn more and register:
…a colorful pulse of life.
In Part 7 of the Catholic Architecture series, Dr. McNamara addresses the importance sacred images in the church building. Like many of the things we’ve been looking at in this video series, the use of sacred images suffered a bit of a decline in the years since Vatican II, at least in the Western Church. Some spoke of images being a “distraction,” taking your attention away from the action of the liturgy.
But as Dr. McNamara points out, far from being a distraction during the liturgy, sacred images are part of the liturgy itself. They make visible things that are ordinarily invisible. They enable us to encounter people (and other beings) who are not physically with us, but who are nevertheless present spiritually. Images also make us aware that we are worshiping with a much larger community than we can see with our eyes.
In the modernist movements of the 20th century, the use of decorative elements in architecture fell out of favor. Leaving the bare structure exposed on a building was considered more “honest.” But even here, there are deeper considerations, even theological ones, that we need to recover in order to save our buildings from a kind of visual nihilism. In part 5 of this series, Dr. McNamara looks at the meaning and importance of decoration and ornament in architecture.
In part 3 of his Catholic Architecture series, Dr. Denis McNamara looks to the Old Testament to find clues to the ideal design of churches. In ancient Israel after the period of exile, Jewish worship was divided between synagogue and temple. Synagogues were places of gathering where Jews went to hear the Scriptures proclaimed. The temple in Jerusalem was the place of sacrifice.
In the Christian era, synagogue and temple come together. Catholic churches are places of both Scripture and sacrifice (the Eucharist), and this truth has implications for church architecture.
Just an interesting discussion from the Liturgical Arts Journal on the physical qualities of the altar and how this topic came to be viewed in the latter half of the 20th century.
https://www.liturgicalartsjournal.com/2022/01/the-form-of-altar-and-liturgical.html
Does it matter what your church looks like? Is a church building just a place in which to gather out of the elements, or is there some kind of significance in the way it’s put together? More importantly, does God care about any of this?
In this 10-part video series entitled “Catholic Architecture,” Dr. Denis McNamara lays out the theological rationale for sacred architecture in the Catholic tradition. Each short, accessible episode focuses on one aspect of sacred architecture and how it supports the Catholic understanding of God, worship, and the Sacraments.
This week, we look at the first episode, “Architectural Theology,” where Dr. McNamara argues that material things can be used to communicate something of the mind of God and the nature of the Church. In this way, church architecture is not merely a matter of personal taste or what’s popular, but rather should present a foretaste of Heavenly realities.
Dr. McNamara McNamara holds a Bachelor of Arts in History of Art from Yale University, as well as a Masters and Doctorate in Architectural History from the University of Virginia. He is currently the Director of the Center for Beauty and Culture at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas.
Here’s a link to “Christmas at Ephesus,” from the CD by the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles. It’s a must for your Christmas listening enjoyment! Learn more about them at their website here.
Merry Christmas!
When we consider truth and beauty, we don’t usually think about our own dress and appearance. Part of the reason may be that we’re afraid we will be engaging in vanity if we show concern for these things. But perhaps the biggest reason is simply the fact that, as a society, we have become extremely casual in our dress. This applies particularly to men for some reason. We’ve decided that how we present ourselves is not important. After all, who cares what anyone else thinks? I wear what I like and what’s most comfortable—end of story.
Continue readingOn this great feast of the Immaculate Conception, take a few minutes to enjoy a tour of the eponymous Cathedral Basilica in Denver. It’s a lovely example of early-20th century French Gothic architecture in America. The so-called “Gothic revival” or “Neo-Gothic” movement started in England and spread to Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries, eventually landing in America, resulting in many beautiful new churches, including St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York.
“… the primary purpose of art, at least from a theological standpoint, is to show the splendor of God to a people that have largely forgotten Him.”
Dcn. Lawrence Klimecki
Truth & Beauty 