Beauty of design
In the past few posts we’ve been discussing externals of Roman Catholicism. I think I’ll close this series with a discussion of the essence of external: the church building.
A look through art history will reveal a variety of style developments over the ages: Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque, &c. Certainly the Church had much to do with this development and was often at its center. The church building was one medium for expressing these styles. Evidence remains all across Europe and parts of the New World, as many of these well-built and beautiful buildings still stand and function today. Unfortunately, it seems our taste in this respect has declined over the past few decades.
Glancing at the church buildings being constructed today, I term the new style Butleresque (coined from the prefab metal-shelled buildings). They’re not pretty, they’re not meaningful, and they barely even get the job done. It’s unfortunate that our emphasis these days is on getting the job done quickly and cheaply. This is reflected in the quality of our buildings (and this, consequently, can affect prayer life and faith life).
The cathedral in Milan took 500 years to build. But it is magnificent. A catechism teacher could teach the faith to his students just by using the architecture, design, and statuary of the Basilica of St. John Lateran. It would be beneficial for future generations to take the time, effort, and money and invest in constructing beautiful buildings. This rings true across all denominations. Buying out old Wal-Marts to set up for worship services may seem cheap and easy, but in the end it is detrimental to the spiritual health of the faithful.
~Sancta Caecilia, ora pro nobis~