"The presence of the Living God"

In a recent article in the Catholic Anchor, Archbishop Roger Schwietz, spoke of the importance of creating beautiful churches.

Effort, time, and beauty. | St. Josaphat's, Detroit, MI

As the Anchor reports about his comments:

He spoke of the fact that the early Hebrews viewed the Temple in Jerusalem as the dwelling place of God. This is also reflected in the Catholic belief that Christ is present in every church through his Body and Blood in the Blessed Sacrament.

“Over the centuries, we, in our Catholic tradition, also put a great deal of effort and time and art into making beautiful churches because they contain the presence of the Living God,” Archbishop Schwietz said.

This is a very wise comment coming from our shepherd. One can only see it as a call for change, as many of the churches in this Archdiocese are in stark contrast to these comments. His excellency traced the history and Catechetical reasoning for making churches beautiful; the fact is that churches are the house of the Lord and "they contain the presence of the Living God" - they posses the Blessed Sacrament, the True Presence of Christ.

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Sadly, many churches in this diocese have been built in a modern style that is absent beauty and lacks the sacred. This isn't to say they are austere and humble, but actually are built with a minimalist design devoid of almost any flair or reflection of God – they are purposely absent of beauty. It is a shame, and one might dare say sacrilegious. Why then does this occur?

I stand with his excellency, and applaud his Catechesis and call for churches to reclaim their beauty through effort and art, so that they might properly reflect that they are the dwelling place of the presence of the Living God. I look forward to the coming changes, and will surely detail any developments in this matter. As good members of the Body of Christ, we must do our part and pray for these things, and pray that our churches transform themselves into worthy tabernacles for the True Presence of Christ.

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