I can't help but think that these kinds of wreckovations of churches and the Mass has led to only 5% to 25% of Catholics attending Mass.
This "BEFORE" image gave comfort, inspiration and grace to those who entered it and prayed there. There is nothing sterile about it or the Liturgy that inspired it:
And then the new and improved liturgy with a new and improved liturgical space for it came in order to bring about a new springtime for the Church. Yet God has shown us what human endeavors alone will do to the Church and this AFTER image is a reflection it that:
Joyfully, there is an AFTER, AFTER!
10 comments:
Father McDonald,
You will be happy to know this Church has been gloriously restored. I cannot download the picture, but if you go to the Church's website, you will see a glimpse of it. It is a stunner and actually is quite beautiful. I am a bit surprised I could not find a write up on it and more extensive pictures on the parish's website
I was wondering about that. You would think they would really advertise it!
Looks much better but not half of what was destroyed. The artwork ruined was a crime,
Father McDonald,
It is interesting because a major restoration usually gets a lot of press!
I think the current look is far better than the original and far better than the after as posted.
The before was a dream. The after looks positively frigid potentially reducing divine worship to its most basic, primitive form. What I mean by this is: the building is still there, so the theology of the building should effectively remain intact. Lacking, at least to me, is anything that serves to visually teach the faithful, or evangelize the uninitiated. The after after is nice, but, somehow lacks the cohesive quality of the before. The mix of materials is not quite right. However, they are re-enchanting their church, they should be congratulated for so doing and perhaps their budget limits the extent to which the can pursue a true restoration.
Please note that in the Byzantine churches, we were Orthodox at the time, a heresy occurred that stripped our churches of their icons and murals. Overcoming this heresy is commemorated during the Great Fast as the "Sunday of Orthodoxy" with processions to celebrate the sacred images being brought back into the church temple. A barren environment is both inconsistent with Byzantine praxis, liturgy in addition to being viewed as incomplete should it be the condition of a church temple.
The after-after is a decided improvement. But the loss of the high altar is still an unforgivable desecration, even if it does not fall on those who have effected a turn for the better.
Is it possible that the church walls were old and damp and the fresco art work was too damaged to save? BTW, there are no "Mounts" in Cicero; I wonder what they were thinking.
Unknown, ask Fr. ALLAN McDonald who lives in the very flat Richmond HILL!
We do have a railroad bump!
Post a Comment