Over at OSVTalks, Anthony D’Ambrosio gives a talk titled From Babel to Pentecost in which he asks an interesting question that I believe deserves a fuller answer.
“How did we get from there to here?”
How did we get from designing churches that look like this:
To churches that look like this?
And how do we get back? How do we return to our sense of beauty that elevates hearts and minds to contemplate divine things?
In the Beginning
Before we can answer the second question, we need to answer the first, how did we get here?
In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth. Within the Earth He created a special place, a garden where He could walk side by side with Man. He gave the man and the woman all that they could want. In return, He asked one thing, to refrain from eating the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden.
But the serpent twisted the words and intent of God and told the woman that if she ate the fruit of the tree she would become like God. But it was a lie, for the man and the woman were already like God for they (we) were made in His image.
Ever since that first encounter we have been at war with ourselves, do we trust in God and have faith in His Truth and Goodness, or do we lean on our own understanding, reject God, and seek our own path?
“There are two wolves who live inside you,” said the grandfather to his grandson, “one good and one bad. They are constantly at war with each other and the prize to the victor is your heart.” The boy’s lips trembled as he asked, “which one will win?” The grandfather nodded, “the one that you feed.”
For over a thousand years it seemed that the Good Wolf of the Church held the upper hand. Magnificent cathedrals, art, and music that have withstood the test of time, continue to inspire us and challenge us to find new ways to glorify God. But the Bad Wolf was not out of the fight.
The Age of Enlightenment and a World at War
The so-called age of enlightenment accelerated a shift in our outlook. We went from a focus on God to a focus on self. We transitioned from loving God to the point of self-sacrifice, to a love of self that rejected God altogether.
Then, in the first half of the twentieth century two world wars further challenged our view of our lives and our purpose. Reeling from the devastating effects of global conflict, we began to look for a reason, a cause of the horrors of the recent past.
As a result society seemed to collectively and subconsciously decide that the “old ways” were to blame. Anything that could be thought of as the “old way” was seen as responsible for all the world’s ills. That included art, music, architecture and unfortunately the idea that the Church had anything to teach us about how to live our lives.
This has brought us to where we are today, the cult of the new. The new is automatically seen as superior to the old. Art has become whatever the “artist” says it is. New churches are, more often than not, built not to glorify God, but to glorify the architect and the diocese that commissioned the project. Music ministers in parishes largely do not see their role as a servant to their community, but rather as an outlet for their own personal artistic expression.
Beauty and the Purpose of Art
Beauty is one of the ways in which we can come to know God. The Bible tells us that when God created the world He saw that it was very good. Another way to translate the word “good” is “Beautiful.” God saw all that He created and it was very beautiful. Art, in all its expressions, is the language of beauty. The primary purpose of art is to glorify God. It can be used for other things of course, teaching, therapy, etc., but it is first and foremost, like all of our gifts, a vehicle for us to connect with God, to deepen our relationship with the Divine. Art, true art, lifts our hearts and souls and minds out of the mundane to contemplate the beauty of holiness.
True art then, serves the community, it serves our brothers and sisters by helping them see their connection to God. It is in a sense a liturgical action in that it glorifies God and sanctifies man. It serves something greater than the ego of the artist.
A few years ago a British artist received a great deal of attention over her most recent work of art. In a gallery setting, was her rumpled bed. The sheets were in disarray as if she had just left and around and on the bed was the detritus of her life, discarded cigarettes, empty vodka bottles, and underwear. In an interview she was asked what made “My Bed,” art. Her response, “because I say it is.”
The fact that this work of “art” sold for $4.3 million, says more about how far we have fallen from our sense of beauty than any words I can write here.
Here to There
So how do we return to where we came from? How do we return to creating art and music and architecture, beauty in short, that inspires us and continues to inspire future generations? Teaching the classical concepts of art, design, harmony and proportions is a start. But most people, other than the artists, do not see such knowledge as vital to their daily lives. A much better solution is to show, rather than tell.
I appeal to all the artists out there, and by that I mean I appeal to everyone. Pope Saint John Paul II, in his Letter to Artists, said that, in a sense, we are all artists. Our masterpiece is the work of our lives. We need to readjust our priorities and make everything we do begin and end with God. Our purpose is to know God, to love Him, and to serve Him. We do this best by knowing, loving, and serving our brothers and sisters with all the gifts and talents we have been given.
Imagine an architect who sits down to design a new church. His first, highest priority is to design a building that glorifies God. Designing a building that serves the needs of the community is also important but it is secondary. Imagine the music director of that new church. He understands that he is not there to impose his personal views and tastes on the faithful. Instead he understands his purpose is to aid the faithful in their worship, to lead their hearts and minds to contemplate the miracle that is taking place before them. Imagine the art that adorns the walls of the church. It is clear and understandable and serves as a path that leads us beyond the image to contemplate the eternal Truth the image represents.
Back Again
To return to our traditional sense of Beauty we need to return to our purpose as God made us. We must let go of the modern view that everything is about us, and embrace an older philosophy that says that everything is about God, which is to say that everything is about helping our brothers and sisters. We must let go of our ego, our self centeredness and our sense of entitlement, and embrace our roles as evangelists and missionaries sent out into a fallen world.
This is how we change the world, this is how we return to where we came from.
Pax vobiscum
