Monday, February 18, 2013

Now THAT Is a Church!

Yesterday we woke up and decided to road trip it to Chicago because I was stir crazy. This happens quite a bit with our family, as I am an adventurer, free spirit, and can't stand boredom.

We made this decision at about 9:30 a.m., so I decided that we would find an evening mass in Chicago. Which we did, via Mass Times.

Weren't sure of what we'd get, nor what kind of neighborhood we'd end up in, but we were mostly concerned with getting to mass, period.

Here's what we got:





  
What church is this? St. Michael's in the Old Town (Lincoln Park) area of Chicago. 

Now, I'm sure people reading this have seen more spectacular Catholic churches than this....and everyone is going to have different opinions about what makes a church noteworthy. For example, while the outside of Notre Dame in Paris is stunning (I've been there twice), I believe the inside to be a big yawn (notwithstanding the really cool burials in there.)

But for us, my husband and I both agreed this church rates in our top three. In our limited experience, the only place we've seen that tops this is the new cathedral in St. Louis, Missouri.

And by the way, to all the people who think St. John Cantius in Chicago is so beautiful? It is. But this place kicks its butt.

When we walked in, it took our breath away. (And sorry for the bad photos, my phone camera isn't great.) Of course, like most things, you kinda have to be there to see it for yourself.

But here's what's interesting: Our five year old son, who normally can't wait for mass to end, was taken in the entire mass with the spectacular surroundings, constantly interrupting to ask us questions. His predominant question was about the huge statue of St. Michael the Archangel that looms over the altar, with a really creepy figure of Satan being crushed under his feet (the pictures don't show this well or at all.) In response, he whispered to us that he said the prayer to St. Michael twice. 

And then he said to us that he wished he could go to mass everyday! 

OK, we all know that was a momentary thing and that he'll be whining about not wanting to go next weekend. But there was something about a place so grand, so spectacular, so filled with imagery and things to ponder, that even a small child grasped that there was something bigger than himself.

Later on, while we were driving back home to Milwaukee, I did note to John than there are people who would legitimately feel overwhelmed with such ornateness. I believe that if we explored some of the reasoning behind the post-Vatican II church architecture, such overwhelming church decor was likely a piece of the pie. 

But as is so often the case, this is all cyclical. My generation and a couple below me are intrigued and thrilled with this kind of art and richness. In future generations, there will probably be a pull towards simplicity again. At least that's how I see it.

Incidentally, we could immediately detect from the liturgy and church bulletin that St. Michael's is a parish on the liberal side of things. A previous incarnation of me could have blogged here a complete list of everything wrong that I saw there, but I'm trying to not do that anymore unless it's really heinous. Besides, God played a trick on me! The priest gave a sermon that made my husband and I raise an eyebrow or two. (Not gonna say why, but trust me.) So when we left and shook hands with the priest and told him we were visiting, guess what we discovered? He's the main priest writer from one of my most beloved and helpful publications: Scrupulous Anonymous. Just goes to prove that one can't guess how God works through people in different ways and at different times for different reasons.

What are the most beautiful Catholic churches you've been to? Here in the Milwaukee area, we have the magnificent Basilica of St. Josaphat (probably near the top of our list), as well as the Basilica of Holy Hill, which (in my opinion) is much more impressive for its outdoor setting than what's inside. There's also a church in downtown Milwaukee - Old St. Mary's - that is beautiful in a sort of standard, ordinary way.

29 comments:

  1. "But there was something about a place so grand, so spectacular, so filled with imagery and things to ponder, that even a small child grasped that there was something bigger than himself."

    Lifting our hearts and minds to God...the Good, the True and The Beautiful should take us out of the ordinary.

    LOVE visiting churches and would like to photograph all the beautiful ones, thanks so much for sharing your photos!

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    1. You know, Allison, visiting churches where ever we go is a big thing with me. I don't understand it other than I must be searching for something.

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    2. I like that Charlotte and maybe for me I am trying to +capture+ something in my photographs. For me, I too am searching for something....peace, beauty, God. Wouldn't want to stop trying to capture that.

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  2. Wow, that is beautiful. If I were in Chicago, I would want to check out St. Ignatius Loyola, which I think is in Rogers Park. There are two original paintings on the side altars by C. Bosseron Chambers, one of which was the inspiration for his "Light of the World."

    What you said about Alan's reaction is really significant I think. Visual imagery and an atmosphere of sacredness make a big impression on the young, and then we grow up to have a better understanding of WHY God should have beautiful churches, the best that we can provide. All the ones around us now are pretty simple. The beautiful gothic church in my husband's home town in Illinois was torn down--too expensive to repair.

    I still remember as a toddler too young to even see where the voice of the priest was coming from in our diocesan gothic cathedral, looking at the dove representing the Holy Spirit on the ceiling above the altar, fascinated by its shape, unaware of its meaning.

    Perhaps some of the ornateness was over the top, but I hope that there will eventually be an end to the angular abstract mess that was embraced after Vatican II. As I noticed the cover of the new songbook at our parish a few weeks ago, all I could think of was "colorful ugliness." As the Crescat says it is, "the kind of stuff that makes Baby Jesus cry." And the people who like this stuff have the nerve to scoff at the holy card images of the late 19th and early 20th century. Oh my!
    Kay

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    1. I really don't think anyone really likes "colorful ugliness." I think Catholics have come to believe that their churches are supposed to be ugly. That it's some kind of proof of how 'spiritual' we are. Very protestant sensibility. If they really liked "colorful ugliness" than their houses would look like an average modern RC parish and can you think of a single home that looks as ugly as most modern RC churches?

      And then of course we've been infected with the idea that taste is subjective.

      So now we have several generations of Catholics who simply have no idea that their church is a curator of western culture. That it produced great artists. It's all very sad.

      I went to a baptism recently and they sang "This Little Light of Mine." Seriously. It was very old church built by poor Irish immigrants. But let's just toss all of that out the window and sing a second rate Protestant song from the 1950's or whenever. And back to my point earlier that no one really likes this stuff...would anyone buy a CD with "This Little Light of Mine" on it? Of course not. In modern day America, everything Catholic is to be second rate as a point of pride almost.

      Here's a link to a good article by a priest who is also an artist. He's definitely trad friendly but diocesan so I wouldn't say he's a trad. http://www.tfp.org/tfp-home/fighting-for-our-culture/the-cult-of-ugliness-in-america.html

      Good quote from the article "Now, you might think that at least on Sunday you could be rescued from all of this visual and spiritual ugliness by going to church; but ugliness is there, too, for chances are that your church has already been despoiled by modern Catholic barbarians who haven’t even the artistic sense of the Unitarians who sit on your towns’ historic preservation boards."

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  3. Kay, speaking of old holy cards, I really need someone to design a blog head for here - I know I want the edges to be "trimmed" in the lace edges of holy cards. I wonder if you can help me out? If you designed that beautiful Christmas card, I'm sure you might be able to whip something up for me?

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  4. I remember when I was 10 going to an old style Catholic church. I had no idea why the "dresser" was pushed up to the wall (any church experience I had until that time was with the priest/minister facing the people)but I just knew there was something important and special about it. I am also probably one of the few people that, as a child, loved going to church. I didn't care which church - if a friend invited me I was going! Like Alan, my son also has a special fascination with St. Michael (though he is almost 28, not 5). I love how Alan said the prayer not once but twice!

    Angela M.

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    1. Angela, I think he prayed it because he was scared or freaked out by the depiction of the devil. I know this sounds funny, but he looked like Father Corapi with pointy ears. Alan seems very tuned in to anything about the devil, and sometimes it worries me.

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    2. Most people won't admit the devil exists so be glad Alan is aware. And how did a little kid his age memorize that long prayer? I still haven't. I can't even memorize the new Apostle's Creed!

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    3. And the Corapi resemblance is sort of funny and sort of scary!

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  5. Yes - but he said the St. Michael prayer twice - so he is safe. You taught him well.

    Beautiful church for all ages - of people.

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    1. Terry, wish I could take credit for that. But I can't. I suck at being a parent. Seriously. He learned it from the school.

      Well, I will take credit for him having an interest in spiritual things. He sees and feels that all around him, though in a completely ADD non-disciplined way.

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  6. What a lovely church! I always want to go to Chicago for a week and just look at churches.

    I find that my children tend to behave better in pretty churches as well. Has Alan ever been to a Byzantine Divine Liturgy? My 4 1/2 year old actually wants to go to church for that. It is at the same time so physical and so spiritual that he really gets involved.

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    1. Alice, if you ever do go look at churches in Chicago, let me know, I would join you!

      Alan would probably like something physical. I would like to check out eastern rites, etc., but fear that I would be attracted to them too much, and would then further pigeonhole myself as a weirdo Catholic. I have a hard enough time as it is trying to be a decent, regular Catholic.

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    2. If I ever get the opportunity, I will let you know. My parents got this book when I was in college and I've wanted to take a week and just look at the churches in Chicago ever since. http://www.amazon.com/review/R2934AUXHMJ9F6/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#R2934AUXHMJ9F6

      I'm terminally weird (LOL), but I actually find that attending Divine Liturgy occasionally gives me perspective. Some things that are SO TERRIBLY IMPORTANT to Roman Catholics just don't matter that much to Greek Catholics. (The opposite is true in some things as well.) Plus, when I went to Divine Liturgy after reading the liturgical documents of the Second Vatican Council, I really felt that I had seen the ideal of lay participation. Not the nose-in-book silent participation of the EF nor the how-many-lay-ministerial-positions-can-we-create participation sometimes found in OF parishes, but participation of both body and soul that is rarely found in Roman Catholic parishes in America.

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    3. I like hearing that Alice. But it also depends on where you go to Divine Liturgy, whether that is the case.
      I want an EF in which the people participate the way the people participate at Divine Liturgy. And I know it is not about language, because at the Divine Liturgy I attend, when they do parts in Church Slavonic, the people participate twice as enthusiastically. There is no reason why we can't all, make all the responses in Latin. A woman I knew said that before VII she was attending a church in Chicago, near the university, and the priest was encouraging everyone to make all the responses, and people were. She said "Overnight, that was all gone." [She couldn't stand it and went to Orthodoxy for a number of years.]
      My preference would be for the two typical celebrations of the Western Church to be the EF, outloud in English, mostly chanted, and the EF, outloud in Latin, mostly chanted. But there are a significant number of Catholics who believe that holy =silent=holy. So I suppose we would have to let them have the silent EF too. (I do have my moments when I get the awe of that, but only with immense mental effort and for short time periods.)

      As for the way churches look, at this point anything which looks rich and full of sacred images seems good to me, even if I think the art is not in the greatest taste, as compared to the beige Danish modern living room style of Catholic church which is so very empty of soul and heart. I admit to prefering the look of very ornate Eastern churches to the look of very ornate Western churches; the symbolic style of the icon just suits my taste better.
      Susan Peterson

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    4. Susan, it may interest you that today one of the last talks/documents written by Pope Benedict was released.....a message to the bishops about Vatican II. In it he talks about liturgical developments and explained why we needed liturgy in the vernacular, and he thanked God for it and he called it a great blessing.

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    5. Susan,
      I don't think the form of the Mass or the language matters as much as the manner in which Mass is conducted. The problem that I see is that no one wants to take the time to train the congregation. It would take years to get the congregation to participate that way and very few priests have the patience to deal with the months (or years) of less-than-aesthetically-pleasing responses while the congregation gets the hang of it. Talking with people who grew up before the Council, I sometimes think that parishes were *almost* to the point of participating the way the people at the Divine Liturgies I've attended do and then things changed.

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  7. I love our Cathedral here in Lexington, KY. It's also my parish, so I'm probably a bit biased. LOL! I'm willing to admit that. It's not spectacular, but I like it. We do have a new Eucharistic Adoration chapel that is AMAZING! That's probably the best part of our church. Although, our new tabernacle is pretty awesome too.

    Anyway, besides my obvious bias towards my own parish, I love St. Peter's Basilica in Rome! It doesn't get much better than that! After that, St. Mary Major in Rome is pretty incredible, I also loved the New Cathedral in St. Louis, and I've been to St. Peter's in the Loop in Chicago several times now on a couple different trips to Chicago and I think that parish is pretty awesome looking too. I'm going to be be in San Jose, CA next week and my hotel is a block away from the Basilica there. So I'm looking forward to seeing that. And then in May I'm going to be in Atlanta for a wedding and I just discovered that the Basilica in ATL is less than two miles from our hotel, so we'll probably go there for Mass on Sunday morning after the wedding. SO I'm looking forward to visiting a few new churches very soon.

    I love traveling and getting a chance to see new churches and experience their masses.

    Oh, almost forgot one!! The Cathedral Basilica in Covington, KY (just south of Cincinnati) is absolutely gorgeous!! They have amazing stained glass and they have an incredible choir at one of the Sunday morning Masses there. There is one stained glass window that is notable for some reason, although I can never remember why. I think it's like the largest free-standing stained glass window in the world, maybe? Can't remember exactly, but it doesn't matter, it is breath-taking! If you ever find yourself in the Cincy area, take a trip down to Covington and check out the Cathedral. It's worth the trip! Some friends of ours and my husband and I actually all drove up there (it's about an hour from us) one Sunday to attend the Mass the choir does (11 am, maybe?) and then go out to lunch together. It was fun!!

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    1. Basilica in Atlanta or the Cathedral downtown? The Cathedral isn't so impressive as the story behind it. Also, it's really, really liberal in a very specific way, if you catch my meaning.

      I would visit the KY location as long as there is some 5-way Cincinnati chili thrown in!

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    2. Basilica of the Sacred Heart, which is also in downtown ATL. Not the Cathedral of Christ the King. Which is funny, because my parish is the Cathedral of Christ the King, but in Lexington, KY. :) I'm sure finding 5-way Cincinnati chili in the Covington area is entirely possible. :) It's just over the river from Cincy.

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  8. The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Savannah is pretty much perfect in every way. The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver is beautiful, too, if you like all white! Love reading your commenters' (and your) thoughts and opinions on this subject. Kerri

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  9. What a beautiful church!

    Catlady

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  10. St John the Evangelist in Schenectady, NY..where I was married. It's all gorgeous marble with incredible carvings and great stained glass. We now belong to a winner of ugliest Church..it was designed to be a temporary Church and then become a gym once a real Church was built. It never got built.

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  11. http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=st+john+the+evangelist+schenectady a couple are of some protestant place in town, but most are St John's

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  13. I found this earlier today. Evangelizing Through Beauty Father Barron has some interesting observations about how beauty works to make us better Christians.

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  14. I went to St. Michael's web site and found, to my delight, that they have photos and good descriptions of their main and secondary altars. [Link}

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  15. Here are some of my favorites -
    In NYC - St. Vincent Ferrer, St. Ignatius Loyola and Corpus Christi. Of course, St. Patrick's too!
    I loved Old St. Mary's in Detroit, my grandparents were married there. The Cathedral in Santa Fe New Mexico is also beautiful. I think one of the most interesting basilicas that I have been to is the St. Joseph Oratory in Montreal. I agree with you Charlotte about Notre Dame in Paris. I prefer Chartes. I've seen a lot of cathedrals in France, Italy and Germany and I have to say, underneath it all, I am a rococo girl at heart. Bavarian churches are the bomb.

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