AmericanPapist Comments
Kind of a sad commentary, but I understand what he's saying. When I was a young boy, my mind sometimes would stray during Mass but I could look at beautiful statues, frescoes, soaring architecture and truly feel
I was in a very special place. The
sterility of many modern Churches works against those sorts of feelings. Tom
All one has to do is look at the new Sacred Heart Cathedral in Houston and see that you can make a Catholic Cathedral that is both Modern and Traditional.
Doesn't look any different from other downtown office buildings. Cold, sleek, as inviting as a deep freezer. Wasted cash.
They call that a cathedral? Nice to know that I go to a cathedral eight hours a day. Does that count as assisting at Mass?
if Saint Paul gave us the example that we can praise the Lord in all of life's circumstances and from the lowliest of jail cells, then we can also lift our hearts to God anywhere...even in a building that does not give Him the greatest glory.
there are people who make capital out of everything,even the winter.If it is cold, they offer their little sufferings to God.The Wise Men overcame every obstacle, in order to follow the Star.God makes use of everything.Often, through the course of the day, ask for the light of the Holy Spirit. Devotion gains much more influence when it is practised by the men.God is everywhere ready to hear your prayers.For wherever we are, and whatever we do, we shall always meet with spiritual difficulties.Let us open the door of the Sacred Heart, and shut ourselves in for a moment amidst its divine flames; we shall then realize what God's love means.You can make a spiritual communions anywhere and many times throughout the day.
Cure,
Yes, but St. Paul didn't have the jail cell built specifically for worship, then advertise it as a cathedral. If St. Paul were walking the earth today and he came across this office building called a cathedral, I wonder if he'd give it praise?
Saint Paul was concerned only in praising God and saving souls. He said if I must boast , let me boast only in the Cross of Christ. My point being, yes, this building does not give the Most Glory to God as a great cathedral should, but it cannot stop praise and prayer nor our hearts being lifted up to God. I imagine St. Paul would be more concerned with the souls he met and he certainly would preach inside.Wouldn't that be a sermon not to miss.
I won't add anymore to the chorus of (spot on) criticism as we wait for the inevitable finger-wagging "you're all a bunch of meanies!" rebuke from someone determined to defend this, this...I give up. But to touch on something said in the earlier entry about how the traditionally minded won't treasure the building because...well...look at it; and the liberals won't treasure it because they will have already moved on to the next affrontery to common sense. It reminds me of the various colleges I have visited. I can just stand on the quad and read the history in the buildings, "Original, original, newer based on the original. Uh oh...1970's Frank Lloyd Wright wannabe...original."
Funny thing is, at many collges these things are being torn down and it occurs to me someone needs to step in an preserve some of them if for no other reason than to remind future generations of our particular folly.
How about this thought experiment. Five years from now, take a poll of 100 random passers by. Five years is enough for the structure to have made its way into Oakland's consciousness to the extent that it will. How many will know that it is a church, let alone the Catholic cathedral?
Probably only practicing Catholics, assorted intellectuals, and those that work within a few blocks of it.
Contrast that with St. Patrick's Cathedral. I rest my case.
Not if it is run by the Holy Spirit and dynamic Priests, preachers,works of charity,healing and teaching,is going on...love of neighbors.
If God builds the Church, the work will not be in vain.
'I didn't see a single person in prayer'. One should ask if it is even allowed in a place like that, but...
Sometimes it seems that catholicism is in the toilet. Yes there are some big hitters but it seems that most, from top to bottom, are on coffee break. It's hard to find two orthodox side-by-side, is this a catholic diaspora?
At first I thought our new Cathedral here in Houston was not big enough. I have now grown to appreciate it's scale and intimacy. It also weathered a CAT 3 storm with no problem.
I still would like to see "the light" in person. Externally, it reminds me of the UN building in New York.
Where is the green? With everything the diocesan website, the architect and that Precious Blood priest from NoCal said about the place, there isn't a blasted leaf in the place. All concrete and glass and a few bits of token wood inside. Mind you, it beats the hell out of the asphalt parking lot it once was, but apart from the tree on the street level, there's nada for nature. One would think, as progressive as they are out there, they would've used a little liturgical feng shui...
It is good to remember that the Church consists in more than just its edifices (which is not to denigrate from their value).
The living Church in the diocese of Oakland, and in the Bay Area, is blessed with a number of good priests (you just don't hear about them so much, since the focus is always on what's going wrong rather than what's going right. :) )- our bishop - and good families and single men and women.
God bless and keep them and may He prolong their lives so that they may continue in their good work!
A House of Prayer
There was a time when a Catholic who happened to be passing by a church would make some sign of respect or reverence. We were taught to believe that within the church residing in the tabernacle is the real presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. As time passed, the reverence we once displayed both inside and outside of the church was replaced with an attitude of such familiarity that some of our churches look or feel more like social halls than places of prayer and worship. A parish hall is often available for socializing. A church, however, is the house of God Our Father and though we should find ourselves very comfortable in Our Father’s house, we should not feel so familiar as to be irreverent. Silence is a sign of respect, veneration and adoration for Jesus present in the tabernacle.
A church is a place of worship and should provide God's children with ample quiet time for prayer and adoration. We can and should pray anywhere; but to pray well, with concentration of mind and heart we sometimes need an environment more conducive to prayer. The presence of Christ Jesus in the tabernacle, along with the Crucifix, statues of Our Lady and Saint Joseph, statues or stained glass windows of the Apostles and other saints, and the Stations of the Cross all help to inspire prayer through which we converse with the Triune God.
Silence is necessary for a prayerful environment. At times we seek the silence of a library to be in an environment conducive to study and concentration. There are times when we seek the solitude and silence of a church to pray. When Jesus wanted to pray, He often went to places of solitude and silence.
Prayer in church helps us to concentrate our attention on Jesus in his human nature. Surrounded by the Stations of the Cross, we are reminded of the sacrifice Jesus made for us. As we meditate on his passion and death, we have an awareness of the intensity of his suffering, the price of our Redemption, and his infinite Love for us. Compassion and love for Him are evoked in us and we contemplate Jesus as a truly historical and human person, thus making Him easier to visualize, talk to, and thank in prayer. Moved to compassion by contemplation of his awful wounds and bruises, we pray and suffer with Jesus and come to understand that suffering, accepted in obedience to God, has a spiritualizing power. We then rejoice in his Resurrection and leave the church reminded that his Spirit is with us. But our day-to-day existence will evoke the desire and need to return. Hopefully will find an open door to enter through and an environment, which beckons us to enter into a profound sate of prayer.
http://fredi-dalessio.blogspot.c...-of-
prayer.html
One thing that strikes me:
There seems to be hardly any sacred art inside at all.
I visited the cathedral yesterday. It is impressive, yet cold. The great Christus Rex did not, somehow, inspire one to prayer. The crucifix over the pulpit might have, but it was not made the centerpiece of the interior. The side chapels with old devotional paintings seen to say 'look, we are modern, this is how people worshiped back then'.
The screen behind the altar, made with 2x6s allowing light to pass is distractingly busy. The cathedra is made of black stone and would suggest not a Bishop, but perhaps a chief caveman. The chairs for the choir are also distracting.
Standing on the street looking east we see the cathedral to the left, and a few blocks away, to the right, a red brick gothic style St. Paul's Episcopal church. That church has been there almost 100 years, yet its timeless architecture will keep it current in 20 years, when the cathedral will seem dated.
Contrast this building with Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. People are praying in the side chapels, or in the nave. There is a sense of reverence. There is an altar rail. People kneel for communion.
Then look at St. Mary's or Christ the Light, and wonder.
I remember St. Francis de Sales. It was a beautiful church, built by pious Irish Catholics. This cathedral is, well, for modern architecture, not bad. But that is a low standard indeed. Our urban and suburban landscape is littered with horrible churches built from the sixties on. Christ the Light will perhaps become a spiritual center when the believers take over and gradually make modifications to the spare style.
And by the way, in a side chapel on the Gospel side, there were three books on lecterns: A Hebrew Bible, an altar book, and a Qur'an in Arabic (I read Arabic and I know whereof I speak). A Qur'an!
Did they forget the Christian Bible? Someone may need to remind them.
I have no doubt that someone will soon remove the Qur'an to avoid negative publicity. Someone should take a picture to make sure that someone can't hide up the fact that someone with authority in the diocese actually thought this was acceptable.
A response to Paul Stokell's question "Where is the green?" I'll admit that I find the question kinda confusing, but why not?:
The sidewalk at street level in front of the cathedral complex is lined with trees - you can see a few of them in the picture here, but I'd guess there are maybe ten of them (young now of course). Then, above the complex, a large section of the plaza is planted with grass and trees. You can see a few of these trees also in the picture here.
I really like the passages from scripture inlaid in the floor throughout the cathedral, as well as the sconces with the names of the disciples. The side chapels have beautiful devotional art. I understand that it is the intention to add to the art over the years, as the financial burden of construction is less acute.
The tabernacle is prominent, as it should be, front and center, with an adoration chapel opposite the sanctuary.
Commenting by HaloScan
