Going "green" the microparish way!

Call me old fashioned or even nostalgic but the Catholic Church has been going environmentally “green” for centuries. They are called “parishes.” Having grown up in the city of Philadelphia in the Irish-centric enclave called Gray’s Ferry…we were environmentally conscious and did not even know it. We walked to church, there was no need to drive to our parish church, it was only a few blocks over one way or the other. Not only did growing up Catholic in the city provide “eco-friendly” elimination of the need to use automobiles and consuming gas, it also contributed to the much advocated by physicians, the aerobic activity called walking. Even better, when walking to and from Church…we were usually with other individuals and we held conversations, which contributed even more to the entire well being of our solipsistic parish community were we all lived, prayed and went through life together.
Aside from the obvious need to cut down on our carbon footprints, perhaps the return to a structure that is central to a neighborhood is the more obvious adaptation that is needed in the Church. When Catholics exited the urban environment in the United States, they were caught in this misnomer that “bigger is better…even bigger is best….and biggest is well….the biggest and bestest.” Now of course we realize that the notion is not always true or beneficial to a parish community of prayerful intimacy within our parish communities. Liturgies are sometimes more like the weekly shopping frenzy at Wal-Mart, parish parking lots are jammed with single driver cars, traffic police and parish priest alike direct mobile confusion and there is a need to” get them in” and “get them out” before the next Mass.
When we think about parish planning and development of the manner in which the Catholic Church serves it’s communities…maybe it is time to take a retro look at the old neighborhood parish type of planning and structure. Additionally, perhaps as a society we should encourage architects and urban planners to look back and reconsider the positive aspects that “parish” and “neighborhood” settings offered to a community.
When we plan a parish community, perhaps it would be wise to develop a plan of “micro-parishes”, where the overall parish complex and overhead is more manageable for the community. Especially true is the need for a location for the Church that is within an ambulational distance from homes and work environments. This is perhaps where the dialogue needs to come into play. As we regentrify, or renovate our city areas the parish church is already a central focus to the neighborhood. It is the suburban communities that need to especially realize the benefits of Catholic micro communities as more beneficial to the entire spiritual and theological development of a Catholic parish.
Micro-parishes I suppose used to be called, “missions”, but there was a very pragmatic and sensitive aspect to the structure that made sense…namely…Don’t go overboard, and keep the parish structure manageable. Perhaps there would be a better response to our parish spirituality if the parish priests did not have to minister to the Mega-parish of 2500 families.
In the 21st century our Catholic Church is called to not only a spiritual, but also an ecological response to the worlds issues and crisis’. There is no better way to participate in the community of global faith than for the Catholic Church to embark on an ecological “skinny” plan to conserve and preserve resources, spaces and materials. As we plan new parishes, let’s use the best architectural planning to utilize all of our natural resources to the best advantages. Build parishes that are organically a part of the community and not just another structure that is inaccessible except with planes, trains or automobiles,and finally make our parishes ecologically responsible for the conservation of all resources especially those that are environmentally friendly.
Going green in a parish might mean the development of a neighborhood community garden, where parishioners might learn about the planting and consumption of health foods and vegetables. It also might mean planning our liturgies around cycles of “natural” light and not exploiting electricity or carbon fuels. Whatver it is means that the Church is called to good stewardship and preservation of natural resources and we need to begin on a local parish level.
The spread of Christianity was initially a “grass-roots” movement. Today more than ever the Church needs to recognize the need to return to spiritual, economic and social grass roots values so that our culture and environment might be preserved.

Visual arts includes Sacred Vestments

It has really been a great experience watching the trip of the Holy Father in Austria over the past few days. The season of ordinary time is always quite, well,"green!" However the papal haberdasher seems to have whipped up quite a collection of liturgical vestments for the Holy Father to wear during this pilgrimage to a favorite Marian Shrine of the former Joseph Ratzinger.
The different colors of the liturgical vestments are intended to convey the message of the season in which they are worn...white or gold for the most festive of liturgical celebrations, red to indicate martyrdom or events that invoke the power of the Holy Spirit, purple for periods of penitence or days of fasting and on two days in the Church's Sacred celebrations the color rose or a light pink even comes into play. However when we see the various hues of the liturgical rainbow, most of us think in terms of the usual Crayola palette, and stay within the visual lines of the color chart.
It was however very rewarding to see the papal chasuble during the visit to Wien carry off in a very strong manner the combinations of chartreuse green and various blues to make the occasion really quite extra ordinary in terms of visual appreciation and brightness. The deacons in similar vestments matched with the papal chasuble, and even the mitre of the Holy Father was accentuated to "pull the whole thing together!" Quite successfully this author notes as well, because Sacred Liturgy is really an event that invites all of the senses, including the sense of visual perception and appreciation into active consideration of the Sacred Mysteries into which we are all drawn as participants and witnesses.
I have noticed in other places in the press, there has been quite a bit of conversation regarding some of the colors of the vestments worn by Benedict XVI. A few authors, well cited that they were not of the appropriate liturgical, "hue!" Well, a simple point that is forgotten here is that when the Bishop of Rome dons a particular color for celebration, his preference IS the appropriate liturgical "hue," of the day!
Besides, Benedict XVI was in my thoughts making all of us realize that even the color of "ordinary" time need not be ordinary!
In the same train of thought, parishes should spend allot of time considering the quality and visual presentation of all of the vestments worn by their priests and deacons in the celebration of the Sacred liturgy. Quite a bit of care and attention needs to be devoted to their purchase and maintenance, so that they might through an appreciation of the "fabric" arts act as a vehicle that draws us to liturgical worship through the signs and symbols of the liturgical seasons, and appropriate liturgical vestments.
Often, I have noticed there are parishes that really never pay attention to the artistic and materialistic quality of their liturgical vestments. This lack of attention to the details of the visual importance of color, as well as any detail to the historical significance as to the purpose of each and every liturgical vestment is unfortunate. Not only does the liturgy require quality in material's to house the community of faith, our celebrants should wear vestments that are befitting the dignity and importance of such a sacred celebration.
Vestments by themselves are signs that the actions taking place in our Eucharistic liturgy are sacred and significant, otherwise, simple everyday garb without any significance would be sufficient in the sacred celebration. Perhaps one of the aspect which we have lost in our modern existence is the distinctive garb that is traditionally associated with each specific profession. Unfortunately, our policemen do not always look the part, everyone remotely associated with the medical profession wears, "surgical scrubs", our images of people and their professions are not easily recognized by their clothing. The liturgy is and should be different. Our ordained ministers should wear liturgical garb that is symbolic of their role and ministry in the Church. Our parish liturgical committees also should be especially aware of the need for vestments and liturgical apparel that reflects high quality of craftsmanship and exquisite use of all available fabric materials.
The liturgy is a celebration of our faith in God and a participation in His Scared life. Our priests and ministers need to make sure they appropriately look the part and pay attention to details, such as the quality of presentation they each require when celebrating the Sacred Mysteries.

Sacred Art and architecture...getting back to the basics!

Statue of Saint Padre Pio by artist Anthony Visco, Philadelphia. Statue is located in lower church of Saint John the Evangelist in Center-city Philadelphia.


Church art and architecture is a topic that seems to have been covered in every possible manner since the Renaissance. However, it seems to this author that there is a true need to cover and address the issues involved with the design and decoration of our Catholic Churches from a perspective of developing an American Institute for the Sacred Arts. The reason this “pet project” is so clear in my mind is simply because over the past 40 or so years since the liturgical changes of the Second Vatican Council so many important artistic and architectural examples of good design, both form and function have been inextricably mutilated, destroyed or adapted beyond Catholic recognition.
With that said, there should be always and everywhere a strong sense of sacred worship that envelopes our Catholic Churches and enables them to provide both spiritual sanctuary and liturgical practicality. At the same time there also needs to evolve or rather re-evolve in our Catholic art and architecture a new realization of the form and functions of our Sacred liturgies. Perhaps it is an easy task to reexamine our premises for the implementation of appropriate liturgical space because in general the Catholic Church in the United States has done such a terrible job in the past cultivating domestic artists and craftsmen as prayerful creative partners in this truly artistic and visual endeavor.
The message that clearly needs to be conveyed to bishops, priests and all faithful Catholics is simply this: Sacred spaces such as our Catholic Churches demand the highest artistic expressions of quality that a parish or Church community is able to afford and sustain. The design elements of Catholic Churches are also paramount in the thoughts and planning of our Catholic Churches. For the first part, they should reflect the unique needs of all of our Sacred liturgies. The altar should especially be of central focus to the Catholic assembly, and its placement and material composition should be of a nature that suggests to the believer the truly sacred and sacrificial nature of the actions happening on the sacred spot.
In light of the recent permission to celebrate the liturgy of Blessed John XXIII, there should be additional consideration when designing a Church that both the ordinary and extraordinary forms of the Sacraments might be celebrated in our Churches without any difficulty. In general, the sacred space that we call Church should adequately reflect and express our deepest religious convictions and historical progressions of our Catholic faith. What our Catholic Churches should not be are just as simple: they are not places for meetings, town hall gatherings, pseudo-liturgical activities or places of personal artistic expression. Our Churches are houses of God, where the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament resides as an active presence in our daily lives.
One notion that frequently happens in the design and planning of a new Catholic Church is that there is a plan that at times does not take on the form of structural permanence. That is, areas are designed to provide multifunction spaces, where accessories can be rolled around and repositioned as the need or rather whim determines the need for the space. This bus stop architecture is exactly what needs to be part of our past, our departure from Modernism and post-Modernism architectural influences and foster a return to traditional art and architecture that applies the appropriate form and function to our Catholic Churches on a non-transitional basis. Our Catholic Sacred Spaces should not only stress an atmosphere of spiritual tranquility there should also be a sense of institutional permanence in the space that provides a local anchor to all of the activities of our Catholic spiritual journey, from Baptism right up to and including the Rite of Catholic Burial. Quite frankly, as an interested Catholic, I am quite exhausted trying to figure out where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved when I go to different parishes, tired of shuffling off children and noncompliant teenagers to “crying-rooms” and our artistic attempts to provide visual relevancy through all sorts of “busy” distractions brought on by, banners, artistic flyers, huge floral arrangements and mauve fabrics for the “pews”. It is time that we get back to basics in our Churches, place artistic quality and design into our planning and implementations of Catholic architecture.
Considerations need to be taken in Church design for the proper distribution of the Sacred Species of Bread and Wine in our Catholic Churches. Communion along the altar rail is no longer the accepted norm for the reception of Eucharist. It is advisable that Eucharist be received under both species as well. When we plan our liturgical worship space, we need to plan for the adequate flow of people that participate in the Sacred Liturgy and not just provide an opportunity for a liturgical traffic jam. Once again, form and function should always accompany our Catholic planning of architectural spaces.
When I think of art and architecture as well, I think of the proper utilization of artisans and craftsmen that reflect the Catholic Church in a specific area as well. While the temptation is strong to import craftsmen and materials from “old world” sources, such as Italian marble, or Spanish carved statuary, we need to be honest and upfront about the very talented artists and craftsmen that work in our own United States. Parish priests and parish planning committees need to pay particular attention to the details of whom and what will represent their new sacred space. Without a doubt, Catholic artists participate and share in a creative vocation to adorn our Catholic Churches. Preferably Catholic artists are also best suited, rather than non Catholic artisans to materialize a Catholic theme and appropriate perspective. Let’s not overlook the real need to commission artistic works for our Catholic Churches through fellow Catholics, who really participate in a unique artistic and creative manner in the expressions of our Catholic faith.
Finally, the distasteful word…money always needs to be considered. Most times we think that the commissioning of original artwork and qualitative liturgical designs are out of the price range for the average parish community. In an age where we glorify mass production and global distribution, it is easy to see why we sometimes think of “bigger is better”, “mass produced is cheaper” and “America does not make that stuff here”! However that is a misnomer. There are plenty of artisans and craftsmen here in the United States, perhaps even in your own parish or diocese that can qualitatively design, and construct any aspect of our Catholic liturgical accessories. Not only are these artists and craftsmen extremely capable and willing, they offer their own prayerful and Catholic experiences in the artistic representations they are called to create. Before going to the guilds of Italy or Spain for statuary or materials, we need to look within our own parish backyards for the artist right down the street and the parish over that can cast a bronze statue, carve a marble bust, paint a magnificent fresco or design a great mosaic…they are all here. We just need to look and find them.

New Blog on Sacred Art!

A new blogsite to discuss Catholic Sacred Arts and Liturgical Arts.
All Catholic Artists are invited to submit materials for posting and publication.
This site is for sharing concepts, ideas and Catholic ideals as related to the implementation of Sacred Art directives as mandated by Vatican II.