When I was growing up,
I was always taught
to never blindly accept my Catholic faith. It was better to ask questions and search for faith-assuring answers than to just agree with every law and doctrine that came along.
Well, as a child, I didn’t bother to question anything, but now that I have grown up and learned more about the church as a human organization with its fair share of faults and misinterpretations, I can’t help but inquire on its seemingly “divinely inspired” decisions.
For instance, I could go on and on about my issues with banning women from the priesthood, because they too are equal disciples of God called to be ministers to the world. And I could also argue that gay marriage is still the unity of two people in love. Why stop them from a life of love together within the church? But those are certainly two topics that have been exhausted well beyond reasonable resolutions.
So, one issue that I would like to raise objection to is the extreme waste of money on designing our churches more and more like fancy museums than actual worship and prayer centers. Certainly, we want our churches to properly function, look welcoming and of course, appear aesthetically pleasing.
But when did that imply spending a mint on the most unique and eye-catching stained glass windows, a gigantic organ, a monstrous slab of marble for the offertory table, and gold chalices and ciboria, just to name a few?
If the essence of Mass is to praise and thank God within the sacrament of Eucharist, why should it even matter which building gets used for a church, let alone what adorns it?
After all, Jesus said in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” The early disciples had the right idea of simply meeting in one another’s homes and worshiping God with just their plain bowls, cups and linens. Their worship was sincere and humble.
But let’s look at today. What makes a multi-million dollar cathedral, for instance, any more sacred than those early, in-home churches? If I had to guess, I believe God would prefer the latter, especially when such extravagant expenses could be saved and used for more noble causes such as homeless shelters and food banks.
Jesus himself taught merely from a hilltop and told us to simply put Him first in our lives and leave all materialistic distractions behind.
Now some may argue, and with good reason, that churches are so elegantly adorned for the sake of honoring God and giving Him our best. And while I understand that this would encourage creating beautiful architecture and paintings, my point is I fear we have become so engrossed in the competition for magnificence and public appeal, that we are slowly losing the true purpose of our gathering together every Sunday.
Just as the early followers assembled in their homes to praise God, we must also keep that same focus every time we enter our churches. If we don’t use these sacred spaces for their originally designed purpose, then we may as well not go at all.
All the extravagance in the world can never replace true attentiveness to God’s word. So before we go off and buy more gold chalices, just remember Jesus was a carpenter.
Forget the gold and carve out some nice wooden ones. What difference will it make where we pour the wine? It’s what’s inside that really counts.
Rachel Brown is a junior liberal studies major.