A Leaven In The World . . Critique Of Church Art Is Not Comment On Sponsors’ Faith
By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK
I recently received a phone call in which I was informed that a tweeted comment of mine on the Twitter social network about the interaction between some chapel visitors and sacred art recently installed therein had, in effect, called into question the faith of that chapel’s proprietors in the Real Presence.
Although I did not point it out in the context of the phone call, that reaction involved a judgment which itself was unwarranted. The best defense is a good offense.
The sanctuary lamp in the chapel in question is a small oil-lamp style flame which may be difficult for some to see, but also is quite different from the red glass votive which signals to most Catholics in this country that the Lord is truly present and reserved in the tabernacle. The tabernacle in this space is incorporated into the mosaics, as a door forming part of the Lord’s cloak, and for some may be quite difficult to see. These two factors together may lead some of the faithful who use the space to believe that the sacrament is not present.
That was the substance of my comment on Twitter. How that calls into question the faith of the members of the organization who commissioned the art in the chapel is beyond my ability to understand.
I had observed the behavior of some faithful as they toured a recently completed chapel and its mosaic series. As they approached and passed before the altar and sanctuary area, no one genuflected. It is true that many Catholics no longer genuflect at all, believing that such a profound gesture of worship is no longer necessary as long as they say that they intellectually accept the truth that the Church teaches on the Presence of Christ in the sacrament.
But it is also true that some Catholics in every sample group still do genuflect, understanding that the “spirit” of Vatican II or modernity has no power or authority to sweep away the traditions handed down in the Church that surrounds our God with fitting worship.
I don’t have a problem with art and am most certainly not an iconoclast. I take the time to try to understand fine art and appreciate the contribution of the artist in his or her own terms. I am quite flexible about the matter of chapel or church decoration, as I understand the Church also to be. I, like everyone else, also have my own preferences in these matters, which in my case tend toward the time-tested and traditional.
I do not enter someone else’s space and demand that it completely adhere to my personal standards. When, however, a given space exists for the purpose of sacred worship or prayer, I do employ criteria relevant to the purpose of the space, which makes necessary also my interpretation of the art in that space. In sacred spaces art and humanity always interact in a symphony of faith for the purpose of salvation.
As I spent time praying in the chapel one evening over the space of at least one half-hour, I had the opportunity to observe the behavior of others passing through the space to view the mosaics. I simply observed that none of the people I saw that evening genuflected as they passed before the altar and tabernacle. Most or all of them bowed as we do when an altar only is present in an oratory or church.
As a given sample grouping of faithful, some would most likely have genuflected if the art adequately communicated that Christ was present in the tabernacle. I maintained that the art does not do so effectively.
Again, my comments on this fact were reserved only to my perception of the interaction between users and the space, and not at all in regard to the quality or appropriateness of the art or the interior life and the faith of the sponsoring organization. As a priest and a supporter, enabler, and leader of prayer and worship, that is my area of expertise. As one not schooled in fine arts or architecture, I reserve my comments to how a given space either aids worship and prayer well or does not.
Commissioning sacred or any art can be a difficult endeavor as one tries to accommodate the convictions, styles, and preferences of the artists involved and to also achieve the end purposes of art that is to be used, such as in churches or chapels, by the people for the higher purposes of prayer and worship.
Finding the balance between art that hangs on a wall and has no end or purpose beyond that and art that must enable certain human activities is a difficult one to achieve; at times the end results are mixed at best. Sometimes art employed for sacred end purposes in itself wins out over against the traditional means of communicating the elements of our faith. That is all that is involved here, and when all is said and done everyone involved is still Catholic and no one’s faith is judged except by God alone.
Please pray for me and for a Church in which we can all freely express our thoughts and make contributions to an open conversation that serves our common faith, while asking that others not overreact with counter-accusations that do not resolve difficult situations, but only exacerbate tensions and prolong misunderstandings. Let us all pray and work at making our joint efforts for the faith in the Church more fraternal.
I understand better now, by the way, the very frequent situations of incomprehension in which our Holy Father Pope Francis finds himself after speaking freely and openly, as he is so accustomed to doing. I wish well and pray for everyone.
Thank you for reading and praised be Jesus Christ now and forever.
+ + +
(Thank you for reading and praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever. Follow me on Facebook at Reverendo Padre-Kevin Michael Cusick and on Twitter @MCITLFrAphorism. I blog occasionally at mcitl.blogspot.com and APriestLife.blogspot.com.)
