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“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Beautiful Churches?

Fr. David Friel · November 9, 2011

Around this time last year, Pope Benedict XVI traveled to Barcelona to dedicate the extraordinary Sagrada Familia Basilica. The Holy Father’s homily was equally extraordinary. He said at that time: “Beauty . . . reveals God because, like Him, a work of beauty is pure gratuity.” What a line for meditation: “A work of beauty is pure gratuity.”

Today, we celebrate the dedication of St. John Lateran, which is the mother church of the universal Church. Most of us can’t be in the Lateran Basilica today, but we join in the celebration because we’re in union with our Holy Father, whose cathedral it is. Many people would think it funny that we celebrate the dedication of a building centuries-old and thousands of miles away. They would also think it funny that so much time and money has been spent on Sagrada Familia.

But ours is an Incarnational faith, and so we see value in art and beauty. Beauty is certainly found in creation, but God takes especially great delight in what we create out of His creation. He enjoys the beauty of things that “Earth has given and human hands have made.”

Yes, the beauty of our churches and chapels is, indeed, gratuitous—that is, not necessary. But God’s love for us is gratuitous! His mercy is gratuitous! The fact that we even exist is gratuitous! So, the fact that beauty is unnecessary doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t bother with it. Instead, we, who are “temples of the Holy Spirit,” become more beautiful and more pleasing to God precisely by our gratuitous acts of charity.

Mother Teresa famously encouraged us to “do something beautiful for God.” Today, let’s do something gratuitous for God. It may not mean the building of a basilica, but it will certainly mean the building up of the temples of our own souls.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served as Parochial Vicar at Saint Anselm Church in Northeast Philly before earning a doctorate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America. He presently serves as Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and teaches liturgy at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    William Byrd • Simple “Agnus Dei” Canon
    Time flies! Back in July, I posted a PDF setting of a perfect canon by William Byrd (d. 1623) arranged as an AGNUS DEI for three voices. Last Sunday, we sang that arrangement with our volunteer choir. To hear a ‘live’ recording of it, click here (Mp3). In my humble opinion, this would be a perfect piece for a choir just beginning to experiment with polyphony.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Glory To God” • (For Choir + Congregation)
    I wish to thank everyone for the nice comments I received vis-à-vis my Glory To God setting for Choir & Congregation. A gentleman with a musical doctorate from Indiana University wrote: “Love this setting so much. And I will pray, as you asked, for your return to composition more fully. You are very very good.” A female choir director wrote: “I love your harmonizations, your musicality, and the wonderful interplay you have with dissonance and consonance in your music. So fun to listen to, and great for intellect, heart, and soul!” A young woman from California wrote: “Thank you for releasing your new Glory To God in honor of Saint Noel Chabanel. I'm enjoying reading through the various parts and listening to your recordings.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    William Byrd • “Mass for Five Voices”
    Our volunteer choir is learning the “Sanctus” from William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices. You can hear a short excerpt (recorded last Sunday) but please ignore the sound of babies crying: Mp3 recording. We still have work to do—but we’re on the right track. Once we have some of the tuning issues fixed, I desire to use it as an example proving volunteers can sing complicated polyphony. — One of our volunteer choirs also sang that SANCTUS on 24 September 2023, and you can listen to how that came out.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

[Speaking about the Silent Canon, with audible “per ómnia”] — “So in all such cases it is usual for the otherwise silent celebrant occasionally to sing a clause aloud, to show how far he has arrived.”

— Father Fortescue (pages 313-314) • “A Study of the Roman Liturgy”

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