Category Archives: The Bookshelf

von Balthasar, the Pilgrim, and the Center Aisle

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Adam

For there is no longer any question of man’s… agonizing longing for transcendence. It is a question rather of man being led by the God who goes before toward a genuinely human fulfillment – to a land “flowing with milk and honey”.

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Sacred Language, Liturgical Craft, and Wisdom of Heart

Posted on May 19, 2012 by Adam

Professor David Lyle Jeffrey offers a lengthy essay in the current Adoremus Bulletin regarding the mutiplicity of Bible translations… “In all these cases, what has been lost in translation is nothing less than the main point—the sacral, sacramental element of divine giftedness, …as intrinsically necessary to a holy work and worship. ” Continue reading →

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Book Review – How to Read a Church

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Adam

As an Architect focused on the renewal of Catholic sacred architecture, I enjoyed How to Read a Church quite a bit. Author Richard Taylor presents the material well, in a readable manner, and the list of subject matter is quite thorough. Continue reading →

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Benedict and Liturgical Music

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Adam

Readers might appreciate this concise but worthy column by Robert Reilly over at The Catholic Thing gathering up some of the rich insights of Pope Benedict regarding sacred music:  The Sound of Faith Here’s an excerpt: Where does inspiration come from to create … Continue reading →

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Architecture and the Sense of Time and Touch

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Adam

Juhani Pallasmaa has written extensively on the disordered emphasis we place on the sense of sight and timeless visual presentation in modern and contemporary architecture. What is lost, he argues, when we privelege the visual over the other senses is a properly holistic understanding of the deep and rich embodied experience that is natural to us all as humans in the world. In short we lose the ‘incarnational’ sensibility of architecture.
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Benedict, the Wellspring, Reform, and Renewal

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Adam

I have been wondering for a while if I ought to share some thoughts regarding the title chosen for this blog:  Tradition in Continuity:  Considerations for the Development of Catholic Sacred Architecture. I did not expect that my Bishop would in … Continue reading →

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Beautiful in Construction | The Task of the Church Architect

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Adam

Here is another excerpt from the text I had mentioned in my previous post.  In this passage the author, writing almost sixty years ago, touches briefly on the needs of a church building, and describes the ways in which an … Continue reading →

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The Church Building: an Act of Worship, a Prayer in Stone

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Adam

I recently came across a rather plain looking book in the office of another fellow Catholic architect. The book’s cover caught my eye because it was noticeably older than most of the volumes on the shelf. I was pleased to see its title – Church Building & Furnishing: The Church’s Way, A Study in Liturgical Law. Authored by J. B. O’Connell and published in 1955, its approach and contents are particularly interesting – the presentation of the ways in which a church building participates in the sacred liturgy within and according to the Church’s liturgical law and rubrics. I have included a wonderful excerpt from the introductory chapter regarding the nature of each and every church building as it relates to its specifically liturgical origin and purpose. Continue reading →

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The Bookshelf

Posted on May 20, 2011 by Adam

Here’s a collection of essential liturgical design resources, loosely gathered according to category. The list is always growing it seems; so please let us know if you are aware of other items that would be excellent resources for ecclesiastical design (including architecture, inteirors, sacred art, and furnishings) but are currently missing from this list. Continue reading →

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The Dignity of the Eucharistic Celebration

Posted on May 19, 2011 by Adam

This type of liturgical catechesis – this mystagogy – should be ongoing for us all. Developing a more complete understanding of the ritual action in the celebration of the Sacred Mysteries will allow us each and all to participate “both in body and mind, a participation burning with faith, hope, and charity,” as we are caught up with the entire mystical Body of Christ offering worship to the Father in spirit and truth until Christ is all in all. Continue reading →

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The Heavenly City and Beauty in our Time

Posted on April 30, 2011 by Adam

The material of creation conveys truths about the Creator; truths we long to know for they reveal truths about ourselves and or realtionship with the Lord. God has given to man the goods of this world, and intends that they become a way for us to make a return to Him – especially in this Age of the Church between the Pentecost and the Coming of Christ in glory Creation is in the process of contantly being redeemed in Christ. Our church buildings should offer us some foretaste of the fullness of this redemption.
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The Transfiguration and the Wellspring of Worship

Posted on April 11, 2011 by Administrator

Originally Posted on 22 March 2011  |  by Adam In a recent post, I noted the great benefits of studying the Sacred Liturgy.  But of course there are limits as to how much our lives and hearts can truly be … Continue reading →

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Mystagogical Catechesis: Learning to love the Mystery

Posted on April 11, 2011 by Administrator

Originally Posted on 15 March 2011 by Adam Sometimes all that is necessary is to point our readers in the direction of some wonderful resource or document, and strongly encourage its reading.  Such is the case with Sacramentum Caritatis; the Post-Synodal Exhortation … Continue reading →

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