Purpose

Architecture & Beauty

So pleased to share this talk from last summer – Architecture & Beauty – given at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church and School in ...

Building Culture

If we desire to know the values of any particular culture, we ought to consider carefully its buildings. And special attention must be paid to ...

To Bear the Weight of Mystery

In the context of the sacred liturgy, what should beautiful buildings and artwork “do” for us? How can we understand their “success” or “effectiveness?” Ultimately, ...

Body and City – Two Paradigms for the Church Building

Our church buildings show forth the reality of the Church – and indeed they should – both physically, and symbolically.  The buildings that we construct ...

The Bookshelf

One of the joys of designing within a long standing religious tradition, is the abundance of scholarly writing, magisterial teaching, and visual material that is ...

The Dignity of the Eucharistic Celebration

There are of course many important documents pertaining to the form and meaning of our celebration of the Holy Liturgy; including Conciliar documents, Encyclicals, Apostolic ...

Lifting our Minds and Hearts to God, or Going to the Mall

Here’s a brief news story  I came across recently – regarding the endangered status of traditional church steeples.  Certainly it is a sad state, that the ...

The Heavenly City and Beauty in our Time

In previous posts, I have called to our readers’ attention the laudable work of Dr. Denis McNamara, who serves as the assistant director of the ...

Questions, Confidence, and Providence

To a greater or lesser degree, one fundamental quality is lacking in every Parish Building Committee: and that is Confidence.  And not without good reason ...

The Tabernacle: A church within a church

Our church buildings, and the Holy Mass itself, are filled with signs and symbols of great meaning and value.  They gather up the goods of creation ...

The Solemnity of the Annunciation

Today we glorify the Lord as we remember the “Yes” of the Blessed Mother, and the tremendous redemption of Man and all of Creation, that ...

The Transfiguration and the Wellspring of Worship

In a recent post, I noted that we should all read more about the depth of the meaning in the Liturgy.  But of course there ...

Mystagogical Catechesis: Learning to love the Mystery

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 ...

Clothing the Treasures of Heaven

A wonderful event took place at the end of April last year; a conference on the development of the living tradition within Catholic sacred architecture.  ...