Office of Worship

Sacred Art and Architecture

When Jesus took on our humanity, he entered into our world of sights, sounds, smells, taste, touch, imagination, emotions. Our faith is sacramental, which means that the invisible realities of our faith--the beauty of God, the glory of heaven, the power of grace--are communicated to us through the visible: through immersion in water, through oil touching our forehead, through bread and wine transformed, etc.

One of the greatest aids the Catholic Church offers to the faith of her members is the treasure of sacred art and architecture. Following this same sacramental principle, the beauty of art makes visible the invisible realities that can so often be difficult for us to grasp. We understand that we are entering into the heavenly liturgy when we see paintings of angels filling the sanctuary. We feel the maternal love of Our Lady of Guadalupe as her image smiles down on us. We sense the grandeur of God in the soaring arches and majestic pillars of classical church architecture.

The more you learn about sacred art and architecture, the more deeply your imagination is able to absorb the incredible beauty to be found in so many of our parish churches. To help you delve into this treasure trove of beauty, we recommend lectures offered by classical architects Dr. Denis McNamara and James McCrery (easily found on Youtube.com).