FRIDAY POTPOURRI: BUT IS IT ART: THE BEGINNING OF A CURE

Want to do some Catholic reading for the summer?  Elizabeth’s Lev’s book, “How Catholic Art Saved the Faith; the Triumph of Beauty and Truth in Counter-Reformation Art” may the just the ticket for you.  Do you ever wonder why the Church invests so much of herself in art for the masses (or Masses I suppose.)  This book will give you a clearer insight as well as beautifully enticing you into paintings to understand what they are doing, a skill that will go a long way in helping you understand and judge liturgical art in general.

Best of all, while dealing with topics that many experts like to make as complicated and exclusive as possible, Lev makes accessible and exciting.  She does not give credence to tedious concepts of art or try to dazzle the reader with her great and lofty learning.  Rather, she invites you in to enjoy the wonder and awe of the art which is supposed to be the point of liturgical art to begin with.

She does for art what Dr. Scott Hahn does for theology.

Best of all, the chapters and descriptions, while lush and full, are divided up into short and easy to digest chapters.  Do you only want to read for 5 minutes?  Done!  Want to read for an hour?  Perfect!  Beware though if you have any love of art and faith.  I would think that I only want to read for 5 minutes and then start stealing time from other things in order to read more.

This book is the beginning of a cure for what ails the Church today when it comes to art.  I would make it mandatory reading for anybody responsible for the commissioning of art for a parish.  It gives insight to the artists and patrons who respected what was handed on from the past and what was completely innovative for its day (which now seems so much a part of our standard bag of tools for liturgical art) and inspires us to have that same responsibility and innovation - the mix of order and chaos - that inspired the people of the Counter-Reformation.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: BUT IS IT ART?: THEN WHAT KIND OF ART?

As a subcategory, liturgical art serves a very specific purpose: to teach and inspire in the Christian faith.  Therefor it must be clear to the onlooker who has at least a modicum of understanding of the faith.  In addition to being clear, it must use caution when using symbolism when it is not in keeping with the tradition that has been established to help get across meaning.  That does NOT mean that new modes of symbols cannot be employed, but they must be clear.

Using established symbols in a new fashion may be a cause for confusion.  For example, a numbus or halo that is specific for the Godhead placed on another person may confuse the message.  Ot using something whose meaning only makes itself clear when explained by the artist is not doing its job.  For example, there is a window in one church in which a couple is archaically involved in amorous behavior.  If you didn’t know that the a little red circle in the upper corner of the piece was intended by the artist to mean “Don’t” thereby signifying the commandment “Do not covet they neighbor’s wife,” then you it might lead the observer to wonder what exactly is going on here.  Liturgical art is somewhat less free than general categories of art.  BUT this does not mean that it cannot challenge, evolve and be enormously creative and never, ever - unless under dire circumstances, mass produced and bought in a catalogue. (Then why not just tack up the page from the catalogue?)

Liturgical art lifts up, it inspires, it ennobles, it challenges, it should dazzle with beauty and/or stretch the intellect.  Before such a piece, even a non-believer should be able to sit before it, receive a message, and be able to pour out his heart.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: BUT IS IT ART: BUT IS IT LITURGICAL ART?

Can you believe that put that monstrosity in you parish church and called it art???

(This happens often enough that I bet most people could think that this statement refers to their situation.)  

So there is art, and then there is a subcategory of art known as liturgical art.  Liturgical art is used largely during the liturgy or in church buildings (or as part of church buildings) whose purpose is to lead the viewer more deeply into the truths and mysteries of the faith.  It is the reason churches are called catechisms in stone.  It is why the church, particularly during the counter reformation invested so heavily in the arts.  There are some things that are so much easier to see and be moved by (Beauty) than it is to be taught by dissertations (Truth).

There are some pieces of art that, while they may be worthy of a museum, are not worthy of our worship spaces - and now that I think about it, there is A LOT that is not worthy of either.

Pieces of “art” that are not clear or beautiful are not (IMHO) pieces of liturgical art.  Pieces that need way too much explanation, that attempts to “mean” way too many things to way too many people, that express the artist’s angst more than a theological truth, that are not beautiful or moving, or just leave the typical viewer scratching their collective heads and wondering “what the get out?” is not liturgical art.

A statue of the Virgin Mary that turns so many people off that brides bring their own statues to their wedding is not liturgical art.  A statue of the Holy Spirit that is so far out there that nobody would even know that it had anything to do with spirituality many times even after learning the title is not liturgical art.  A wishy-washy or incredibly bland portrayal of Christ on His Cross that is so nondescript (presumably so that viewer could imagine anything that he wants - making him the artist perhaps, not the creator of the art piece) is not liturgical art.

I have encountered all of these.  Some of them are still worthy as a piece of art perhaps, but not for Church.  Part of the very purpose of the art is to strike someone so deeply that they want to spend time with it - hopefully at first glance - to be drawn in - to be made curious - to be moved to think about spiritual truths and not immediately about how much they dislike it.  Some well meaning artist may say, “But I am expanding their ideas of art!” may be doing a good job in that respect, but they are not doing a good job at liturgical art.  They run the risk of pushing away souls rather than attracting them.

STAY WARM AND WELL FED

It is one of the most short sighted agendas in our culture that our poor need food, shelter, clothing and medical attention and that then we have done our job.  What a horrendous mode of existence.  It is one of the terrible blunders of housing for the poor.  We build large, ugly buildings in which to warehouse people and wonder why they are not more inspired.

In the Holy Land, the places where we visited were not beautiful places to live.  (I have been assured that in other locations there than the ones we visited the case is much different.)  There was very little in the way of public art, in many areas the litter was as abundant as leaves on the ground in Ohio in the fall, there were few parks and, for the most part, I was not inspired by the architecture.  (There are many reasons that this should be the case, but just the same, this is the way I saw it.)  What was beautiful were the places of worship.  Entering in, one would see (often) good and inspiring architecture, art (some great, some adequate) music, order and (to varying degrees) cleanliness.  They are places (at least in theory) that are open to the rich and the poor alike.  It is a God send (quite literally) that they exist.  One is transported from the traffic and crowds and heat of he day to a place of serenity and beauty of which the poor are particularly in need.

One might say that in the United States, we have plenty of publicly accessible art to inspire rich and poor alike and that we should spend all of the money on the poor.  (Let us set aside for a moment that the largest contributor to the poor in the world - governments included - is the Catholic Church and that most of the people making these accusations do so while not living in ugly houses in order for them to give more money to the poor yet not invited the poor in to enjoy their homes.)  But even so, where is the public art the inspires anyone in our Christian Judaeo heritage?  Such art is eschewed today.  It is not funded.  

Add to that the amount of public art in West Akron that no longer exists.  The Indian on West Exchanged was removed albeit for safety and preservation reasons.  A statue of the early pilgrims that once was on the property of ACME #1 was removed with promises that they would provide a new piece of art (which has yet to happen.)  Where is the ONE place you can go to be inspired by truly and unapologetically Christian art?  Your church (at least I hope.)

Not only that, if we do not inspire artists where will they hone their skills?  By people who will hire them.  If we do not - look around at who will willingly pay them and what messages are being delivered to our culture.  

Not only is it patently not hypocritical for the Church to engage in the mindset of being patroness of the arts, she is grossly failing her people, particularly the poor, if she does not.  A pastor who allows his parish to order “art” out of a catalogue should be horsewhipped.  (Well, maybe he should just go to confession.)  The parish is the original “free museum.”  The keeper of a culture in a greater culture that is increasingly divergent.  To do anything less is woefully negligent.  

THE EXPEDIENT, SAFE, AND CHEAP AT THE EXPENSE OF THE GREATER GOOD AND TRUE

“Tell me more about this St. Sebastian fellow that I may understand how to draw him better.”  This was from an artist in China that I commissioned to draw me a picture of the parish’s patron saint.  The man had little to no knowledge of faith at all but through commissioning art we were able to have a discourse on the life of this amazing saint.

Another artist who is not interested most things “Church” but who is working on a project for me, was interested in having a discussion on the transcendentals and as an artists wishing to work in churches whose art is meaningful, open to the public, and beautiful.

Eric Armusik is a great young painter who has done several pieces for the parish.  He desperately wants to work for the Church but by an large we buy our “art” out of catalogues and so he must work for whoever pays him.  

For a parish to commission a work of art is time consuming, difficult, and dangerous, but worth it.  But do we really need instant art?  What if a congregation had to wait a year or two for their art of finally arrive?  What a day that will be with all of the anticipation building.  And just because it is difficult should we shy away from it?  The vast majority of us will not build a cathedral, but we could pass on a work of art for the generations that you wont run into a dozen copies of in various parishes.  As my grandma would say, “For beauty, you must suffer.”  And it is dangerous.  Finding the right artists is an art itself.  There have been unveilings that were less than stellar.  But when you have a true piece of art, it is piece of evangelization, catechesis, and prayer.

Our painting of the Crucifixion by Eric Armusik in one of the successful pieces.  We have people come to the church (not always necessarily for Mass) just to see it.  We use it for teaching people about the faith.  And during lent people come just to be with the painting and pray.  Would that have happened it was just a copy in a pretty frame?

Much more good is done in the world by commissioning one good piece art than by buying a thousand prints or mass produced statues.  From those working on the committee, raising and donating funds, to inspiring the artist, to bringing something beautiful and unique to your congregation (and beyond,) it truly becomes source of grace for everyone.

ART MATTERS

It was interesting seeing St. Patrick Cathedral transformed from grey and black to this brilliant white color as the structure was cleaned and repaired.  However, it is one thing to see such a building transformed, it is quite another to witness it being built.  There are opportunities to do this however.

The Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York began construction in 1892 and still has quite a ways to go.  But that is what makes it fascinating to visit.  Uncompleted towers are stunted.  Interior stonework simply ends.  The beautiful finish work exteriorly gives way to rough stones and bricks.  Still it is one of the five largest cathedrals in the world.    It is simply magnificent.  Read more HERE.

Historically a church of this size would take about 500 years to build.  For a contemporary peer comparison, recall Sagrada Familia in Barcelona which began construction in 1882.  Both of these structures have only been under construction for a little over a century.  While there is hope that it will not take another full century complete either structure, compared to their elder equivalents,  are going up at lightning speed.

I was visiting St. John Cathedral with a non-Catholic, unchurched architect who marveled at the building even more than I did (and I was pretty awed.)  What was equally as fascinating to me however was the perceived shift in the direction of those in charge of the cathedral from its inception to the modern day.  Granted, I was only there one day and did not engage anyone in deep conversation, so take this with a grain of salt.  But if the art and architecture’s first impression spoke for itself, it was captivatingly interesting.  From what appeared to be a very traditional Christianity, there are contained within its walls one of the earliest modern depictions of “Christa,” Christ as a woman on a plexiglass cross.  Read more HERE about it.  

Speaking with other Catholic sensitive persons, we discovered that we had similar experiences.  Approaching the building, it gave off a welcoming feeling.  In fact, it looked more Catholic than most modern Catholic churches (if I may be so bold.)  It takes a while of being there and taking in the art that a Catholic steeped in religious art will start to feel a little bit unbalanced.  Not that it is bad but that it is different.  It is like being in a parallel universe where everything is just a little bit off as in the Mandela Effect (read more on that HERE.)  One can see clearly in stone, paint, and other mediums how very similar we are, and how very different we are and as time goes by how that divide seems to deepen.  

If you get the opportunity to visit both St. John and St. Patrick, make many mental notes on theme, topics, theological emphases, and philosophical groundings.  It becomes clear how important the arts are and why the Church needs to take seriously her role as patroness of the arts and, in general, stop buying all her mass produced art out of catalogues.

MADE YA LOOK YA DIRTY CROOK, STOLE YOUR MOTHER'S POCKETBOOK

It doesn’t matter if you are on the stage or in the sanctuary, or subject in a painting, it matters where your eyes are focused.  In a painting it matters because your eyes direct the viewer.  For an easy example, think of every painting you’ve ever seen of the manger at Christmas.  Look at anybody’s eyes and their stare will lead you back to the baby Jesus.  Often even the ox and ass (rarely the sheep) are staring, mysteriously mesmerized by Him as if he had snacks hidden in his swaddling clothes.  Their stare constantly draws your eyes back to Him also.

There is a painting in my dentist’s office (shown below) that shows about 5 people looking off into the distance at something out of the range of the painting.  The viewer is left wondering, “What are they looking at?  Of what am I being left out?  Who are these people?  What is the NAME of this painting so that it may give me a clue?  Are they waiting for fireworks?  Is it the sunset?  Are there buffalo out on the range?  

As it turns out this painting is called, “People Out in the Sun” by Edward Hopper (1960) and these awkward looking people are actually manikins placed within the field of a nuclear bomb test to see how it would effect humans.  Suddenly this is a very interesting if not disturbing painting.

But I digress.

If you are on stage (and you are a good actor that doesn’t want to steal focus), your eyes are GLUED to what is going happening on stage so that if an audience member looks at you, their eyes are directed back to the action (unless the action is particularly bad and you are particularly interesting looking.)  If you are looking elsewhere, people will look to see at what you are looking.  If an altar server is looking into the sacristy and smiling instead of paying attention to the consecration, people who inadvertently look at the server will start to wonder what he is looking at instead of being present at the Mass.

If you are a community leader and someone else is speaking before a crowd, you look at the person speaking and are not gossiping with your neighbor.  Because of who you are, people will take their cue from you.  (Not important to him, maybe it shouldn’t be so important to me.)

So it is with life.  Our eyes must be firmly set on Jesus and eternal life.  When we focus too much on the things of the world, especially if we are leaders, bosses, parents, elders, popular figures, then we tempt others to forget about keeping their attention on that which is true, eternal, and most important and are distracted by trying to find out what is so fascinating about things that will pass.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: THE ORIGINAL WORM HOLE

This is the mosaic in the sanctuary at St. Sebastian.  I really, really like the theological message behind it.  (This is, at least conceptually, liturgical art being used at its best.)  It is of the Last Supper.  In the center is Jesus holding the cup (chalice) of wine.  He is surrounded by his Twelve Apostles.  But though it is the Last Supper, there is no table around which they gather and there is no bread.  That is because the altar (the high altar, which was the sole altar used prior to the changes following Vatican II) IS that table around which Jesus and His Apostles gather and the Bread (Body of Christ) is what is on the altar and in the tabernacle.  The idea is to show what some people think of as a historical event is breaking in to our own day at the celebration of the Mass.  At the Mass, it is as if a curtain in time has been opened and we are present at these original events.  That is how they are relevant to us, how they include us in them.  

The Mass we celebrate is part of the One Mass being offered around the world and throughout time.  This altar is the table around which Christ and His Apostles gather.  This is art making complicated, mysterious, invisible realities visible and more comprehendible.  AWESOME.

Anyhoo . . . it is this phenomena that is highlighted in paragraph 79 subsection d of the GIRM as one of the important aspects of the Eucharistic prayer (as if  you wouldn’t have figured that out yourself.)  It is so clear that it does not need much explaining.  This part of the Mass is the part that, “by the words and actions of Christ, that Sacrifice is effected which Christ Himself instituted during the Last Supper, when He offered His Body and Blood under the species of bread and wine, gave them to the Apostles to eat and drink, and leaving with the latter the command to perpetuate this same mystery.”

DAZZLE ME

I pray for wonder.

God is so awesome.  But we are so accustomed to HIs awesomeness.  And just as it is a terrible thing to grow accustomed to evil, it is even more egregious to allow the glorious to grow common.

So pray and fight against it.

One way to do this is through beauty.  Beauty grabs your mind and heart in a vice grip and says, “Wait a minute!  Consider me!”  And instead of fighting against it like we might a dissertation or street preacher, we are utterly helpless, at least for a moment, before true beauty.

The other day I was sitting in the a side chair of our sanctuary praying my Liturgy of the Hours and reviewing my homily before Mass when a server came out to put something on the credence table.  Out of the corner of my eye I saw him look, do a double take, and then just stand and stare at a painting we put in our sanctuary for lent.  

As you saw yesterday, St. Sebastian is in another periodical because of the art generated at the parish.  Nobody asked for a printout of my last homily (which was brilliant and erudite by the way), but they did an article on a painting and because of it I was able to also talk about some truths of the faith.

I think about the time we were on tour with the choir and they began to warm up in the parking lot of a church in which they were about to perform.  People paused in their touring about and stopped and listened.  Had I been simply extolling the virtues of beauty my bet is I would catch fewer people and held on to them for a shorter period.

As Fr. Benedict Groeschel would say, “It is ultimately beauty that will save us.”  You cannot win anyone over if you do not first have their attention.  You won’t get anybody’s attention if you don’t have something beautiful.  Beauty does not come out of a catalogue of mass produced articles.  People are looking for a unique, beautiful voice.  How are you going to give it to them?

I pray for wonder.

TEN THINGS YOUR PARISH CAN DO TO BE ART FRIENDLY

Artists form our perceptions of ourselves.  For example, much of what we believe about the Old West is entirely from artists: writers, painters, movie producers, sculptures, musicians, and the like.  Within this example, take a moment to think over what you perceive as the role of guns in the Old West.  Do you picture cowboys strolling down the boardwalk of an old town, when, all of a sudden, bandits come riding in shooting wildly in the air while women and children clear out of the street.  Suddenly, everybody has their guns out a la the O K corral.  

Nope.  That aint the way it was.

People did not carry their guns around like that.  They were heavy, expensive, and dangerous.  But thanks to the arts this is many people’s perception.

As you have read here before ad naseum, the Church had largely given up her role as Patroness of the Arts, which means we have also given up a lot of influence of how we perceive ourselves.  “He who pays the fiddler calls the tune.”  The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame hires artists to do all kinds of stuff while the local parish is ordering its “art” out of a catalogue so that it can have a print of painting just like Saint Alsobland down the street.

What can your parish do to start changing the tide?  Here are some ideas:

 1. What do already to that participates in the art scene?  Most likely you have music!  Make your music program the best that you can.  It doesn’t have to be The Best, just the best that you can muster.  Invest in music.  If you can, hire qualified and trained musicians.  Encourage quality.  

2. Commission artists for your desired works of art.  Let is say that you want a picture of St. Pope John Paul II.  You could go on line and order a print of a painting and hang it on your wall.  People in the parish will be glad to see it but nobody is going to come from anywhere to be inspired by it.  They more likely will say, “Oh yeah, we’ve got one of those in our parish.”  Make no mistake:  commissioning art can be dangerous!  But better that some people take a risk of finding themselves with the next version of Michael Angelo’s David than have twenty five plastic Davids scattered throughout the diocese.

3. Have parish bus trips to see quality concerts, plays, and museum displays.

4. Sponsor a play to come to your parish.  There are many semi-affordable one man plays about saints and such.

5. Make it a general policy to hire musicians for parish events rather than DJs.

6. Consider having a concert or even a concert series sponsored by the parish.

7. If you have a room that often goes unused, consider allowing a community choir or orchestra to be in residence.

8. Start a gardening club that grows a cutting garden to make arrangements for the sanctuary during the summer months.

9. Start programs that offer classes in the arts.  This way you employ artists, train artists, and expose artists to their craft in a Christian atmosphere.  Make sure your school art program is more than an arts and crafts project recreation time.

10. Commission a song for the parish.

Don’t be tempted to think, “Oh, we are such a small parish with limited resources.  What impact could we really make?”  Rubbish.  When I think of the hundreds of parishes in my own diocese I wonder what would happen if all of them did just one thing from the list above!  What an incredible difference it would make to the fabric of northeast Ohio.

Make no mistake!  It is dangerous and expensive!  It requires risk, careful planning, and prayer.  But the same things could be said about evangelization (of which this is a part.)  Only those who dare magnificently can expect magnificent rewards. 

Or we can just be safe.

THE ONE AND ONLY

About a year ago I received a call from a family of St. Sebastianites, expressing their desire to commission a painting as a gift to the parish and to support Catholic art and artists.  They gave a generous donation toward the project and we contacted Mr. Eric Armusik, the young artist from Hamburg, PA who also executed our beautiful St. Sebastian paintings.  After a period of prayer and discussion, it was decided that the painting would be of the crucifixion and that it would be approximately four by five feet.

 

Mr. Armusik was quite enthused about the project and the scope of the endeavor grew – literally.  The donors kindly enlarged their gift with the artist’s prompting and along with that, the painting grew to nine and a half by five feet!  The plan was to have the painting finished and temporarily installed in our sanctuary for the season of Lent to assist the parish in our Lenten prayers.  But the size of the task, other commissions being handled by the artist, and shipping difficulties delayed its arrival in Akron by several weeks.  But now it is here and installed in time for this last half of this holy season.

 

We are so fortunate to have this new work of art.  There is, in the end, these things: the one, the true, the good, and the beautiful.  And as Fr. Benedict Groeschel was fond of saying, “It is ultimately the beautiful that will save us.” 

 

It is not only beautiful, but utterly unique.  It was not picked out of a catalogue and no one will visit us and say, “We have that one at our parish too!”  There are no mugs, calendars, or prayer cards (yet) with this image on it anywhere in the world.  Like a song of worship, you must be here, at St. Sebastian, to experience its beauty and power to inspire.  May it inspire more Catholics to support Catholic art and artists so that the Church may return to its role of Patroness of the Arts and through it, train artists in the sacred and gain influence once again in the cultural scene.

BOTH STRIKINGLY DIFFERENT AND SIMILAR

This week we are celebrating our titular feast of St. Sebastian. One event to help us celebrate is the unveiling of a new painting of patron.  Below you will see a painting of St. Sebastian done by Mr. Eric Armusik SEE HERE that we obtained a few years ago.  The painting below his was created by Mother Mary Thomas PCPA SEE HERE that was finished late last year (2014).  Here is the interesting thing about these two paintings: they are both depicting the exact same thing but in vastly different ways; the initial volley of the would be executioner's arrows at St. Sebastian.  But one is more symbolic and one is more literal. 

 

The first one by Mr. Armusik is much more realistic in the school of Carivaggio.  But the message he tries to get across is very symbolic.  That Sebastian's death is united with Christ's is symbolized through various means.  The base of the tree to which he is tied looks very much like the base of the Cross.  Five arrows are used to call to mind the five wounds of Christ.  That Sebastian was intimately connected to Christ is shown through the upward turn of his face and the expression of hope shining through his pain.  His left knee is slight raised off of the ground in a motion of trying to stand and lift himself toward God.  

This second painting by Mother Mary Thomas is much more in the style of El Greco.  The figures and background are much more imaginative but the details of the story much more literal.  What was symbolized above is made concrete here.  It is difficult to see because I was not able to get a good picture of this painting so if you want to see, make sure you stop by the parish this week.  Overlapping the images, the post to which Sebastian is bound is transformed into the Cross of Christ.  Along side the arrows that pierced St. Sebastian and the clubs that would eventually be the instruments of his death (to the right of the picture) is the arrow that pierced Christ side and His crown of thorns.  We don't have to imagine the connection of Christ and Sebastian as Jesus' arms are embracing Sebastian and he, with a serene look on his face, turns his head toward him, almost resting on Christ's chest as did the beloved disciple.

That is the exciting type of things art can do.  And it is also why I recommend parishes that can employ artists to create works unique to the parish.  Nowhere else in the world will you see these images.  You must come to St. Sebastian Parish in Akron.

MONDAY DIARY: FIELD TRIP!

Last Monday I was on a field trip, which ate up a sufficient amount of time that the blog post that day had to be skipped.  Sharon Dietrick who is on the board of the Poor Clares, and Wes Hollendonner of Rubber City Productions (see photo below) headed up to St. Paul Shrine (see more here) to interview Mother Thomas (who spoke at a luncheon recently at St. Sebastian as a fundraiser for the new Academy of Culture and Arts) about her two works in progress.  Below is part of her studio.

It was rather a unique experience.  As you might expect not many visitors (especially men) are allowed about the cloister.  So it was a very special and solemn visit for us.

 

This is the backside of a reredos of an old chapel that has been converted into an art studio for Mother.  It is here that Mother is working on a painting of St. Sebastian that will be destined for this parish.  Below is an under coating and Mother is preparing it for the final stage of applying more exact coloring, shading, and details.  This is a picture taken by Sharon of Mother explaining her technique to me while Wes videos.

Wes shoots the nave from over the reredos for the second video we shot while I explored nooks and cranneys.

Below you can see the main room of the chapel.  Behind the altar is where the other pictures were taken.  Here you can see the enormity of the other painting on which Mother is working.  It is of mammoth proportions.  The title of it is Mary, Mother of the Eucharist and was destined for a parish of the same name in Philadelphia.  Unfortunatley, after it was commissioned, it parish was closed.  That is part of the reason for the documentary: a hope to find another home for the painting.

 I think this is one of Mother's finest works.  Here you can see Mary and Jesus surrounded by the communion of saints.  If you could see the rest of the painting it would work its way down to the Church militant.

If you get the chance I recommend a visit to the shrine.  You will get to spend some time in adoration (or go to Mass - see the link above for details) see the beautiful architecture, visit the gift shop (I highly recommend it if for no other reason than that there prices are VERY reasonable) and to see some of Mother's other paintings.  You probably wont get to see Mary, Mother of the Eucharist or St. Sebastian since they are in the cloister.  Hopefully, however, you might be able to see St. Sebastian at the parish as Mother hopes to have him done in time for our annual St. Sebastian Day celebration in January. 



NO ONE PERSON CAN SOLVE THIS PROBLEM - BUT EVERYONE CAN

Michelin makes tires.  They have made tires for a very long time.  It is difficult for us to think of a time when they needed to come up with an idea to get people to drive more in order that their tires might be used more thereby requiring people to buy more of them.  (Not a problem today.)  One of the brilliant things that they did (and still do today) is to start rating restaurants.  This was not just a nice service that a benevolent company performed for travelers who want to find a good meal wherever they happen to be, it was an attempt to get people to drive to the next town, province, state, country, or what have you in order to make their way to a destination restaurant.  How did they get there?  On Michelin tires.  Today we think nothing of driving to the next town in order to get a good meal.  They may not have been solely responsible for this change in our cultural driving habits, but they did help.  They did something.

 

That is the idea behind the Academy of Culture and Arts at St. Sebastian.  Far too many of our churches order their “art” out of catalogues.  Few are truly trained in writing or performing music for the liturgy.  Trained organists are disappearing from the musical scene.  And the only people really paying for “art,” and thereby providing the only meat on which our artists can chew (both figuratively and literally) is the secular world.  There is becoming a dearth of Christian and in particular Catholic artists.

 

The problem is almost too vast to imagine.  Nobody can solve it.  But all of us can do something to make it better, to start forming a culture, to start planting seeds in order that some day things will be different.  We can’t just be happy to point out the problem.  We must do something.

 

The Academy is one of these efforts.  We are going to provide people of all ages in our community the opportunity to learn and be exposed to the arts.  We hope (eventually) to be offering a wide range on instruments, others arts, and languages, to provide a quality concert series to inspire, bring in speakers, and create opportunities to present the arts not only so that decently trained artists might be formed, but even for those who will find themselves not quite as talented as they might hope, will be able to appreciate good art and in appreciating it will, when they are adults, hopefully not settle for ordering their art out of catalogues and will want to train their children in the arts.

 

Several arts organization are coming together in order to make this project work and it will be a slow process of growing and trying.  Eventually it is hoped that a blue print for such an academy, which is a bit more than a school enrichment program, might be offered to other schools that are interested in starting such an endeavor.  As public funds start to dry up for such important ventures in our public schools, we need to ramp up.  Art is far too important to let fester.

 

Starting such a program takes a lot of resources.  If  you (or anyone you can think of) can be of assistance, please let me know!  There is a fund raiser coming up this weekend ($15!) if you are interested.  See more information here.

ISN'T IT JUST TOO BAD?

When the Michelin Tire Company in France wanted to boost car sales (and subsequently a need for tires) they started rating restaurants.  The idea was to cultivate a desire to travel to see these wonderful places and enjoy their outstanding dishes.  It may seem a trifle, but it was a step toward making us the mobile culture that we are.  It was also a long term project.  It would not change the world overnight.  It was a gentle and patient development of a mindset.

 

So when Catholics complain about there not being any good Catholic art I ask, “What are going to do about it even if it will not result in a change for you in the next ten minutes?”  That was thrown back on me when complaining that there are not a lot of qualified organists out there.  There is only one organ major at the local university here this year.  Those that are competent at the organ can afford to be choosey.  They want to play where they have a good instrument in a good building, are paid well, are well respected, and can do “good” music.  Way too often this is not the Catholic Church.  Many of our buildings are not designed for music without complicated (and often inadequate) electronic equipment to make up for poor acoustics.  Our instruments are lesser shelf.  We do not pay well (that may never change), and much of our music is schlock with no desire or room to expand our musical tastes.

 

So, what are we going to do about it?  One thing we are going to try to do (funding is always an issue) is make keyboard lessons available at our parish.  If we can get a good group of youth (or adults) playing keyboard, some may discover a true talent.  Perhaps, since they will be formed in a Catholic setting, they may move to organ and have a desire to play for Mass.  It may not be for any parish that I have anything to do with.  But that is Okay.  If there were 20 parishes in the diocese that did this, then maybe one of the students from another parish will eventually help this community out.

 

Somebody has to start.  There must be a source somewhere.  The fact that it may not benefit me directly is not an excuse not to try something.  It should be seen like vocations.  Rarely does a man return to his home parish.  But in sending someone out, we can hope to receive someone back from another parish that cultivates vocations.

 

So do something.  Have your kids take lessons.  Take lessons.  Give lessons.  Pay for a neighbor kid to take lessons.  Let your music ministry people know that you appreciate them.  Promote – fund – appreciate – value – encourage – but above all – DO SOMETHING.