April 2019

In order to convey the mysteries of our salvation, the sacred liturgy uses signs and symbols which are visible revelations of the invisible realities of the mysteries which are being experienced and presented to us. The art, architecture, music, and linguistic poetics of the Mass are meant to raise the congregation in a united heart and mind of praise, worship, honor, and glory given to God. In order for these concrete signs, which include the gestures and movements of the sacred ministers and the vestments and sacred vessels used, to “lift up our hearts,” they must be beautiful, in order to inspire awe in the presence of the love, light, and majesty of God.

For a brief moment in September 2010, John Henry Newman caught the attention of the world. As Pope Benedict XVI declared him “blessed,” during an apostolic visit to England, Newman’s conversion story was once again newsworthy, as it had been a century and a half before.

The sacred mysteries that we experience in the sacred liturgy, and to which we unite ourselves through an active interior participation in the sacraments, also unite us with the great act of love and salvation worked by Jesus, the Paschal mystery. As Gaudium et Spes states, “The Christian is certainly bound both by need and by duty to struggle with evil through many afflictions and to suffer death; but, as one who has been made a partner in the Paschal mystery, and as one who has been configured to the death of Christ, he will go forward, strengthened by hope, to the resurrection.”

When we think of “teachers” today, we imagine people working in brick-and-mortar schools—with classrooms, mass-produced books, and very young students segregated by age. But there is little evidence that any such institutions existed in the age of the early Fathers. In those early centuries, persecution would have made such gatherings difficult or impossible.

The Sacrament of Confirmation in both forms of the Roman Rite do not differ drastically. This sacrament should be administered within the context of Mass, but the extraordinary form commonly celebrates Confirmation, just like Matrimony, outside of and preceding Mass.

The Catholic Church teaches that Sacred Scripture is truly the Word of God. Through the Bible, God gradually reveals Himself, communicates His plan of salvation, and calls us to a relationship with Him.

When one picks up an academic book, one does not expect to find a lot of beauty. Rarely is an academic book worthy of such appellations as lofty or sublime. Lawrence Feingold’s Eucharist is the exception and can be aptly characterized as both an aesthetic and intellectual feast. It is not that beauty is found on every page or that the author sacrifices intellectual excellence at the expense of spiritual edification.