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Beauty
& Decorum in the House of God
Also See:
Modesty / Immodest Dress
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"Urge
them to...greatly love the beauty of God's house" (Pope Pius
IX, "Qui Pluribus", 1846)
"[Y]ou
should undoubtedly always give special attention to the beauty of
the house of God and the splendor and dignity of objects dedicated
to the divine service. Such beauty and splendor often greatly
inspire the faithful, and draw them to the veneration of sacred
realities." (Pope Pius VI, "Inscrutabile", 1775)
"Can.
1178 Let all those who see to such things take care that
cleanliness, as befits the house of God, is observed in churches;
let there be restrained from them business and transactions, even
if they have a pious purpose [as well as] generally anything that
ill becomes the holiness of the place." (1917 Code of Canon
Law)
"Can.
1210 In a sacred place only those things are to be permitted which
serve to exercise or promote worship, piety and religion. Anything
out of harmony with the holiness of the place is forbidden. The
Ordinary may however, for individual cases, permit other uses,
provided they are not contrary to the sacred character of the
place." (1983 Code of Canon Law)
"Can.
1220 §1 Those responsible are to ensure that there is in churches
such cleanliness and ornamentation as befits the house of God, and
that anything which is discordant with the sacred character of the
place is excluded. §2 Ordinary care for preservation and
appropriate means of security are to be employed to safeguard
sacred and precious goods." (1983 Code of Canon Law)
"[A]
provident and enlightened care is to be taken, that in the house
of the Lord there be nothing disorderly, nothing unseemly"
(Council of Trent, Twenty-Fourth Session)
"Lord
our God, save your people, and bless your inheritance; guard the
fullness of your Church: hallow them that love the beauty of your
house. Glorify them in recompense with your divine power: and
forsake not them that put their trust in you." (St. John
Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church)
"In
fine, let so great care and diligence be used herein by bishops,
as that there be nothing seen that is disorderly, or that is
unbecomingly or confusedly arranged, nothing that is profane,
nothing indecorous, seeing that holiness becometh the house of
God." (Council of Trent, Twenty-fifth Session)
"The
house of prayer in which the Most Holy Eucharist is celebrated and
reserved, where the faithful gather and where the presence of the
Son of God, Our Savior, offered for us on the altar of sacrifice
bestows strength and blessings on the faithful, must be spotless
and suitable for prayer and sacred functions." (Second
Vatican Council)
"We
command also that the aforesaid churches, vessels, corporals, and
vestments be kept clean and bright. For it is absurd to tolerate
in sacred things a filthiness that is unbecoming even in profane
[that is, secular] things." (Fourth Lateran Council)
"Let no one approach this holy Table without reverent
devotion and fervent love, without true penitence, or without
recalling the mystery of his redemption." (St. Thomas
Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian in the
history of the Church")
"When we approach the altar we must, with God's help, prepare
ourselves with all our power, and search into every corner of our
souls, lest any sin be hidden therein." (St. Augustine,
Doctor of the Church)
"Go to your adoration as one would go to Heaven, to the
divine banquet." (St. Peter Julian Eymard)
"But, assuredly, all of the duties which man has to fulfill,
that without doubt, is the chiefest and holiest which commands him
to worship God with devotion and piety." (Pope Leo XIII)
"When you hear Mass, do you come in the same frame of mind as
the Blessed Virgin at Calvary? Because it is the same God, and the
same Sacrifice." (St. John Vianney)
"When you are before the altar where Christ reposes, you
ought no longer to think that you are amongst men; but believe
that there are troops of angels and archangels standing by you,
and trembling with respect before the sovereign Master of Heaven
and earth. Therefore, when you are in church, be there in silence,
fear, and veneration." (St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the
Church)
"Now the exhortation of the Apostle, 'Let this mind be in you
which was also in Christ Jesus,' requires that all Christians
should possess, as far as is humanly possible, the same
dispositions as those which the divine Redeemer had when He
offered Himself in sacrifice: that is to say, they should in a
humble attitude of mind, pay adoration, honor, praise and
thanksgiving to the supreme majesty of God." (Pope Pius XII,
Mediator Dei)
"All
the faithful should be aware that to participate in the
eucharistic sacrifice is their chief duty and supreme dignity, and
that not in an inert and negligent fashion, giving way to
distractions and day-dreaming, but with such earnestness and
concentration that they may be united as closely as possible with
the High Priest" (Pope Pius XII)
"[I]t is necessary that the spirit of
the sacred liturgy and its directives should exercise such a
salutary influence on them that nothing improper be introduced nor
anything unworthy of the dignity of the house of God or
detrimental to the sacred functions or opposed to solid
piety." (Pope Pius XII, "Mediator Dei", 1947)
"A
person who is about to make a request to a secular prince takes
pains to compose himself and his words by decent dress, becoming
gesture, regulated speech and close attention of mind. How much
more careful ought he to be in all these things when he is about
to pray to almighty God in a sacred place!" (Council of
Basel)
"Three
characteristics of which Our predecessor [St.] Pius X spoke should adorn
all liturgical services: sacredness, which abhors any profane
influence; nobility, which true and genuine arts should serve and
foster; and universality, which, while safeguarding local and
legitimate custom, reveals the Catholic unity of the Church."
(Pope Pius XII, "Mediator Dei", 1947)
"Filled
as We are with a most ardent desire to see the true Christian
spirit flourish in every respect and be preserved by all the
faithful, We deem it necessary to provide before anything else for
the sanctity and dignity of the temple, in which the faithful
assemble for no other object than that of acquiring this spirit
from its foremost and indispensable font" (Pope St. Pius X,
"Inter Sollicitudines", 1904)
"This
holy synod forbids chapters and other meetings of canons to be
held, or chapter business to be transacted, at the same time as
the principal Mass, especially on solemn feasts, unless an urgent
and manifest necessity suddenly occurs." (Council of Basel)
"We
desire to commend and urge the adornment of churches and altars.
Let each one feel moved by the inspired word, 'the zeal of thy
house hath eaten me up'; and strive as much as in him lies that
everything in the church, including vestments and liturgical
furnishings, even though not rich nor lavish, be perfectly clean
and appropriate, since all is consecrated to the Divine Majesty." (Pope Pius XII,
"Mediator Dei", 1947)
"Among
the cares of the pastoral office, not only of this Supreme Chair,
which We, though unworthy, occupy through the inscrutable
dispositions of Providence, but of every local church, a leading
one is without question that of maintaining and promoting the
decorum of the House of God in which the august mysteries of
religion are celebrated, and where the Christian people assemble
to receive the grace of the Sacraments, to assist at the Holy
Sacrifice of the Altar, to adore the most august Sacrament of the
Lord's Body and to unite in the common prayer of the Church in the
public and solemn liturgical offices. Nothing should have place,
therefore, in the temple calculated to disturb or even merely to
diminish the piety and devotion of the faithful, nothing that may
give reasonable cause for disgust or scandal, nothing, above all,
which directly offends the decorum and sanctity of the sacred
functions and is thus unworthy of the House of Prayer and of the
Majesty of God." (Pope St. Pius X, "Inter Sollicitudines",
1903)
"In
some churches, during certain celebrations of the year, there are
carried on various scandalous practices. Some people with mitre,
crozier and pontifical vestments give blessings after the manner
of bishops. Others are robed like kings and dukes; in some regions
this is called the feast of fools or innocents, or of children.
Some put on masked and theatrical comedies, others organize dances
for men and women, attracting people to amusement and buffoonery.
Others prepare meals and banquets there. This holy synod detests
these abuses. It forbids ordinaries as well as deans and rectors
of churches, under pain of being deprived of all ecclesiastical
revenues for three months, to allow these and similar frivolities,
or even markets and fairs, in churches, which ought to be houses
of prayer, or even in cemeteries. They are to punish transgressors
by ecclesiastical censures and other remedies of the law. The holy
synod decrees that all customs, statutes and privileges which do
not accord with these decrees, unless they add greater penalties,
are null." (Council of Basel)
"Holiness
befits the house of the Lord; it is fitting that he whose abode
has been established in peace should be worshipped in peace and
with due reverence. Churches, then, should be entered humbly and
devoutly; behavior inside should be calm, pleasing to God,
bringing peace to the beholders, a source not only of instruction
but of mental refreshment. Those who assemble in church should
extol with an act of special reverence that name with is above
every name, than which no other under heaven has been given to
people, in which believers must be saved, the name, that is, of
Jesus Christ, who will save his people from their sins. Each
should fulfil in himself that which is written for all that at the
name of Jesus every knee should bow; whenever that glorious name
is recalled, especially during the sacred mysteries of the Mass,
everyone should bow the knees of his heart, which he can do even
by a bow of his head. In churches the sacred solemnities should
possess the whole heart and mind; the whole attention should be
given to prayer. Here where it is proper to offer heavenly desires
with peace and calm, let nobody arouse rebellion, provoke clamour
or be guilty of violence. The consultations of universities and of
any associations whatever must cease to be held in churches, so
also must public speeches and parliaments. Idle and, even more,
foul and profane talk must stop; chatter in all its forms must
cease. Everything, in short, that may disturb divine worship or
offend the eyes of the divine majesty should be absolutely foreign
to churches, lest where pardon should be asked for our sins,
occasion is given for sin, or sin is found to be committed."
(Second Council of Lyons)
Also
See: Sacred
Art / Images | Sacred
Furnishings | Sacred
Music | Silence
in Church | Kneeling
/ Prostrating / Bowing / Genuflecting | Proper
/ Improper Church Attire | Reverence
| Against
Applause / Noise in Church
| Sacred
Vessels Not To Be
Touched by Laity | Sacred
Things Not to be Put to Repugnant / Inappropriate Uses | Against
Reducing to Antiquity | Notorious
Public Criminals Not to Serve at Altar / Assist at Services | Denial
of Eucharist to Public Sinners | Places
Under Church Not to Be Put to Secular Use / No Opening to House of
Laity | All
Laity Forbidden to Preach in Church | Loss
of Dedication / Consecration / Blessing | Altars
| The
Tabernacle | Goodness
/ Beauty | Holiness
Over Beauty | Desirable
that Men & Women be Separated in Church | "Our
Responsibilities in God's House" (Flier / Resources) | Bowing
Down (Topical Scripture) | Reverence
(Topical Scripture) | Fear
of the Lord
(Topical Scripture) | Catholic
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