Category Archives: USCCB documents

Starting with today’s post, we’ll look at the various roles within a parish as we examine BLS 180-195 ”The Role of the Parish Community,” a broad introduction to this subsection, gets two relatively brief paragraphs: § 180 § The entire parish is … Continue reading →

Parish communities do not operate in local isolation. It is essential to gain the consent of the local bishop, and to involve him in what the BLS calls a “discernment process.” People who work for the bishop or who serve … Continue reading →

Process, not project: § 175 § The construction or renovation of a church building is a complex task that demands prayer and reflection, technical expertise and study. A building or renovation project is not the work of the pastor alone, … Continue reading →

Master plan, as in resources, finances, et cetera, not liturgical: § 172 § As part of its stewardship efforts, each parish should have a master plan for the current and future allocation and augmentation of its resources. The master plan … Continue reading →

With this post, we begin the final chapter of Built of Living Stones. Sections 170 through 261 should take us through two months of posts, more or less, and give us a look at the practical side of building or … Continue reading →

Let’s wrap up BLS, Chapter Three with an important question parishes sometimes face: what happens when its time for retirement? First, bishops are responsible: § 166 § Sacred art that is no longer useful or needed or that is simply … Continue reading →

The GIRM bolsters the US bishops on § 164 § As in the case of styles of architecture, there is no particular style for sacred furnishings for the liturgy.(GIRM 325) Sacred vessels may be in “a shape that is in … Continue reading →

John Paul II leads off today’s reflection: § 161 § Artists bridge the worlds of the visible and the mysterious invisible. They focus upon items with specific shapes, sizes, weights, densities, colors, forms, and textures. At the same time, they … Continue reading →

We’re getting into a discussion of bishops ensuring a good relationship between artists and the demands of the liturgy. § 158 § The role of the Church is to educate artists in the appropriate relationships between their personal approach to … Continue reading →

The bishops make a distinction between liturgical and devotional art. Do you agree? Can art be both? § 155 § In order to create art that truly serves the liturgy, the artist must have an understanding of and reverence for … Continue reading →

Let’s wrap up the discussion on “The Artist Within the Christian Community.” § 153 § A commission for a church or for worship affords artists an opportunity to join their creative gifts to those in a long history of artists … Continue reading →

More in the section on “The Artist Within the Christian Community.” Can an artist support Church liturgical practice and belief? These are important questions. Doctrine? The bishops add it, and on major points, I would agree. § 152 § Artists … Continue reading →

Another interesting reflection about the way the institution sometimes doesn’t accomplish things–through persuasion and invitation to encounter God, not arm-twisting. § 151 § Artists respond to the demands of art, actualizing in aesthetic form their ideas, feelings, and intentions so … Continue reading →

Sections 150 through 154 address artists and their relationship with the faithful. The US Bishops owe much of this discussion to Pope John Paul II. § 150 § When artists are called upon to serve the Christian community, there is … Continue reading →

§ 149 § Worthy art is an essential, integral element in the sacred beauty of a church building. Through skilled use of proportion, shape, color, and design, art unifies and helps to integrate the place of worship with the actions … Continue reading →