Holy Father Benedict XVI writes in his exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis these profound words: 'Like the rest of Christian Revelation, the liturgy is inherently linked to beauty: it is veritatis splendor'. (n.35) This thought corresponds directly to the Word of God from the Book of Psalms: 'In his presence are splendour and majesty, in his sanctuary power and beauty'. (Ps 96:6). The Psalmist sings not only of the beauty of the Lord’s resplendent dwelling, he exclaims that: 'every work that He does is full of splendour and beauty' (Ps 111:3).
I like what Archbishop Piero Marini, Master of Papal Liturgical Celebrations wrote in his document Liturgy and Beauty of 2002:
(quote)
2. The source of the liturgy’s beauty
Is there a boundary between aesthetic emotion and an authentic sense of the spiritual? Is a beautiful liturgy one which satisfies the tastes of consumers? The liturgy is not a consumer good; it is not the Church’s supermarket! We know it is first and foremost the work of God, adoration, reception, bestowal. Hence we must ask ourselves what are the fundamental criteria for the beauty of the liturgy, apart from trends and tastes. It would be a great error simply to apply secular standards of aesthetic taste to the liturgy.
2.1. The liturgy, an act of Christ and the Church
To understand the beauty of the liturgy we must begin with our understanding of the Church. The Church «in Christ is a kind of sacrament, that is a sign and instrument of intimate union with God and of the unity of all mankind » (LG 1). As a “sign” the Church is therefore able in some degree to render perceptible Christ, the sacrament of salvation. It is precisely from this sacramental nature that the sacraments in the strict sense are articulated. The sacrament, as an act of the Church, is also the act of Christ, since the Church is simply doing what Christ taught and commanded her to do: «Do this in memory of me» (Lk 22: 19). The Sacraments are channels through which Christ communicates to us his salvation: «When a man baptises it is really Christ himself who baptises» (SC 7). As Saint Leo the Great states: «That which was visible in Christ passed to the sacraments of the Church».[2] The liturgy is an act of Christ and his Church. It depends not so much on the intellectual sphere as on the principle of the Incarnation, and therefore evidently implies an aesthetic dimension. Our gestures during the liturgy are important because they are gestures of Jesus. In her liturgical celebration and the concrete gestures it requires, the Church is simply prolonging and actualising the Lord’s own gestures. Therefore, since liturgical gestures are gestures of Christ they have a beauty and aesthetic value of their own, apart from any additional or secondary beauty which we might strive to give them.
2.2. The noble simplicity of love
The Gospels describe the human and concrete gestures of Jesus: he walks, he blesses, he touches, he heals, he mixes saliva and mud, he raises his eyes to heaven, he breaks the bread, he takes the cup. These are the gestures repeated in the celebration of the sacraments. But it was above all on the night of his passion that Jesus taught us the gestures that we too must perform. He is our master of liturgical education. His art consists in setting forth the essential in a few simple things. The meaning of the liturgy is revealed only through simplicity and sobriety. «He always loved those who were his own in the world. When the time came for him to be glorified by you his heavenly Father; he showed the depth of his love. While they were at supper he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his disciples saying […]. In the same way, he took the cup, filled with wine. He gave you thanks, and giving the cup to his disciples, said […] ».[3] What is it that made this act of the Lord so beautiful? The way the room was arranged? The way the table was prepared? Fine table linen? Certainly these things bring out its beauty, like a frame which enhances the beauty of a picture. Yet the real beauty lies in Jesus’ act of redeeming love: «he showed the depth of his love… he took bread». Here lies the beauty of his gesture. Repeating this action of Christ, and recognising in it her Lord’s love, the Church finds it beautiful. The liturgy’s aesthetic value, its beauty, depends primarily therefore not on art, but on the paschal mystery of love. If art is to collaborate with the liturgy it needs to be evangelised by love. The beauty of a Eucharistic celebration essentially depends not on the beauty of architecture, icons, decoration, songs, vestments, choreography and colours, but above all on the ability to reveal the gesture of love performed by Jesus. Through the gestures, words and prayers of the liturgy we strive to repeat and render visible the gestures, prayers and words of the Lord Jesus. This is what the Lord commanded: «Do this in memory of me».
The style of our liturgy should be simple and austere, as was the style of Jesus. In our celebrations, according to the Council Fathers, we must master of the art of «noble simplicity» (SC 34). (end of quote)
Richard Feynman (a Nobel laureate in physics) can say: "You can recognize truth by its beauty and simplicity". It follows, that God himself is quite simply Beauty.
Urs von Balthasar said: "We can be sure that whoever sneers at [Beauty] as if she were the ornament of a bourgeois past - whether he admits it or not - can no longer pray and soon will no longer be able to love" (GL 1, 18).
Cardinal George Pell, of Sydney, Australia, was keynote speaker at a conference on the liturgy held July 12-13, 2009 on Fota Island, Cork, Ireland. “Benedict XVI on Church Art and Architecture” was the topic of the conference. I reckon the findings of that conference (read here) very important and timely, also for me and for us in the Catholic Church in Tanzania.
Landing back in own courtyard I find this Swahili saying in Tanzania beautiful, profound and pinpoint correct: 'Anayetaka kusali vizuri, asali pazuri' (whoever wants to pray beautifully, should pray in a beautiful place).
I have always upheld this convinction in my priestly life and wherever I went, I tried my best to manifest the Beauty of God through architecture, art, music and beauty of liturgy.
Yesterday, when I was celebrating Baptism Mass on Sunday of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, meditating on the mystery of Triune God, I was encompassed by thoughts of the Beauty of God and how important it is to translate this Beauty into the beauty of church architecture, music, liturgy, vestments, decorations and orderly manner of celebrating holy mysteries.
My senses were acutely aware how noble, simple and beautiful our yesterday liturgy was, how beautiful (relatively to what we experience around us here) is our church, its art, orderly manner of celebrating the holy mysteries. How we should be taken by the Holy Spirit to raise our hearts to the Beauty itself, who is God Almighty, One in Three Persons, in love, praise, adoration and joy...
Thank You, Who are the Beauty itself, for Your blessings which allowed us to build this holy shrine for you and celebrate You, Our God, in noble simplicity and beauty of the Liturgy of Your Holy Church...
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