WHEN THE MISLED MISLEADS: BAPTIZING AN ARCHITECTURAL REVOLUTION AS CATHOLIC?!
A PROLOGUE: MORE THAN BRICKS AND STONES Think on this: a church is never merely a building. Before the priest says a word, the building is already saying something. The altar says something. The tabernacle says something. The crucifix says something. The sanctuary says something. The communion rail says something. The statues say something. Even the direction in which priest and people face says something. A Catholic church is therefore not simply a shelter in which Catholics happen to gather for worship. It is itself a kind of catechism. It teaches through stone, wood, marble, glass, metal, space, silence and symbolism. It tells the Catholic what the Mass is. It tells him who the priest is. It tells him what the Eucharist is. It tells him where God is. It tells him whether the sanctuary is sacred. It tells him whether the altar is primarily an altar of sacrifice or merely resembles a table. It tells him whether worship is directed ...