Thank You, Beauty of the Liturgy

“Beauty, then, is not mere decoration, but rather an essential element of the liturgical action, since it is an attribute of God himself and his revelation. These considerations should make us realize the care which is needed, if the liturgical action is to reflect its innate splendour.” - Pope Benedict (now Emeritus) XVI

We made it to an earlier Mass this morning, not the usual one we attend.  I was a little bit flustered at trying to find a pew for all seven of us in a church that is filled with big families, just like us.  After having settled down with a child on each of our laps (mine and my husband) we were able to fit on half-a-pew as Mass commenced.

As I prayed through the moments of silence, my mind wandered at the architecture of this church, the beautiful altar, the splendor of the stained glass windows, the majesty of the artwork around me and eventually to the grandeur of the music. It stirred in me a great thanksgiving that within this earthly church there is a beauty that points to that which is eternal. Outside of that building that is the physical church is a world full of turmoil and ugliness, crosses to bear and toil to endure.  But right there in that short hour that was the Mass, all of it gets lost (momentarily) in the beauty of the One, Eternal God.  

I am a lover of pomp and circumstance within the Liturgy, not for the sake of the pomp and circumstance itself but for the heavenly reality to which it points. I have always wondered how majestic and beautiful the heavenly banquet must be like.  These "meager" attempts towards liturgical beauty fills me with a sense of (limited) understanding and a longing for heaven. 

I am thankful today for the beauty of the liturgy within the Catholic Church.  It has saved me many times from a life of apathy, despair and self-centeredness.  It continues to save me from a world with it's distorted idea of beauty that seeks only itself.