Notre Dame's Fire and the Poverty Pushers
Recently on the world stage is the burning of the world-famous Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, the Catholic architectural epicenter of France and arguably of Europe (outside of the Vatican). On Monday, the beginning of Holy Week, the famed cathedral was up in flames, which at this point has been said to have been caused accidentally. By the grace of God, the structural integrity is still intact, but not without plenty of damage. (A notable point would be that the neo-modern altar in the center of the Church has burned, while the main altar in the sanctuary remains resiliently sturdy. I’ll nod to our Blessed Lady for the added protection, there.)
The world watched on and has since gathered together to begin pouring in donations for the restoration of the iconic building, and it is estimated to have raised somewhere in the neighborhood of $450 million. What a testament to the endless fount of God’s grace!
Naturally, there are numerous critics coming to the scene with the news reporting of the massive amount of financial donations for the cause of restoring Notre Dame. It is no surprise that the naysayers of modern times come to the helm prepared to pounce at any mention of supporting Christian architectural beauty.
They come wielding old-aged critiques such as the Church (and Catholicism in particular) ought never to invest that amount of money into stained glass, golden chalices, or building(s). They’ll blast the Church in Judas-fashion for not taking “all that money” and giving it to the poor instead (see John 12:5). These sorts of attacks are as old as the hills, but nevertheless require engagement as they arise time and again.
With an innocent heart, these questions are fine indeed. However, there are some with a personal vendetta against the Bride of Christ who seek to tear her down, and that will always be the case with humanity. So, why doesn’t the Church take those donations and reroute them to the poor? Shouldn’t the Church take care of the poor as their highest priority? The answer to the latter is of course “no.”
Pope Benedict XVI, in his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, wrote that the Church has a three-fold responsibility. He says, “The Church's deepest nature is expressed in her […] responsibility: of proclaiming the word of God (kerygma-martyria), celebrating the sacraments (leitourgia), and exercising the ministry of charity (diakonia). These duties presuppose each other and are inseparable.”1
Given these three responsibilities that the Church must adhere to, we can reason that it is a fallacy to attempt to pin the care of the poor as the unique and primary focus of the Church. If it were true that the Church’s only role was to provide for the poor (who, by the way, will always be with us- refer to John 12:8) then there would be no distinction between Christianity and any other secular institution whose purpose was to provide for our impoverished brethren. Anyone who knows anything seriously about Christianity must recognize this fact. While taking care of the poor is fundamental and tantamount to the Christian life, it is not the only thing we ought to do, nor is it the primary.
When the critics come guns-a-blazing to put asunder the efforts of restoring the cathedral, or any sacred architecture or art, they are missing the point entirely. These buildings are not banks where we throw our money willy-nilly into the Catholic abyss while we point our noses down on the poor. Nay! These sacred historical monuments propel the soul upward in their beauty. They bring the soul from earth into the transcendence of God. That is the mission of the beautiful architecture. It is not to boast of the fiscal sacrifice required to bring the plans of the churches to fruition, no. It is to provide a means for the thrice holy God to embrace His beloved; you.
The way of beauty is an exceptional path to take to come to grips with the reality of our Heavenly Father and His only begotten Son and the Holy Spirit. The human heart longs for beauty and that is precisely what Notre Dame gives to her admirers. There have been countless accounts of people walking into a church as such and confessing that there is but One Lord: Jesus Christ, and their entire lives are forever changed simply due to having entered into such a magnificent work of art. The way of beauty provides an objective and real way to encounter the God of the universe who so dearly loves us.
What of the architects who built and designed these masterpieces? Ought the naysayers look them in the eyes and say, “No, do not build these churches; go, instead, and give your money to the poor. That is the real pressing matter here. You need not build these entirely-too-expensive buildings. Now go.” Absolutely not! This is absurd. These brilliant minds were conceived by our Heavenly Father with the mission to construct a dwelling place that thrusts our human souls up to the Lord in contemplation of His beauty. The very essence of these architects is to give God glory and for their fellow man come to know Him with love in the same way the mastermind builders attempt to. It is about giving God His due glory; not that He needs it, but that we do.
Let us also consider the poor, whom are supposedly the only superiorly worthy recipients of our money (over that of architectural beauty). Should not the poor have a place to go to ponder the universe and the existence of God? Should the same naysayers look on them and say, “No, no overly-detailed churches here to contemplate the divine. Why would you need that? You have your basic needs met, don’t you? What could you need stained glass or a high alter carved of stone to gaze upon for?” Give me a break! To deny the least of our brothers and sisters the opportunity of pondering the infinite and the beautiful is arrogant and prideful. As St. Augustine says, “Our hearts are restless, o Lord, until they rest in Thee.” Let all men contemplate the beauty of God, and let our churches be a vessel for this to take place. Let the beautiful architecture of Notre Dame and churches alike stir within the human heart the restless thirst for God which, we pray, leads to an all-out search for Him.
Let us not tend toward Judas the Iscariot and sneer at those who desire to give God His glory due in an alternative way to charity to the poor. Let us nourish the artistic capacity of bringing souls to salvation through the means of our sacred Churches.
The next time we hear a critic thrash the Church and Christianity in general because of our love of the Beautiful (namely God), let us invite that person into a silent and beautiful church that God granted the capacity to be constructed for the purpose of glorifying Him. Extend your heart and your hand to bring the wandering and thirsty soul to the divine Love and ponder at their side the glory of our Lord made easier to contemplate thanks to our artistic brethren, gifted by the Creator of the universe.
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1. (http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est.html paragraph 25)
