The Church contributes much to the development of culture.
The concept here is simple, splendid and timeless: when a cardinal pays a visit to his titular church in Rome the parish displays its few donated treasures of gold and silver on the credence table for all to admire.
This is how it's done, as seen in Rome. And this entire credence table was only just last year commissioned, put together and paid for by a lay parishioner (special thanks to Maurizio the Great!) and this is a fine example of (authentic) lay participation!
So many suitable ways to communicate doctrine to the men of our times and so unique to see this in Catholic Rome.
7 comments:
Fascinating.
Can you give any more on the history of this practice? It immediately struck me as having parallels with some post-Reformation practices in the Anglican Church regarding plate.
as a student of the sacred sciences, please explain what doctrine is communicated by this display of chotchke -- an additionally where in the documents of the church is authentic lay participation directly equated with the donation of money.
cf. Gaudium Et Spes Chapter II The Proper Development of Culture...
unlikely in any manner relevant to what you've implied in your commentary, unless you'd like to be more specific than throwing the entire section as evidence hoping that something sticks.
SC on Sacred Art and Furnishings talks about this sort of thing in 126 that we are to "be very careful to see that sacred furnishings and works of value are not disposed of" as these are ornaments of the house of God that ought to be used.
GS on The Proper Development of Culture has lots to say in 53 we read of patrimony: "thus the customs handed down to it form for each human community its proper patrimony. thus, too, is fashioned the specific historical environment which enfolds the men of every nation...from which they draw the values which permit them to promote human...culture.
GS 58 says, "Living in various circumstances during the course of time, the Church, too, has used...the discoveries of different cultures to spread and explain the message of Christ to all nations, to probe it and more deeply understand it, and to give it better expression in liturgical expressions and in the life of the diversified community of the faithful."
What, no potted plants?!
Shocking!
I simply cannot participate fully as a qualified bona fide lay person in the Church without potted plants!
What do you mean by oppressing me in this patriarchal manner!
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