As a fan of modern design I have to admit that I like the church presented here HOWEVER I do not think it should be a church. It suffers from the lack of something that a Catholic Church requires, that a dentist office does NOT require.



Modern design, as a whole, is stark and bare. It’s usually pretty cold. It is almost completely devoid of the intimate human touch of older churches. Let me explain...

Modern architecture tends to focus on pure forms and sacramentality is not like that. Creation is messy. To me, modern design left unencumbered in a Church tends to implicitly deny the Incarnation. It is hard to think of Jesus as anything other than a vague blob in a church like that. Contrast this to older churches. The forms are human. They touch us personally. A realistic looking crucifix can touch us in a way that an interpretive modern sculpture that merely reminds us of Jesus cannot. I don't want to have to put out the effort to take a basic form and project my humanity towards it in order to elevate me into contemplation of the Incarnation. I want the art to complete that leap for me. It is far less work on my part and I start the contemplative journey far closer to the goal than if I have to make the effort to "see" what is implied rather than what is.

We have a modern church in town that I DO like very much. The stations are works of art. They are graphic, messy.... and human. The Mary statue and the crucifix are also fantastic for the same reasons. I feel like I am AT the foot of the cross when looking at them. The Church is also designed to make you feel like you are outside and since the Church is in the woods you have the natural outdoor beauty saturating the stark forms that are the building itself. The building is designed to give way to that. God's natural creation, of course, isn't missing this element. So in the case of that Church, it works.

It simply takes a lot of effort and UNDERSTANDING of the sacramental nature of the faith to apply modern design in a Catholic setting and that effort usually isn't put into it. Art for arts sake is inappropriate and most modern designers are infected with this thought process. They don't "get" Catholicism and it comes out in the design of their churches. Without the goal of glorifying God you end up with a Church that totally misses, and undermines, the worship that takes place within.

That’s just my two ... from a fan of modern design.

excerpt from conversation I had on this after initially posting it
weunice: ... I think the purpose of the crucifix just hit me ... being as that we are taking part in the once for all sacrifice of Christ at Calvary, we are in essence actually AT the foot of the cross. The crucifix, partially at least, reminds us and helps us fully realize that. It makes us feel like we are at the foot of the cross moreso than just intellectually knowing that is what is going on ... sorry, you likely knew that but it is a light bulb for me
weunice: and that it why it should be Jesus as he was at the cross, crucified ...