- Feb 5, 2002
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One of my favorite works of art—whether visual, musical, or otherwise—is Mozart’s Requiem. Its beauty reflects something far beyond the mundane, lifting the listener toward unimaginable spiritual heights. When I listen to it, I often experience a mixture of awe and sadness: awe at the God-given genius required to compose such a masterpiece, and sadness for its composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whose personal life seems to have lacked the deep piety one might expect from someone used by God in so extraordinary a way.
The awe I experience before works such as the Requiem stands in stark contrast to what I feel when confronted with religious art, architecture, and music shaped by the horizontal vision of progressive Christianity. This vision often reduces Christianity to service of others—especially the poor—and treats that service as the center of the Gospel rather than the fruit of something greater: the worship of God and the salvation of souls.
We can see this emphasis in much contemporary sacred music, particularly the work of Dan Schutte, including Table of Plenty. We can also see it in the church architecture that emerged during the 1970s and 1980s. Both reflect a broader shift in focus—from God to man, from transcendence to utility, and from worship to community. That shift helps explain why I cannot be a progressive Catholic.
Continued below.
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The awe I experience before works such as the Requiem stands in stark contrast to what I feel when confronted with religious art, architecture, and music shaped by the horizontal vision of progressive Christianity. This vision often reduces Christianity to service of others—especially the poor—and treats that service as the center of the Gospel rather than the fruit of something greater: the worship of God and the salvation of souls.
We can see this emphasis in much contemporary sacred music, particularly the work of Dan Schutte, including Table of Plenty. We can also see it in the church architecture that emerged during the 1970s and 1980s. Both reflect a broader shift in focus—from God to man, from transcendence to utility, and from worship to community. That shift helps explain why I cannot be a progressive Catholic.
The Horizontal Turn
Continued below.
One Reason Why I Cannot Be A Progressive Catholic: Beauty
The Church's highest purpose is not to help us feel at home in this world. It is to prepare us for the next. One of the ways she accomplishes that task is through beauty.
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