JESUS CARITAS

Year for Priests:
St. John Vianney

Part Four: The beauty of God's house

By Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted | Sept. 17, 2009 | The Catholic Sun 

Editor’s note: This is the fourth and final part in a series of columns in celebration of the holy Year for Priests.

“Every experience of beauty points to infinity.”

This conviction of Hans Urs von Balthasar was shared by St. John Vianney. While the confessional was the place where Fr. Vianney spent the largest part of his time, it was not the only place that received his pastoral attention. It is true that people traveled to Ars from all over France and beyond to go to confession to this holy priest. At the same time, they were edified by the beauty of the parish church there, by the dignity of the Sacred Liturgy, and above all by the radiance of the pastor’s holiness of life. This attention to beauty evidenced his aesthetic sensitivity, his priestly zeal for the things of God, and his shining love of the Lord.

Ugly as sin

A few years ago, Michael S. Rose published a controversial book about modern church architecture that he entitled “Ugly as Sin.” As you might surmise from the title, he was highly critical of church architecture in the last decades of the 20th century when it moved away from traditional concepts of harmonious form, verticality and spiritual realism in favor of the abstract, the novel, and the horizontal.

Fr. Vianney was dismayed, but for somewhat different reasons, at what he found in Ars. His heart sank when he first laid eyes upon the shabby, unkempt condition of the parish church. But it was not just the church building that was dilapidated, the vestments were also soiled and threadbare, and the sacred vessels were dirty and bent. The spiritual poverty of the people was reflected in the ugliness of the church building and its furnishings. Beauty was lacking in this place.

Perhaps the Cure of Ars recalled Jesus’ zeal for His Father’s house, so dramatically described in the Gospel according to St. John (Cf. Jn 2:13-22). Fr. Vianney set out at once to remedy the situation, especially the spiritual poverty and doctrinal confusion that was reflected in the external chaos.

The radiance of being

Knowing that beauty is intrinsically connected with goodness and truth, Fr. Vianney dedicated himself to daily catechesis and carefully prepared sermons. He was convinced that the teachings of our Catholic faith would open people’s eyes to the goodness and beauty of God, which shines forth in the lives of the saints and in the sacraments of the Church. The most important key to his pastoral effectiveness was the compelling witness of his own life.

The Catechism reminds us of this truth (#2044), “In order that the message of salvation can show the power of its truth and radiance before men, it must be authenticated by the witness of the life of Christians.” It goes on to say (#2502), “This spiritual beauty of God is reflected in the most holy Virgin Mother of God, the angels and saints.”  

There is some truth to the familiar saying, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Our inner disposition of soul impacts on our ability to appreciate the beautiful. Moral depravity impedes one’s ability to do this. Overindulgence and excess also dim our vision and even blind us to its presence.

Beauty goes beyond personal taste and individual preference. It is rooted in reality itself and in the source of reality, i.e. in God, the Creator. In fact, beauty is the radiance of being. To the extent that any creature is good, to that extent it is beautiful.

Pastoral care built on beauty

While Fr. Vianney himself lived in austere poverty, he showed no austerity in caring for the Sacred Liturgy. With his own money, he purchased a new altar. With his own hands, he painted the walls of the church. Step by step, he restored beauty to every part of the parish life in Ars. Dom Ernest Graf wrote of him, “He set himself the task of replenishing what he called, in a touching phrase, ‘the household furniture of the good God.’ Thus it came about that the goldsmiths and embroiderers of Lyons had the amazing experience of seeing a country priest, wearing a shabby cassock, rough shoes, and a battered old hat and who seemingly had not a sou [a coin] in his pocket, ordering the most expensive articles in their shops. Only the best was good enough for his little village church.”

Eventually, the whole church edifice was enlarged, a bell tower was added, sacred art was strategically displayed, and side chapels were erected — especially one dedicated to the Mother of God and another dedicated to his “special agent with God,” the virgin martyr St. Philomena. At the general audience of May 21, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI said: “Faith is love, and so it creates poetry and music. Faith is joy, and so it creates beauty.” St. John Vianney fully embodied the wisdom of these words in his priestly ministry.

The archbishop of Brussels, Cardinal Danneels, reflecting a few years ago on the key issues facing the Church in the 21st century, suggested that we need to give more attention to beauty: “…I ask myself whether we are using sufficiently one of the doors that leads to God — the door named Beauty. Indeed, God is Truth, Holiness and Moral Perfection, but God is also Beauty. One can find God through the door of truth, for truth attracts us. But many of our contemporaries are little Pilates who ask: ‘What is truth?’ and remain outside the door without entering. God as Moral Perfection and Holiness also attracts us. But many will say: ‘Moral perfection attracts me, but I’m incapable of it,’ and they remain outside that door marked by their moral weaknesses. But beauty disarms: it is irresistible for contemporary men and women. Young students discuss and study courses on questions of dogma (the True) and morality (the Good). But after a performance of the ‘Passion According to Saint Matthew’ by Johann Sebastian Bach, they are disarmed and left speechless. The Church has so many beautiful things to say and to show to the world, not only in its artistic heritage, but also in so many saints who shone with beauty.”

Through St. John Vianney’s pastoral care, centered on beauty, this patron saint of priests inspired many to holiness of life in his day. Even now, in AD 2009, he has much to teach us about handing on the Good News of Christ in the most attractive ways.