Important Conference in London: The Royal Priesthood and the Renewal of the Church

June 20-22, at St Mary’s University in London: Register Today.

My friend Fr Andrew Marlborough sent me information about what promises to be a great conference, which he is helping to organise, on “The Royal Priesthood and the Renewal of the Church”. Readers may recognise his name from articles of his which we have shared here on sacred art and artefacts appearing in auction houses in the UK and Europe.

The poster is below. As you can see (click to enlarge), there is a great list of speakers, including highly respected names from both sides of the pond. I am delighted that Fr Brad Elliott, OP, was also recently added to the list of speakers; he is the author of the book I recently featured, The Shape of the Artistic Mind, about creativity and the virtue of art according to St Thomas.

Sarum Use Vespers and Liturgical Art – Heaven on Earth

Some NLM readers will already be aware of the Sarum Use Vespers and Benediction that took place on March 1 at the Princeton University Chapel. Here, I present an account of a talk I gave before the event about the art used in the ceremony, which was commissioned especially for the occasion, explaining the choice of content and style, and how it harmonises with the activity of worship.  

I don’t think I have ever seen a more complete harmony of words, music, art, architecture, and action in the liturgy. The music by 16th-century English composers Thomas Tallis and Robert White was sung magnificently by Gabriel Crouch and the Gallicantus early music group. The spectacular Magnificat by White can be heard at the 39-minute mark in the video below, which I give you now in case you missed it the first time. 

The second video is of the three short talks given before the service. The first, by James Griffin of the Durandus Institute, explained the history of the Sarum Use. I gave the second one about sacred art as a part of worship. In my capacity as Artist-in-Residence of the Scala Foundation - a co-sponsor of the event - I was invited to choose the art which was commissioned especially for this occasion. The third was by Gabriel Crouch, the Director of Choral Activities at Princeton University and the Musical Director of the choir Gallicantus, who spoke about the history of music and its composers. 

Peter Carter, who founded The Catholic Sacred Music Project and is the music director for The Aquinas Institute at Princeton University, was a strong driving force behind the evening. In large part, thanks to his vision and hard work, an estimated 1,000 people attended this incredible event at the Princeton University Chapel, built in the 1930s. I wonder whether so many people have ever knelt in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in this magnificent space. Here is the video of Vespers and Benediction.

...and here is the video of the talks...

The following is what I prepared prior to the occasion, and is a combination of what I said and what appeared in the program:

Choosing Contemporary Art for Sarum Use Vespers Today

St Chad and the Holy Face of Christ were painted by a young artist named Ander Scharbach (https://www.ander-scharbach.com/), from Baltimore, Maryland. The Crucifixion and the Mother of God are painted by an established artist, Ioana Belcea (IoanaBelcea.com), based in Princeton, New Jersey. Their work is for sale, and they take commissions.

St Chad by Ander Scharbach

The Crucifixion and St Chad were painted especially for this occasion. Each artist was asked to draw personal inspiration from the English Gothic style of the 13th century School of St Albans, a period when the Sarum Use Liturgy was at its height. This tradition of sacred art is characterized by the description of form with the elegant flow of line, a limited palette with muted colour, and by having ornate, patterned borders.

The results are contemporary yet traditional. No artist would have painted like this in 13th-century England. Still, everyone in 13th-century England would have been able to relate to the images every bit as much as the worshipers in 21st-century America, who excitedly mobbed the artists after the Vespers were over, to ask about the beautiful icons they had seen. This is because the art conforms to traditional principles of liturgical art, which are universal.

Crucifixion by Ioana Belcea, based on the 12th century Winchester Psalter

Sacred art shows us what we do not see with our eyes in the here and now. It portrays the saints and angels praying with us in heaven eternally. It illuminates the truths behind the actions of the liturgy and focuses our attention on what is important at any given time in the course of our worship.

There is a reason that we follow tradition. The art we chose conforms to a style developed gradually over generations and centuries, going back to the early Church, to fulfil its purpose well, which is to aid us in a deep participation in the worship of God. How would one measure such a thing? It is not primarily by whether people like it, or how we respond emotionally. Instead, the Church, in her wisdom, observes the fruits of that worship. Does the art incline people to go out and serve the Lord and love our neighbors as ourselves? Does it lead to lives of greater virtue? While we always hope that all will like the art and wonder at its beauty, there are other goals than this. The purpose of this art is to influence the lives of Christian worshipers so that they become better Christians. Getting this right takes patience and careful observation of many iterations of style and so once we get it right we mess with traditional forms at our peril. If we arbitrarily change things for no good reason, we are playing with people’s souls.

The sanctuary and altar, with the images forming a temporary rood screen,
in the traditional pre-Reformation Catholic manner

The choice of images

Following tradition, we have placed three images at the core of our schema today. Together, they symbolize the broad themes of salvation history and the mysteries of the Faith made present every time we worship God. In addition, we have added St Chad of Mercia (died A.D. 672), the great evangelist of western England and the Midlands, whom we remember today. May we imitate his Christian faith and good works in our lives.

The three core images are:On the left: the Mother of God with her Son. This image symbolizes the life of the historical Jesus and his human nature, which he received from Mary, and we share with Him.
Center: the suffering Christ on the cross. This image portrays the sacrifice he made for us, his suffering, and his death. It reminds us of our spiritual deaths in baptism. This image gives meaning to our suffering in this life, particularly when placed next to the image of the Risen Christ because it reinforces the message that there is always hope in the Resurrection. Christian hope transcends suffering just as the Light overcomes the darkness.

Right: the Holy Face of the Risen Christ in Glory. The halo of supernatural, uncreated light around his head is prominent, constituting the whole background, which is commonly considered ‘negative’ space but here becomes heavenly ‘positive’ space. This tells us visually that we are looking at a heavenly vision of the Saviour. This image speaks of his Resurrection and victory over death, by death. Through the Church, we ‘put on Christ’ (to use St Paul’s words) and rise with him supernaturally, partaking of the divine nature through participation in the sacraments of confirmation and communion.

We are all people loved by God. Each human life is a unique story that simultaneously and paradoxically mirrors the pattern of the life of Christ and the pattern of the whole of salvation history, the story of the people of God. We share in the life, the suffering, the death of Christ and, as Christians, in His resurrection, partaking in the divine nature. This is a supernatural transformation, a great gift, and is our joy as Christians in this life and the next.

Gabriel Crouch and Gallicantus are on the left

How to pray with the sacred art

The worship of God, which we are participating in at Vespers, is the worship of the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit. Scripture tells us that the Son is the image of the Father, and no one comes to the Father except through the Son. Accordingly, it is a traditional practice to pray to the Father through the Son, who is the image of the Father. This establishes the legitimate principle of praying to a person through their image.

So, each time a prayer is addressed to the Father, let the Holy Spirit draw you in and pray to the Father through the image of Christ. Look at the face in the image and imagine you are speaking to him as he stands before you.

We can use the image of the Son to pray directly to both the Son a much as the Father. So, each time a prayer is addressed to the Son, again, turn to the image and pray to Him through the image. Similarly, each time a prayer is addressed to Mary or St. Chad or is invoking their memory, turn and face their holy icons as the words are sung or recited.

The Magnificat, which the Church sings at every Vespers, is the great hymn of Mary taken from the Gospel of Luke. At this moment, we pray with her, using her words as recounted in Scripture, and it is appropriate to look at Mary’s image when we do so. All the images are incensed during the singing of the Magnificat to draw our attention to them at this heightened moment of prayer.

The censing of the images during the Magnificat

We do not pray to or worship the image itself, as that would be idolatry. Rather, when we pray to anyone other than God, such as Mary or St. Chad, we ask them to join in our prayers and to intercede to God for us, just as we might ask any friend or family member to pray for us.

St Augustine said famously that those who sing their prayers pray twice. In this Vespers, our prayer is not simply two-fold, but multi-faceted: music, art, and incense engage the senses, helping to direct the posture, intellect and will. The heart is the human center of gravity, so to speak, the place where we are, as a person at any moment – the vector sum of our thoughts, feelings and actions. The hope is always that through this multi-faceted engagement, we raise up our hearts to the Lord.

The beauty of the art, the architecture and the music participates in the beauty of the cosmos, which bears the thumbprint of the Creator. This transforming beauty harmonises with the poetic language of the psalms, and of the hymns and the prayers of the liturgy so that the worship stimulates our spiritual imaginations and impresses the pattern of Christ upon our souls. Then we go out and contribute, gracefully and beautifully, in all that we do to the pattern of human life in society. By this, we establish once more a beautiful culture that, like the cosmos, bears the mark of Christ, who did not create it directly but inspired its creation by people.

The Scala Foundation has a mission of transforming American and, hence, Western culture through beauty in education and worship so that we are formed by grace to change society, one personal relationship at a time. To the degree that each of us contributes to this ideal, we will help to create culture of beauty that speaks of the Christian Faith and Western values.

Some may wonder how much an ancient English liturgy such as this might be relevant to Americans in Princeton today. The answer is: a great deal! The American nation emerged out of English culture and the values it incarnated and which were formed by its pre-Reformation liturgy and faith, primarily the Sarum Use of the Roman Rite. It is a truth that worship is the wellspring of culture. These values of English culture were preserved in America subsequently through the liturgical cousins and liturgical descendants of the Sarum Use, and their associated churches formed by them. These are as well as the Catholic Church, the Anglican, Episcopalian and all Christian churches which routinely sang the psalms especially those that used the psalter from the Book of Common Prayer. The Book of Common Prayer developed directly from the Sarum liturgy.

The practice of praying the psalms can, it occurs to me, be a principle of unity for the American nation today. I speak with such hope, and as one who was born and grew up in England and recently became an American citizen. The hope is that the beauty and the dignity of the worship we participate in tonight, may be simultaneously grounding and elevating for us.

On the one hand, it will establish in us in the desire for humble prayer in the home that mirrors, in spirit at least, tonight’s Vespers. We can pray the psalms in the domestic Church. We may not be able to match the great skill and sublime beauty of this occasion, but in our own humble way, we can daily participate in the ideal it presents. This grounding, humble prayer can be elevating in that it inclines us to cooperated with grace and inspire us in our daily activities, contributing to a noble and accesible culture of beauty. Humble prayer and high culture! That is the motto we bring to you.

Tonight we can raise our hearts to heaven in yet another way. It is a participation in something yet more beautiful, the heavenly liturgy in which the saints and angels worship God, who is Beauty itself. This is our destiny as Christians. Every time there is a pause in the singing, you will hear a faint echo enriched by harmonics and resonance created by the acoustics of the majestic gothic architecture of Princeton University Chapel. At these moments, imagine that the angels and saints singing with us in heaven and worshiping God in the perpetual heavenly liturgy are whispering in your ear, urging you to join in with their worship, in which they accept the love of God and return it to Him in the perpetual song of praise.

I pray that we may all be inspired to pray humbly and to love God and our neighbor.

The celebrants and 1,000 people were on their knees before the Blessed Sacrament during Benediction. I wonder if Princeton University Chapel – built for Presbyterians – has ever seen this before.

Rolling Back the Tide of Post-Conciliar Iconoclasm: Newly Revealed Wall Painting at the Oxford Oratory

A friend and parishioner at the Oxford Oratory, has drawn my attention to a spectacular development in its ongoing restoration project: the white paint has been removed from large sections of the church walls to reveal the original decoration and wall paintings. The murals of scenes from the life of St Aloysius were painted by Gabriel Pippet between 1902 and 1905.

Whitewashing over wall paintings has often been a measure taken by those who wish to remove images from churches. Applying a coat of paint is cheaper and quicker than replastering the surface! Islamic iconoclasts at Hagia Sophia, Protestant Reformers in 16th-century England, and, it seems, Catholic iconoclasts of the 1970s all resorted to this method of obliterating sacred art to hide the beauty of the Church.  

The good news is that very often, this actually preserves the images underneath, and the white surface can be removed to reveal what was beneath. This has just been done with great results at St. Aloysius to reveal scenes from the life of the patron saint. 

Here are some before-and-after photographs: I encourage you to go to oxfordoratory.org, to read the account written by the Fathers of the Oratory themselves about what has happened.  

Due to dampness and the ravages of time, it was not possible to save all the original paintings. Still, the goal is to restore the remainder of the church using the revealed imagery and decoration as a model for a full restoration. I have no doubt that they will do a good job. Do consider donating to this excellent cause!

Continue Reading this Article. . .

Workshops in June for Composers, Conductors and Choristers, with Sir James MacMillan

This June, the Catholic Sacred Music Project, run by Peter Carter, offers three separate residential workshops on the beautiful campus of Princeton University in New Jersey. They will be led by a stellar team of composers, conductors and composers: Sir James MacMillan, Gabriel Crouch, Paul Jernberg, Dr James Jordan and Dr Timothy McDonnell.

In the week of June 9-15, the CSMP Composition Institute and CSMP Choral Institute will occur simultaneously, culminating in the choristers singing the new works by the composers. The following week, the CSMP Conductors’ Institute will take place, June 16-21.

Details are given in the three posters below, one for each workshop; also see the Catholic Sacred Music Project website: sacredmusicproject.org.

The Catholic Sacred Music Project was founded in 2021 to provide spiritual and musical formation for Catholic musicians in order to effect a widespread renewal of sacred music in the Church. 

I will be present through my association (as Artist-in-Residence) with one of the co-sponsors, the Scala Foundation. Other co-sponsors are Paul Jernberg’s Magnificat Institute, the Benedict XVI Institute and the Aquinas Institute, which is the Catholic campus ministry for Princeton University.

Catholic Education Foundation Seminar 2024: The Role of the Priest in Today’s Catholic School

July 16-18, at the Athenaeum of Ohio (the seminary of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati).

Fr Peter Stravinskas of the Catholic Education Foundation is once again offering this excellent three-day seminar, intended primarily for bishops, priests and seminarians, entitled The Role of the Priest in Today’s Catholic School.

For further information: call 732-903-5213 or email fstravinskas@hotmail.com.

The Sermon on the Mount, 1877, by the Danish painter Carl Bloch (1834-90); public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.

For whom?  Clergy who are pastors, parochial vicars, or those directly involved in the elementary or secondary school apostolate (or who wish to be) – as well as seminarians. 

When?  From 4:00 p.m., July 16 to 4:00 p.m., July 18, 2024 

Where? Athenaeum of Ohio (seminary of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati; located about twenty-minutes’ drive from the Cincinnati airport.) 

How much? $700 (all-inclusive); $650 for registrations before May 31 

The Team

• Rev. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Ph.D., S.T.D. (President, CEF)
• Michael Acquilano (Chief Operating Officer, Diocese of Charleston)
• Rev. Patrick Armano (Chaplain & Teacher, Austin Prep, Archdiocese of Boston)
• Rev. John Belmonte, SJ (Superintendent of Schools, Diocese of Venice)
• Most Rev. Thomas Daly (Bishop of Spokane; Chairman, USCCB Committee on Education)
• Rev. Michael Davis (Pastor, Archdiocese of Miami)
• Mary Pat Donoghue (Executive Director, Secretariat of Catholic Education, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops)
• Brian Dorrian (Founding Chairman, Philosophy Department, Charlotte Catholic High School)
• Mother Chiara Thérèse Jacobson, AFL (Montessori Specialist)
• Kevin Kijewski, JD (Former Superintendent of Schools, Archdiocese of Detroit)
• Rev. James Kuroly, EdD. (President/Rector, Cathedral Prep, Brooklyn)
• Dr. Gregory Monroe (Superintendent of Schools, Diocese of Charlotte)
• Rev. Christopher Peschel (Pastor & Central School Board, Diocese of Fall River)
• Rev. Msgr. Sal Pilato (Pastor/Former Superintendent of High Schools, Archdiocese of Los Angeles)
• Kathleen Pluth (Artist-in-Residence, Corpus Christi Monastery, Bronx, NY)
• Brother Owen Sadlier, OSF (Professor of Philosophy, St. Joseph Seminary, Archdiocese of New York) Rev. Msgr. Joseph Schaedel (Pastor, Archdiocese of Indianapolis)
• Rev. Robert Sirico (Co-founder/President Emeritus, Acton Institute)
• Lincoln Synder (President, National Catholic Educational Association)

Is Artificial Intelligence (AI) Bad for Sacred Art?

I have been asked this question many times recently. Most who ask it are worried that it will have a detrimental effect on the sacred art that we see in our churches and homes. My response is that while AI may pose many great problems in other aspects of human life, I think that its impact on sacred art will be either negligible or positive.

An AI generated Simeon and Christ

I don’t believe that it is possible for AI to create art that is of the right quality, no matter how good the technology is, because authentic sacred art relies on inspiration from God for its originality. AI is not open to the promptings of grace as human beings who possess an immortal soul are. (While God is omnipotent and might, in principle, miraculously influence an AI process, I think this as unlikely!) One of the reasons for the decline in art in the last 200 years, in my opinion, is that people have forgotten the importance of the supernatural in creating beauty. AI relies on replacing natural human faculties, albeit in a powerful way. This is highly speculative, but this might mean that it could be good at generating better art in the inferior styles that emerged during this latter period. 

Every tradition must reinvent itself anew with each generation in order to be vital and to sustain itself. The assumption in the past was always that unless the artist is open to God’s grace, he will be imitating only what artists have done in the past, to some degree or other, and the quality of art will decline. So even beautiful work made in precise imitation of the style of the past will not resonate with large audiences today.  

The test of my hypothesis will be in the quality of the art produced. Here are some examples I found online. There is one that was described as ‘Byzantine style’, clearly inferior to the work of contemporary iconographers.

This one is in a naturalistic style which looks to me like modern versions of 19th century realism.  

They are comparable perhaps with the sacred art that I see from people trained in the academic method who don’t understand the principles of sacred art. Their work always looks sentimental and superficial, despite the skill in execution, just like 19th century realism does to me. I wouldn’t choose it, but many Catholic churches around the US are commissioning art in this style at the moment, to my disappointment. Perhaps some might decide to go AI instead, assuming that it is possible to create a finished piece that is actually a physical painting, and not just an electronic image.

Art is as good as it looks, and I will be proven wrong if we see computer generated art that is spectacularly good by any measure, and is indistinguishable from the very best art made by man under inspiration from God.

Let us imagine hypothetically, that this happens. Wouldn’t that be a good thing? It means we have lots of original and great art drawing people to the contemplation of God, all produced at low cost. Admittedly, it might put some artists out of work and consign the mediocre artists, like me, to the dustbin, but that’s not the end of the world.

The point of having art is not to employ artists, but to draw us to the contemplation of God. As with the argument with Luddite weavers and spinners in the 18th century, a new spinning machine might put hand spinners out of business, but the result is better yarn for all at cheaper prices, and an overall benefit to the well-being of society as a whole.

One common fear that I hear is that it is important to preserve the relationship between the artist and the viewer that is created through the mediation of the work of art. By looking at the art, we get insights into the nature of the artist, and this is an important part, it is argued, of the whole reason that we have art.

I don’t accept that this is a worry, because I don’t agree with the premise. It is the Romantic mindset, and not the traditional Christian one, that is concerned about the supposed relationship between the artist and the viewer. The goal of the good artist is to be invisible to the viewer. I would argue that all art has a clear purpose, which is to imitate nature, and through that, to draw people to the contemplation of the image and ultimately through the image, to contemplate God, in a way that is in accord with God’s governance. The only way that this would properly involve consideration of the artist is if the painting is a self-portrait! Even a simple landscape can lead us to the contemplation of God by highlighting the beauty of creation.

Once a piece of art has been completed, questions about how it can be made immediately become irrelevant. In the traditional Christian way of looking at things, we are only interested in how well it fulfills its function.

In short, art is as good as it looks. If there is more and better art by this measure as a result of AI, then that is a good thing, and I would be happy to see it. It seems similar to me to the situation that arose when photography was invented, or when musicians could start to use computers to create music. Both are relatively new media, and can be regarded as tools which can be used well or badly, and haven’t yet replaced painting or musical instruments. Rather, they have enriched art and music by increasing the range of what can be produced in the hands of a skilled photographer or composer.

Perhaps in this new situation, we will give the person who asks Chat GBT the right questions, or even the programmer who created it the right questions the credit for being the artist!

Below, painted and photographed portraits of American Presidents, Jefferson and Lincoln.

The Traditional Formation of the Artist is Mystagogical Catechesis

I am often asked by people about the sort of training that they should undertake in order to become an artist. In response I explain that in my understanding, the training should involve not only obtaining the necessary technical skills, but also the formation of the person in virtue, so that they are capable of directing those skills well.

Not many are surprised by that, I imagine. However, many assume that if they are faithful and orthodox Catholics, then they have the spiritual aspect already sorted out, and so all they need to think about is the skills. I am not so sure that this is automatically the case. What is needed, I believe, is an integration of the two, something which doesn’t usually happen spontaneously.

The traditional the training of an artist was meant to bring about this integration. The spirit of humility that develops a capacity to follow inspiration, should God choose to inspire him, is developed through being prepared to follow directions from a living master, and the copying with discernment of the works of Old Masters. Also, there is carefully directed study that gives a formation in beauty that develops the artists intuitive sense of right relationship and harmony. It is a liturgically centered training, so those aspects that form the person are not imposed on him from without, but rather, are offered to him and freely accepted as the fruits of full and active participation in the liturgy. In saying this, it is important to remember also that we cannot instrumentalize the liturgy: worship of God is always the primary goal and does not serve other ends. Accordingly, the ultimate purpose of any Christian education, including artistic training, is mystagogical catechesis: a deepening of understanding of the mysteries of the Faith, in order to participate more fruitfully in the liturgy; by the transformation in the person that ensues they are in turn better able to fulfill their personal vocation and direct all their activities accordingly.

This goal for Catholic education was stated in Pope Benedict XVI’s exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis, and reinforced again by Pope Francis in Evangelii Gaudium by his reference to the need for mystogogy (although most commentators I have read seem to have missed this point). If the priorities are right, then through God’s grace, fruits will ensue in order to help the person in the fulfillment of his personal vocation, which in turn point us back to the liturgy as its source and summit.

So to give one small example: consideration of what we look at in prayer is important. I am often struck by how little thought many who tell me they want to paint sacred art give to the dynamic of prayer when visual images are used. How can anyone paint images that helps prayer, if they do not understand this; and how, I wonder, can they understand it if they do not use visual imagery as part of their daily prayer? The main way to gain an understanding of this, I believe, is for the prospective artist to develop the habit of engaging with visual images appropriately during the liturgy. I have found that praying the liturgy of the hours at home with an image corner is fruitful in this regard, because I have control over the images that I use.

Once such a practice becomes a habit, then the artist will quite naturally paint images that nourish his own prayer (assuming that he has chosen the personal vocation that God intends for him), and if he prays well, the imagery that results from his own work will be beautiful. This suggests to me the ideal of worship should not only be very different from that which results from the abuses seen since Vatican II (as one would expect) but also should be very different, perhaps, from the period just before the Council. After all, it is the period before the Council during which most of the styles of very bad sacred art that we know and hate - whether sugary kitsch images or brutal modernist distortions (that only professional art critics and those whose taste has been malformed in one of our contemporary universities claim to like) - originally came into our churches.

I spoke on this topic some years ago, in New York City, for the Catholic Artists’ Society and gave much more detail about what such a training might consist of. The link for the audio is here: www.catholicartistssociety.org/david-claytons-lecture-forming-the-artist/.

Upgrade to SingtheOffice.com - Now Compliant with the Rubrics of the Daily Office of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham

Ten months ago, I wrote a post about an excellent online resource for chanting the Office at home, SingtheOffice.com. Now it is even better, as it has been upgraded so as to provide daily Offices from the English prayerbook tradition, fully pointed for Gregorian chant, and compliant with the rubrics of Divine Worship: Daily Office (Commonwealth Edition) of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. You can read about the changes here.

It provides all the Propers, as well as the Ordinary for Morning Prayer,  Evening Prayer, and Compline. There is also access to recordings of every tone as a help for those like me who are not able to sight-read the chant notation.

 

The changes include Collects and Antiphons for the saint of the day:

There are settings for either a lay or priestly officiant, for simplified or complex chant settings for the Canticles. In addition, there are now full settings for the Te Deum and Old Testament canticles assigned to each day, such as the Song of Hannah, the Exultavit cor meum, and a greater range of liturgical hymns.

Around the Auctions

Here is another in a series of occasional articles from Fr Andrew Marlborough, who prior to joining the clergy worked in the world of art sales. Our hope is that these articles will raise awareness of the sort of liturgical artifacts that might be found in auction houses, so that more can be saved for Church use.

Fr Andrew writes:

There continues to be an overwhelming amount of Catholic sacred art appearing on the auction market. Dozens and dozens of sacred vessels, monstrances, relics, vestments, and other items appear at auction every week across Europe and America. Although alarming, this is a material expression of the crisis in the Church, but also provides an opportunity for those looking for well-crafted traditional items, often at reasonable prices when compared to the cost of commissioning something new today. For a longer report on this situation, see my previous article.  

A few recent examples show the broad range of what can be obtained. Firstly, a real bargain was this charming Continental silver chalice sold in a small UK auction in September. It was catalogued rather vaguely as simply ‘antique’ but the foliate detail around the foot-rim, gadrooned knop, and the overall style, reflect chalices made in the Low Countries in the 17th and 18th centuries. A good size at 20cm, and in need of a good polish, it sold for just £130 (excluding commission). (Images credit Andrew Smith Auctions) 

From a similar place and period, but a finer example, was this silver-gilt chalice made by Joannes van Sychen in Ghent in 1728. The stylistic similarity to the above chalice can be seen in the foot rim detail and gadrooned knop design, but the lively modelling of cherubs among heavenly clouds around the lower bowl is unusual and quite stunning. At 24cm high and 530g in weight it was still great value, selling in October for 2600 Euros (excluding commission) at a provincial auction in Belgium. (Images credit Flanders Auctions)

Continue Reading this Article. . .

Sarum Vespers on March 1st at Princeton University Chapel

There will be a solemn choral Vespers according to the medieval Use of Sarum, followed by Benediction, on March 1st, in the beautiful neo-Gothic chapel of Princeton University. The ceremony is organized by Peter Carter of the Catholic Sacred Music Project, who is also the choir director for the Aquinas Institute of Princeton University which is hosting. It is co-sponsored by the Scala Foundation, Durandus Institute, and Benedict XVI Institute. The music will be sung by the internationally known early music choir from the UK, Gallicantus, directed by Gabriel Crouch who is Director of Choral Activities and Senior Lecturer in Music at Princeton University.

The event starts at 6 pm, with two short presentations prior to the Vespers itself, which starts at 7pm. The speakers will be James Griffin of the Durandus Institute and myself. James will focus on an explanation of the Use of Sarum’s expressions of worship and its importance today. I will talk about the sacred art, which will be an integral part of the service, and which I have chosen especially for the occasion. I will describe why I chose the images and will explain how to engage with them fruitfully and authentically in the course of the worship of God. 

The Use of Sarum is a form of the Roman Rite, sung in Latin, that goes back to pre-Reformation England, and which is rooted in the the ancient worship of Salisbury Cathedral. (Sarum is an archaic name for the city of Salisbury.) This characteristically English style of worship subsequently became the foundation for the pattern of Anglican worship, and the Book of Common Prayer. As such, it has been a strong early forming influence on contemporary Anglo-American culture and society, and so its appeal reaches across the spectrum of faith and denominations. This promises to be an excellent opportunity to show the Faith in action to all, in an attractive and dignified way.

Salisbury Cathedral

Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop’s Garden, 1825, by the English painter John Constable.

The liturgical occasion is the feast of St. Chad, who features prominently in the Ecclesiastical History of the English People written by St. Bede. Chad was a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon who evangelized the ancient kingdom of Mercia, re-establishing Christianity in the region after its decline following the departure of the Romans more than two centuries earlier. His example, therefore, is particular relevant and inspiring to those of us who seek to see the Christian values of the West re-established in the secular mainstream of the US and the UK today.

St Chad, painted by Aidan Hart, founder of the Chichester Workshop of Liturgical Art

Art Participates in God’s Governance—Bradley Elliott, O.P.

Here is an excellent interview with Fr. Brad Elliott O.P., conducted by Thomas Mirus of CatholicCulture.org. Fr Elliott, a professional drummer turned Dominican friar, joins the Catholic Culture podcast to discuss his book The Shape of the Artistic Mind: A Search for the Metaphysical Link Between Art and Morals in the Thought of Thomas Aquinas. His book project began with the question 'What is the connection of the virtue of art, and the moral virtues?' 

I am not aware of anyone who as responded so deeply and precisely to this question, which has a direct impact on our work as Christians in the world - not just as artists. Themes include:

• Man’s capacity to participate in God’s creative activity and governance of the world.
• How human artistic activity not only imitates but enhance nature.
• The combination of Aristotelian and neo-Platonic streams in St. Thomas’ theory of art.
• How Aristotle redeemed the notion of nature from Plato, and Plotinus redeemed the notion of imitation from Plato.
• Comparing the virtue of art to the mortal and speculative virtues.

Martin Earle of the Chichester Liturgical Art Workshop Wins Major Award in US

I was delighted to learn recently that Martin Earle, of the Chichester Workshop of Liturgical Art in the UK (which I have been energetically promoting in this blog), has been awarded first prize in the annual competition of the Catholic Art Institute.

The award was given for this Franciscan-style cross commissioned by the Rev. Hugh Gilbert, Bishop of Aberdeen in Scotland. Martin was keen to emphasize the important part that his colleague at the workshop, Jim Blackstone, had to play in the creation of this monumental piece of work. There were also many highly skilled apprentices who contributed, all under Martin’s expert direction, and many of whom I was privileged to meet on a recent visit to the studio in Chichester.

Bishop Hugh, incidentally, has a great love for the San Damiano Crucifix at the church of St Clara in Assisi, which inspired both this commission and one another done about 20 years ago for Pluscarden Abbey, where he was formerly a Benedictine monk and served as abbot. The diocese is currently raising the money for the project, so I encourage readers contribute at the gofundme here.

It is especially gratifying to see work in the iconographic and Gothic style featuring so prominently in the awards and mentions made by the Catholic Art Institute. It is my conviction that Catholic traditions from the pre-Renaissance period are the most likely springboard for a new flourishing of contemporary styles of sacred arts in the Church, and the Catholic Art Institute is doing sterling work, in my opinion, in showcasing projects that are simultaneously traditional and of the 21st century.

Second prize went to an icon by Orthodox monk, Fr. Silouan Justiniano, whom I met at the Scala Foundation Conference in Princeton last spring.

Juror comments from the Institute were as follows: The San Damiano Crucifix is a new, beautiful and highly-skilled contribution to a centuries-long Franciscan tradition of depicting Christ’s Sacrifice, while expounding on its deeper meanings in the adjacent, appended panels. This work combines the fine and allied arts to achieve a radiant, magnificent, unified whole. 

St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Cathedral in Aberdeen is currently fundraising to be able to install this crucifix as part of a project to re-order the sanctuary. If you are able to help, please visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/37i9ff1mnc. 

This crucifix was painted at the Chichester Workshop of Liturgical Art. Alongside providing a space for artists to undertake commissions across a broad range of traditional media, the Chichester Workshop offers an education programme that includes both practical artistic training and theological engagement with the principles of Christian iconography. Find out more at http://www.chichesterworkshop.org

Commissioning a Portable Altar Appropriate for the TLM

My friend Fr Andrew Marlborough, a priest of the diocese of Plymouth, in England, (whom our readers may remember from his writings about the recovery of liturgical artifacts from auction houses) recently contacted me about a portable altar he had made for personal use.

I asked him to describe the process and how consideration of the different requirements that went into the design of altar. The carpenter who built the altar is Dutch, his name is Daan Lockefeer: www.lockefeermeubelmaker.nl.

Fr Andrew wrote: When asked to help at a university chaplaincy, I was shocked to learn that there was no proper altar or liturgical space to use. This was especially sad because the university had once been a thriving convent school with a beautiful chapel, now converted into a lecture theatre.

The experience made me determined to find a fitting solution for offering Holy Mass in temporary spaces. This was amplified by a desire to help priests who celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass in places with no permanent altar. So, I set out to source a portable altar for such situations.

At first, I looked at second-hand small chapel altars but most of these were still too big to be easily moveable. Then I also considered buying an old military chaplain’s altar, or one of the beautifully-crafted St Joseph’s Workshop portable altars. But these seemed really for more occasional backcountry or field use and are just too small for normal circumstances.

I soon realised that what I really needed was a transportable altar that was still a traditional size but which could fold up to be transported in the back of a car. And this type of altar seemed not to be available. So, I decided to commission a prototype from a cabinet-maker. I consider this to be a first attempt which can be improved upon in later designs and I hope it might stimulate further discussion and similar commissions.

The first thing was to establish the size needed. This is really important for good ars celebrandi and sadly many modern altars are made without proper reference to the accumulated practical wisdom of tradition. Reflection on this, and discussion with a traditional priest-friend, made me realise that the ideal size was 100cm high x 150cm long x 60cm deep.

Another major step was the realisation of the essential difference in design of this altar from the ‘all-in-one’ military-inspired portable field altars. Sacred vessels, Crucifix, candlesticks, sacred art, and other elements can easily be transported separately. What was essential here was a basic structure of the correct size which could be dressed with altar linens and which could accommodate an altar stone.

There were several design challenges to address. The first was the configuration of the folding mensa. After initially considering a centrefold, we realised that the central section on which the corporal, and so the Sacred Body & Blood of Our Lord, would rest, should be of one piece. Given the ideal overall length of 150cm, it was decided that this central section should be 75cm, with folding end panels of 37.5cm each, secured by extra-strong hinges. The second design question was how to construct the legs. It was decided here that single-piece removable legs, strengthened by removable stretchers, would be better and stronger than folding legs. The third challenge was how to incorporate an altar stone into the design. The need for a thin mensa to keep weight down meant that recessing an altar stone permanently into the wood surface wasn’t possible. After considering several options, the best solution seemed to be a simple shallow pull-out drawer located directly under the mensa centre which can accommodate an altar stone that is removed in transit.

Finally, it was decided that the best material to use would be oak. The overall result is a strong, relatively light, basic altar structure of the correct dimensions, which can be easily transported in an average car. The cost before shipping was 1200 Euros.