Beauty, Truth and the Sacred Arts

 

Fra Angelico

Our Lord Jesus promises us that He is the way, the truth and the light.  But the ancient philosophers remind us that there is more than one door way into Truth.  That is, it is not just a matter of transmitting facts.  The goodness and truth of God is also expressed in beauty, manifest in art and especially the sacred arts (sacred music, religious painting, sculpture and so on). 

We have suffered something of a loss of the sacred arts in recent decades, but the good news it that many Catholics are working to restore it.

There is a great initiative recently founded called the Angelico Project (named after a great medieval Dominican friar and painter).  They promote sacred art in various forms.  For instance, they host sacred music concerts and even such events as Catholic filmmaking seminars. 

They offer several events which are free to the public.  I encourage you to check out their website.

On a related note, Mt. St. Mary's Seminary and School of Theology has a wonderful sacred music program.  They offer occasional free prayer services (such as vespers - sung evening prayer) which often include choral concerts as well.  These are open to the public. 

Their next prayer and concert is coming up on November 7th which includes the hauntingly beautiful requiem Mass music that the Church has sung to pray for our beloved dead.  Not only is the music beautiful, but they are held in the stunningly beautiful Chapel of St. Gregory the Great, where I spent many an hour praying while a seminarian in the late 1990s and early 2000s.   These are regularly posted in the Events section of the Mt. St. Mary's website. 


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