Hold Me Like Holy Water

Happy Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary! Woot!

Yesterday for Christ the King, the archbishop came to say Mass. Yay. It's also our chapel's patronal feast (Christ the King Chapel), so that's exciting. We all donned our red shirts and had a grand ole time. At the end of Mass, the president presented the archbishop with a gift from the school, and the archbishop joked that it was probably a sweatshirt from Luther or Wartburg. Heh. What a joker. ;)

So the thing that's been driving me crazy:
We're renovating the chapel. The first sketches are pretty cool. Not particularly my style, but then again, that's not surprising. It'll do. It's nice, there's some good motivation behind why things are going to be the way they are, and that's respectable. However, I have this one complaint. Here we are making sure that the marble tone matches with the fabric on the chairs and the wood finishes are all similar, etc. etc. and we still use glass and clay chalices and patens. What the heck? I am so frustrated with this. I know I've posted about it many a time, but it's gotten to the point where I just can't take it much longer. We've had two very knowledgeable guests on campus who have asked me about the vessels. They want to know why we use glass and clay, and the answers I give (are obviously not my own) never seem sufficient. And they've both told me that. Now, to me, if we're so concerned about making sure God's House looks pretty, why the heck aren't we concerned with making sure the immediate vessel that Jesus' Body and Blood will be in? Why aren't we paying attention to the fact that we are busying ourselves about the finish of the wood for aesthetic appeal instead of using the vessels mandated by the Church? Dear. And then I heard some talk about how the church will better reflect the theology of the liturgy...and I about lost it. What's more important to our theology than the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ? Surely not the placement of the pews. Surely not the tone of the paint on the wall. Surely not the size of the organ. Argh. I'm going to draft a letter soon. I'm not going to talk to y'all in blogland anymore - I'm going to make sure the people who can do something about it hear too.

And I started a fight today that wasn't supposed to happen. I still maintain that I'm right, and this isn't a pride issue. It's an issue of really truly being right and not backing down for the good of the person with whom I am fighting.
You know, for as many fights as I start, you'd think I love them.
But I don't.

Enough for now.
Caritas et veritas.