Does it Matter What the church looks like?

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KimM:
I am recently coming back to the Catholic faith. I have attended Mass a few times at the Catholic Church that is closest to my house. I was very surprised when I went into the santuary for the first time and saw that it was very plain. The walls are all cream colored and everything is wood trimmed. There are no stations of the cross. The only statue is a small one of Mary that is off to the side of the alter. There are no crusifixes. There are very few candels.
Also, the host and wine are served from wooden bowls and chalices.
I’m used to more ornate Catholic Churches. This church looks less Catholic than the protestant churches that I have attended - except for the single statue of Mary.
Does any of this matter? I was most concerned about the bowls and chalices because I thought they were suppossed to be gold.

Kim M
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I think all of it does matter very much. And I stand virtually all alone in my opinion.
 
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Ace86:
They should be made of gold or another suitable material. Wood is not worthy to have the Eucharist on.
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I also am a woodworker like my fellow parishioner and would go so far as to say that wood is a wonderful material and can be used to make beautiful and wonderful objects, I suppose never having anything made of gold except a wedding ring I may not be the best judge of worthy materials. One thought, not to justify the use of wooden vessela, but just a thought, Jesus choose to be born in a stable and was laid in a manger which was most likely made of wood.
 
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rwoehmke:
I also am a woodworker like my fellow parishioner and would go so far as to say that wood is a wonderful material and can be used to make beautiful and wonderful objects, I suppose never having anything made of gold except a wedding ring I may not be the best judge of worthy materials. One thought, not to justify the use of wooden vessela, but just a thought, Jesus choose to be born in a stable and was laid in a manger which was most likely made of wood.
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I can see where you are going but the point is that the liturgical norms are the way they are. In the United States and most Western countries it is not permitted us to use wood for our sacred vessels. There are even some cases where certain materials that are special in a culture are not acceptable such as crystal or any porous material unless it is lined with gold or some suitable metal. This is not really a debatable topic as the Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments and Divine Worship has made rullings on all this stuff already.
 
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KimM:
Yes, the host is served from wooden bowls and the wine from wooden cups.
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It must be in noble material but we must understand that some parishes doesn’t have money to buy such noble materials. I think the church is not yet well established.
 
Joe Gloor:
No. It is not the most important thing what the church looks like.
It is helpful if the church building is well-decorated, but much more important is what happens in the church.
You didn’t say whether the wooden bowls and chalices were plain or ornate which appears to be the requirement of the above post so we should hold off on that judgement.
It appears from what you are saying that this church is more modern and less traditional. If you prefer a more traditional setting you should attend elsewhere.
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But it does matter Joe. The Gothic church was not just a structure to hold the mass in it was a teaching tool of the Church as well. For some reason we think in our day and age that we are past this and that we no longer need visual stimulation to aid our faith. What I object to in modern churches is their domestication - it’s as though we were going to the neighbour’s for dinner not to the House of God for worship. This doesn’t mean that I don’t like modern churches. I have seen more than a few that are truly places of worship. But too many aren’t. It is also worth remembering that the protestants in the main rejected churches as the Catholic church understands them and replaced them with preaching halls (ie lecture rooms) and meeting houses where God was spoken about but not encountered or worshipped.

An interesting anecdote. When the Dutch cpatured Ceylon from the Portugese they of course attempted to convert the Ceylonese to their reformed faith. Instead the Ceylonese Christians remained firmly Catholic. When asked why they pointed out the lack of a sense of God’s presence in the Dutch protestant meeting halls. The Catholic God they said must be greater because look how he is honoured in Catholic churches.
 
Personally I don’t think it matters what the church looks like…it’s the experience that counts…

At my church when the wine is brought to the alter it is brought up in a huge glass beer mug (at least that’s what they look like only fancier) is this not acceptable–even if they are served in metal chalices?
 
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InnocentIII:
But it does matter Joe. The Gothic church was not just a structure to hold the mass in it was a teaching tool of the Church as well. For some reason we think in our day and age that we are past this and that we no longer need visual stimulation to aid our faith. What I object to in modern churches is their domestication - it’s as though we were going to the neighbour’s for dinner not to the House of God for worship. This doesn’t mean that I don’t like modern churches. I have seen more than a few that are truly places of worship. But too many aren’t. It is also worth remembering that the protestants in the main rejected churches as the Catholic church understands them and replaced them with preaching halls (ie lecture rooms) and meeting houses where God was spoken about but not encountered or worshipped.
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I concur. The message I was trying to convey was that it is not the most important thing.
 
viktor aleksndr:
It must be in noble material but we must understand that some parishes doesn’t have money to buy such noble materials. I think the church is not yet well established.
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This is not an excuse in my opinion. Even St. Francis demanded that only the finest material be used for the sacred vessels.
 
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Dubervilles:
Personally I don’t think it matters what the church looks like…it’s the experience that counts…

At my church when the wine is brought to the alter it is brought up in a huge glass beer mug (at least that’s what they look like only fancier) is this not acceptable–even if they are served in metal chalices?
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That is fine as long as the Consecrated Species is not in the class decanter.
 
If you only went to Sunday mass then perhaps there is more to the buildings than you saw? My parish opened its permanent building in 2001 which includes a beautiful very large and traditional main church and a chapel that holds about 300 that is entered off the same narthex. The stations of the cross are in our chapel because the main church is not open for people to wander around during the week when there is not a mass. Our daily masses are in the chapel and that is where the confessionals are located also. This might confuse a new person.

Our “temp” buildings would have really confused someone because we had to use a multipurpose type of room for more than a decade with stackable chairs and no kneelers. The tabernacle was in a small chapel in that building that was open for prayer because the multipurpose room had to be reset for classes and a ton of other things during the week. The stations were literally outside under a covered walkway that led to one entrance. I didn’t find them until someone pointed them out above my head between each arch. We did have a prominent crucifix in both buildings in every room where mass was said.

I would hesitate to assume there is major problem in your parish when you may just need to dig a little deeper for an answer at this point.
 
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