Should carpet be allowed in Catholic churches?

  • Thread starter Thread starter ajpirc
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
A

ajpirc

Guest
Would/does carpet in our churches need to go?

Do you think it helps compliment the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass or does it just make the church feel luxurious? Should the Mass be a luxury?

Should the sacred music, especially Gregorian chant, echo off of the ceiling, walls, and floor? Would carpet ruin that sacredness?

These are questions for those who answer the poll.
 
I like carpet just fine. In fact, considering the “clop, clop, clop” I have to hear when some lady wearing wooden sole shoes or heels walks in late or carries her child out during the consecration, I prefer it.
 
jwinch2 said:
I like carpet just fine. In fact, considering the “clop, clop, clop” I have to hear when some lady wearing wooden sole shoes or heels walks in late or carries her child out during the consecration, I prefer it.
Click to expand...
The poll should be up now. 😃
 
Huh? What does carpet have to do with anything? Decisions on flooring have to do with things like cost, ease of maintanaince, noise reduction, temperature, not religion.

BTW, I have never seen a church (Catholic or otherwise) with “luxurious” carpet. Has anyone?
 
I voted yes, but I think the ideal is half and half. That is, carpet where the pews are, and marble or wood for the sanctuary, and along the front where Holy Communion is received.

I don’t like carpet where there’s a danger of the Precious Blood being spilt.
 
To be perfectly honest, carpeting fits into my ideal setting for the holy Mass. 🙂

I’ve always imagined the Liturgy celebrated in a small room without windows, perhaps twenty feet long and ten feet wide, with proportionate dimensions at both ends. The simple wooden altar (with relics in stone embedded underneath the linen), with six simple slender candle sticks, would be the very center and focus. One single altar rail would act as a complete fence between the walls. A low ceiling would center all vision on the classical rectangular altar and round tabernacle, with a simple altar cloth hanging down to the ground. On the low walls, dark wooden paneling would have small icons and paintings on them - to replace non-existent windows. The carpeting would be a dark red, and perhaps a few mahogany bookshelves would adorn the very small Narthex for spiritual reading in the presence of Our Lord.

Basically, I want a quaint, quiet little library of a chapel - where the intimacy of our Lord’s Supper and Sacrifice may be relived without much grandeur. One could sit in this candle-lit wooden library of a chapel for hours in absolute silence, with soft majestic carpeting and the din of tiny glowing flames.
 
I think this is a rather silly question. Carpet doesn’t ruin the sacredness of the Mass… its carpet.

Im sure someone will find it offensive however
 
Churches without carpet shouldn’t be retrofitted and it has nothing to do with sacredness it has everything to do with ruining the acoustics of the space. Seats shouldn’t be retrofitted with cushions either.
 
A Catholic church should have something other than carpet for the floors.

The grandeur and majestic awesomeness should be apparent in the physical in God’s house.
 
ExLibris said:
A Catholic church should have something other than carpet for the floors. The grandeur and majestic awesomeness should be apparent in the physical in God’s house.
Click to expand...
So why oppose something “luxurious” like carpet?
 
Digitonomy said:
So why oppose something “luxurious” like carpet?
Click to expand...
Because carpet doesn’t remain ‘luxurious’ for long when hundreds of people trample it underfoot. Church carpet is usually industrial quality so that it’ll last for a few years. Better to have marble or slate or anything that can last a lifetime.
 
no it does not wear well, quickly gets filthy and is impossible to keep clean, prone to mold in a climate like ours, and destroys the acoustics. bad choice, and has nothing to do with liturgy or canon law, simply practical maintenance.
 
:eek: WOW:rolleyes: did someone really ask this???

Ugly carpet covering marble…may be distastefully but certinally not wrong. Not every church can afford marble, and in many placese industrial carpet is much cheaper than anything and is put down directly on the plywood and sealer. Would you rather lenolium tile?

I have seen ugly churches WITH lenionum tile. Carpet is certinally a step up. And it’s easier to replace a section of well trafficed carpet than ceremic tile (another popular and VERY tasteful floor covering.

I once went to a church with a beautiful and detailed carpet on the on the sancutury, I think it was more wonderful than any marble.
 
On a related note, there was a brouhaha at a friends church when the carpeted altar was refurbished with white marble flooring. The parishioners were furious about the amount of money spent. It does look lovely, though.
 
Personally, I dislike carpet anywhere (at home, in church, etc). But it is not wrong to have it in church.

Also, since I come from the land of the ice and snow (truly, lots of snow), the carpet comes in handy. It gets the snow, ice, water from people’s shoes so there are no puddles for people to slip.
 
ajpirc said:
Would/does carpet in our churches need to go?

Do you think it helps compliment the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass or does it just make the church feel luxurious? Should the Mass be a luxury?

Should the sacred music, especially Gregorian chant, echo off of the ceiling, walls, and floor? Would carpet ruin that sacredness?

These are questions for those who answer the poll.
Click to expand...
Beauty lifts the mind and heart to God, which the designers of classic churchs knew well. Would you get rid of all those statues and paintings of saints? Some of those are pretty luxurious too.
 
I think carpet should be allowed but it doesnt wear as well as a hard surface floor. So I prefer the hard floor as opposed to carpet for that reason only.
 
What an odd concept for a layman, coming around asking other people what should and shouldn’t be allowed in a Church, as if the Bishops will be waiting with bated breath for the results of this inordinate poll. Why not spend your time fretting about . . . “weightier things of the law; judgment, and mercy, and faith” ?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top